The Wabash Valley remains in a drought, and many customers have been asked to conserve their water use. That includes washing their own cars.
NBC 2's Kellie Bartoli takes a look at how professional car washes are getting by - and saving water in the process.
In this summer heat, even your car needs a refreshing drink of water. But that can be tricky in the middle of a drought.
So enter the pros.
Mike's Express Carwash in Terre Haute uses a reclaim system.
That means that all the water that's cleaning the car right now has been recycled and will be used again and again, saving countless gallons of water in the process.
"It's actually a big system, a filtered system. It goes through the pit we put all the water through, comes back up and we have mini filters that go through the clean system so it's actually clean water once we take it to the wash," said Justin Spears, general manager of the Mike's Carwash in Terre Haute.
And the results are crystal clear.
With their reclaim system, Mike's only uses 47 gallons of water per wash... that's 100 less gallons than if you'd wash your car at home.
"And it saves water for everybody else in the city to use as well," adds Spears.
And the recycled water that's cleaning your car is clean itself.
"Goes through a softener tank as well so all the water that goes through the wash is actually clean, fresh water," said Spears. "Constantly keeps going throughout the day, even when we close our reclaim system is actually going when we close at night."
And as our drought weather woes continue, Mike's is taking an extra step to make sure they're keeping water in the bank.
"We take that recycled water, and instead of using it for our lawn we just use it for the car wash to save even more water," said Spears.
For more information on Mike's Carwash and the water conservation there, click here.
NBC 2's Kellie Bartoli takes a look at how professional car washes are getting by - and saving water in the process.
In this summer heat, even your car needs a refreshing drink of water. But that can be tricky in the middle of a drought.
So enter the pros.
Mike's Express Carwash in Terre Haute uses a reclaim system.
That means that all the water that's cleaning the car right now has been recycled and will be used again and again, saving countless gallons of water in the process.
"It's actually a big system, a filtered system. It goes through the pit we put all the water through, comes back up and we have mini filters that go through the clean system so it's actually clean water once we take it to the wash," said Justin Spears, general manager of the Mike's Carwash in Terre Haute.
And the results are crystal clear.
With their reclaim system, Mike's only uses 47 gallons of water per wash... that's 100 less gallons than if you'd wash your car at home.
"And it saves water for everybody else in the city to use as well," adds Spears.
And the recycled water that's cleaning your car is clean itself.
"Goes through a softener tank as well so all the water that goes through the wash is actually clean, fresh water," said Spears. "Constantly keeps going throughout the day, even when we close our reclaim system is actually going when we close at night."
And as our drought weather woes continue, Mike's is taking an extra step to make sure they're keeping water in the bank.
"We take that recycled water, and instead of using it for our lawn we just use it for the car wash to save even more water," said Spears.
For more information on Mike's Carwash and the water conservation there, click here.
