Car Wash Regulations Every Car Wash Owner Should Know

Owning and operating a full-service, self-service, or mobile car wash business can be fun and rewarding. You get to provide a service to help people keep their vehicles clean and looking great.

You also get to wash and detail a wide variety of vehicles, from minivans and SUVs to tricked-out lifted trucks and sports cars. So, if you have a love of cars, being a car wash owner is a great way to expand your interest.

Why Are Car Washes Regulated?

Regardless of what type of car wash business you own and operate, there are specific car wash regulations you must be aware of. These regulations are there since you work with various chemicals, soaps, waxes, cleaning products, and so on. Additionally, you and your employees handle these products and need to ensure proper safety practices are in place.

When washing and detailing cars, most of these things get rinsed off the vehicles and go down into drain lines and storm drains. Then there is oil and grease that gets rinsed off of the vehicles you clean and ends up in the drain lines too.

Without regulations, water supplies, rivers, streams, lakes, and even water reclamation could be contaminated. Furthermore, regulations ensure that employers and employees can reduce the risks of on-the-job accidents and injuries.

Types of Car Wash Regulations

Two federal agencies are responsible for most of the car wash regulations. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). The EPA is responsible for environmental regulations. OSHA is responsible for health and safety regulations in the workplace.

Environment Regulations

There are several environmental regulations you need to know to avoid fines and other problems with the EPA. The primary regulation comes from the Clean Water Act. Since your car wash uses water, you need to make sure that you have an appropriate drainage system in place to catch runoff and prevent it from soaking into the ground and down storm drains.

The EPA has three general classifications for the types of pollutants you might encounter at your car wash:

1. Conventional – Any type of vehicle fluids, including gasoline, radiator coolant, oil, and grease.
2. Toxic – These pollutants include any man-made compounds, various metals, and other such chemicals that are classified as toxic.
3. Non-Conventional – These types of pollutants include many of the things found in car wash detailing products, such as phosphorus, chlorine, and nitrogen.

OSHA Regulations

This is a wide range of OSHA regulation car wash owners need to know about to avoid fines and potential closures, including:

1. MSDS – Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) need to be on hand in an accessible location for every type of chemical used at your car wash. These sheets provide detailed information on the chemicals, including how to protect yourself and what to do if you have an adverse reaction.
2. Workplace Conditions – Employers need to ensure that employees are aware of potential hazards, such as electrical hazards, slip and fall hazards, and so on.
3. Training and Education – OSHA provides guidelines for employers to ensure they properly train and educate their employees on safe working practices, as well as review and provide details about all the chemicals used in the workplace.
4. PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) – OSHA has requirements for certain industries where PPE needs to be provided by the employer to help keep their employees safe, such as facemasks, gloves, goggles, etc.
5. Access to First Aid – Employers are required to provide access to first aid kits and other such measures, in case of an accident, until the employee can seek emergency medical treatment.
6. Lockout/Tagout Procedures – OSHA has regulations regarding maintenance and repairs to various types of equipment and the processes one must follow.
7. Ventilation Requirements – There are regulations regarding how car wash bays and other such areas need to be ventilated to prevent exposure to carbon dioxide from vehicles’ exhaust systems, as well as the chemicals being used.

Please remember that this is just a partial list of the more common OSHA car wash regulations. There could be others, depending on your type of car wash operation.

Local, County, and State Regulations

Besides federal regulations, there could be local, county, and state regulations you need to be aware of too. You can be subject to water usage restrictions during certain times of the year, water reclamation requirements, water filtration requirements, and so on. It is your responsibility to learn more about these regulations and ensure your car wash business is compliant.

What Can Your Car Wash Do to Help the Environment?

There are several things your car wash can do that can be beneficial for the environment. These include the following:

• Choose eco-friendly car detailing supplies and products. There are several eco-friendly car wash soaps, waxes, and other detailing products on the market today.
• Implement more efficient water usage procedures. You could reclaim used car wash water, run it through a water treatment and filtration system, and use it multiple times to wash vehicles.
• Collect rainwater in storage containers for use at your car wash. To cut down on your water usage, you could set up a collection system and use rainwater for washing vehicles.
• Install solar panels on the roof of your car wash. You can reduce your energy consumption by creating your own solar power.

Putting It All Together

As a car wash owner, you need to be aware of various car wash regulations that could result in fines and penalties. You also need to ensure you and your employees are properly trained and educated and have access to the right PPE.

Most importantly, you should consider different things you can do to help make your car wash operations more environmentally friendly. Plus, when you do, you can use this in your marketing to attract new customers.

To find car wash supplies, materials, parts, and more at wholesale prices for your car wash, please feel free to browse our online inventories or contact Superior Car Wash Supply at 800-554-9274 today!