Newport company cleans your car using a glass of water

November 9th, 2009, 9:37 am · 10 Comments · posted by Ian Hamilton

Pierrick Bouquet’s business pitch is simple: “We clean your car like pros with just a glass of H2O.”

He picked Newport Beach to base his business, Ecolo Green Car Wash, which launches officially today.

Ecolo comes to several business parks in Irvine throughout the week and workers can pay to have their car washed for $17 for a basic outside hand wash and $20 for both inside and outside, though larger vehicles may cost more. Hybrid cars get a $3 discount. The company also sells a line of cleaning products that come in spray bottles that, according to Bouquet, are made from the same kind of plastic as water bottles so they can be recycled as such. Bouquet also says the cleaning solution is environmentally safe and biodegradable.

So why a green car wash? Without a spray nozzle on the end, a standard garden hose might pass through 10 gallons of water each minute, so a 10 minute long car wash can spend 100 gallons of water. If you’re one of these people using a hose without a nozzle you should probably feel guilty about single-handedly destroying the Earth. A nozzle drastically improves water preservation, but not anywhere close to the eight ounces of water Bouquet promises to use for a wash.

Ecolo also sells a line of car, tire and fabric cleaning solutions so you can clean your car at home.

If you’re a visual person, here’s a video of Bouquet making a video pitch:

And a quick demo of Bouquet showing how it works:

We’ve got an Ecolo sample kit which includes two fresh towels and bottles of the car, fabric and tire solutions that I’ll be giving away randomly to a commenter on this post. Make sure you sign up to comment with a real email address so I can contact you if you win.

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ev says:

November 9, 2009 at 12:34 pm

Being green isn’t easy, nor is it cheap. But for $20 for a full wash that is mobile, that is competitive. The guy that comes to our office and washes cars charges $20 and uses a pressure washer from a tank. This is more work to do the same job for $20 because it is by hand cleaning - but the payoff is big; hopefully more clients, and definitely better for the environment. Keep up the goodwork!

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LV says:

November 9, 2009 at 3:42 pm

Wonderful! This is just what California needs! We waste so much water and we are not even conscious of it. The price is very competitive. I would rather have my car wash less times, but do it this eco friendly way than continue to use the regular car wash and continue to waste so much water.

Aaron Cirilo says:

November 9, 2009 at 5:55 pm

This is excellent and I think he picked a great place to start!! I recommended to the current person who has a car wash service coming to our corporate park that she check them out and maake a switch to save the earth!!!

bpsqwerty says:

November 10, 2009 at 2:57 pm

$3 discount for hybrid cars? silly. nobody’s going to buy a different kind of car just to get $3 off a car wash, and they’re not really saving the earth either with all those batteries that will become chemical waste.

Scott C says:

November 12, 2009 at 10:53 am

The $3 discount for hybrids is due to the companies environmental service/products, and no one is expected to go out and exchange their vehicle for one, come on!!
Before they came about, I would not wash my vehicle for long periods of time in order to save water. Now I use their service at our business in Lake Forest, and for having a shiny black vehicle, they do a great job.
Even if it wasn’t perfect, (which is what you’ll get when you go to one of those do-it-yourself car washes) I would still use their service because it’s the issue of taking one more step towards being environmentally conscious in our daily habits.

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Vasile Ghidon says:

November 10, 2009 at 3:20 pm

Isn’t there an ultrasonic waterless alternative available?

goldenbear says:

November 11, 2009 at 1:00 am

california is very behind the ball on being "green". this service has existed elsewhere for years at least.

Chris says:

November 12, 2009 at 6:30 pm

It is a great concept! It really is a great way for everyone to help save water when washing your car, especially in California in how it barely rains each year and how we are constantly being asked to conserve water. The only question I have with washing a car with a glass of water is if it will leave scratch marks on the paint from all the dust and dirt that collects when a car becomes extremely dirty and is in need of a wash. Other than that, I am for having my car washed with less water usage because when we all do something small like using less water to wash a car, it all adds up to helping preserve our planet.

Heather says:

November 14, 2009 at 9:12 am

sounds like a great business. maybe others will catch on. I’m sure it will be a success.

Don Field says:

November 20, 2009 at 2:38 pm

Looks like an interesting product that I may try. Thanks for the word about it.

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