Water Usage in Washing Cars

Your article on the use of carwashes as a water-saving measure quoted one carwash owner as using about 15 1/2 gallons of water per car washed (“Liquid Assets: Carwashes Reap a Bounty From Drought, Medfly,” Metro, May 30). The article compared that consumption to an “average” car washer at home using upwards of 50 gallons per wash, “even if he’s careful and uses a bucket and hose with a shut-off valve.”

These statements got me to test my own water consumption, using a bucket and shut-off hose. I timed the water I used to wash a four-door sedan, and then duplicated the process in a measured container. I repeated the test three times, and try as hard as I could, I did not exceed 3 1/2 gallons per wash.

Are we getting a “water job” (too warm for snow), or what? The water department should instruct individuals on how to wash a car properly. An insert in next month’s billing might do.

DAVID H. MORGAN

Pacific Palisades