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Car Wash Water Usage Calculator

Work out car wash water usage instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Car Wash Water Usage Calculator

Automated car washes use 60-90 litres of water per vehicle before recycling, and a reclaim system typically recovers 60-80% of it. Because water charges usually include a sewerage element, the saving from recycling is larger than the supply tariff alone suggests.

Formulas

Fresh water use

Fresh = Washes x Litres per wash x (1 - Recycling %)

Daily cost

Cost = Fresh litres / 1,000 x Cost per thousand litres

Worked example

With the default values below, Car Wash Water Usage Calculator returns Fresh water used per day of 2,940. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Washes per day
120
Fresh water per wash
70
Water recycled and reused
65
Water cost per 1,000 litres
45

Results

Fresh water used per day
2,940
Daily water cost
$132.30
Annual fresh water consumption
1,073,100
Litres saved by recycling per day
5,460

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Fresh water use
  3. 3Daily cost
  4. 4Fresh water used per day= 2,940
  5. 5Daily water cost= 132.30
  6. 6Annual fresh water consumption= 1,073,100
  7. 7Litres saved by recycling per day= 5,460

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a wash compare with washing at home?

A hose at home commonly uses 200-400 litres. A commercial wash with reclaim uses a fraction of that and captures the runoff for treatment.

Is there a discharge cost too?

Usually yes. Trade effluent consent charges apply to discharged water, which is why interceptors and reclaim systems pay back quickly.

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