Washing Cars in Bellevue

Inage of a person washing their car in a bay at a commercial car wash which is recommended by the City of Bellevue to prevent soap from polluting local creeks and lakes. — Washing your car, or any vehicle, at a commercial car wash is one of the best things you can do to prevent pollution in our local streams and lakes. Dirty soapy wash water at car washes is sent into the sewer system and treated, but soapy wash water at home that ends up on our streets goes directly to our streams and lakes untreated. All soaps, even biodegradable soap, harms fish, insects and local water quality.

Washing your car at home can pollute our local streams and lakes. Before washing your car, or any vehicle, know how to do it responsibly.

How should I wash my car in Bellevue?

Use a commercial car wash. This is the best way to wash a car in Bellevue and prevent pollution. Self-service and drive-thru car washes capture the dirty wash water, soaps and car fluids sending them all to the sewer system for treatment.
Wash on a lawn, landscaped or gravel area where the soapy wash water will soak into the ground. Soapy and dirty water is not allowed to flow off your driveway or on Bellevue’s streets because it pollutes our local streams and lakes.
Keep soaps, even biodegradable soap, off our streets and away from storm drains. If washing on a hard surface is the only option, create a barrier with rolled towels so soapy wash water flows into landscaping, a lawn, or soil and stays away from the street.

Anything that goes into storm drains flows unfiltered and untreated into our local streams which goes directly into Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington where we all swim, fish and play.

About biodegradable soaps

Image of a maroon-colored truck being washed on a lawn. If washing a vehicle at home, wash on a lawn or gravel area so dirty soapy wash water soaks into the ground and doesn't enter the street or storm drains. Even biodegradable soaps only degrade in soil. — Wash vehicles at home over lawns or gravel areas so dirty soapy wash water is filtered through the soil. Keep all types of soaps, chemicals and vehicle fluids away from the streets, storm drains or the greater stormwater system where pollutants are sent directly into local streams and lakes unfiltered and untreated.

All soaps, even biodegradable soap, affect our local water quality and harms aquatic life.

Biodegradable soaps, cleaners or anything labeled “biodegradable” is a scientific definition meaning the substance has been tested and will chemically degrade over time in soil - not water. The bacteria in soil interacts with biodegradable substances to chemically break down the bonds into a non-harmful form. Most biodegradable soaps take at least six months to biodegrade in soil. Soap cannot biodegrade in water.

All soaps, including biodegradable soap, dissolve the protective layers of fish and natural oils in the gills, making fish more susceptible to diseases. Soaps also lower the oxygen levels in water suffocating fish. Soaps in water also create the perfect conditions for algae blooms that cause local lake beach closures.

Car wash fundraising in Bellevue

In-person parking lot Car Wash Fundraisers are no longer recommended or supported by the City of Bellevue due to harmful soaps and cleaners which end up on our streets, in storm drains and our greater stormwater system. Any water and pollution on our city’s streets is washed into storm drains that lead directly to streams where water flows unfiltered into Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish.

Selling tickets to commercial car washes for Car Wash Fundraisers is a popular environmentally friendly alternative. Commercial car washes capture dirty wash water sending it through the sewer system where it’s treated at the wastewater treatment plant. Ticket sales can happen anytime of the year, and groups are not limited to a single day of fundraising.

Some local commercial car washes will sell bulk discounted tickets to select groups for fundraising use. Some hands-on bay car washes will allow a stall/bay rental for a fundraising day. Contact local car washing facilities directly for options.

What does the law say?

Bellevue Municipal Code 24.06.125 protects water quality for all of us with rules about keeping all types of pollution out of our storm drains and stormwater system. Including: petroleum products, including but not limited to oil, gasoline, grease, fuel oil and heating oil; chemicals; soaps, including biodegradable soaps, detergents, or ammonia; heated water; degreasers and/or solvents; chemicals not normally found in uncontaminated water.

Property owners, businesses, and/or responsible parties of code violations may be subject to enforcement and penalties per Bellevue Municipal Code 24.06.130.

What does this law mean?

This means it’s against the law to wash your vehicle and let the dirty soapy wash water run into the street, storm drains or stormwater system. In addition, you may be fined if you are polluting.

More car care for local clean streams and lakes

Don’t Drip and Drive: Fixing a leak right away will save you from a more significant repair later and keep oil and other car fluids out of local streams and lakes.
Don’t Wait to Inflate: Keeping your tires properly inflated will improve your gas milage, reduce wear on your tires and protect local salmon. A chemical in tires called 6PPDQ is toxic to aquatic species and lethal to salmon fry. Rainwater picks up tire dust and particles where it goes unfiltered and untreated into our local streams, then to Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish, and eventually to the greater Salish Sea.

Report 24-Hour Emergencies and Utilities Maintenance

Please call our 24/7 425-452-7840 hotline for flooding, water main breaks, sewer overflows and pollutant spills.

Travel Advisory: Lake Hills Blvd Closure

Washing Cars in Bellevue