Car-Wash Water Recycling Loops Show PFAS Buildup and Periodic Discharge to Sewers

Car washes using closed-loop water systems are collecting PFAS and sending them into municipal wastewater systems on a regular basis

Tuesday, September 9, 2025 - Many businesses that wash cars have switched to closed-loop recycling systems that reuse water several times as towns try to save water. This seems like a long-term fix, yet it's causing an unanticipated problem: PFAS buildup. These forever chemicals build up in the tanks that hold recycled water over time. They are present in surfactants, waxes, cleaning products, and even automobile coatings. When the system is full or needs to be cleaned, concentrated PFAS can be sent straight into the municipal wastewater systems. PFAS chemicals go through the system and pollute water sources downstream because most wastewater treatment plants can't get rid of them. PFAS water cancer lawyers are paying attention to this growing concern. They say that towns that are affected may file PFAS water cancer legal cases once they learn how prevalent this problem has become. Water utility officials say that these occasional releases can raise PFAS levels in ways that are hard to find with regular tests. When done hundreds or thousands of times at vehicle wash locations, even minor emissions can add up to detectable PFAS pollution in the environment.

In a 2023 technical advisory, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) said that vehicle washes are often overlooked sources of PFAS pollution in city water systems. The warning said that recycled wastewater often has more than one PFAS molecule in it, including PFOS and PFOA, which are two of the most dangerous and long-lasting types. Water can be utilized again and again in recycling systems, sometimes dozens or even hundreds of times, before it is partially or completely drained. The concentrations of the pollutants go up a lot with each reuse, far higher than what is seen in one-time discharges. When this water is finally let out into the sewers, it is too much for city systems to handle. Because car washes aren't usually considered industrial dischargers, they don't have to follow the same rules or do the same things to prepare for treatment that factories or chemical plants do. This lack of regulation lets PFAS-rich water flow through city infrastructure without being identified. The bulletin also said that PFAS could settle into sludge, which could then be sprayed on farmland as biosolids, making the contamination cycle longer. Some communities have started testing granular activated carbon (GAC) or ion-exchange filtering on car wash effluent, but the costs are still exorbitant and not many people are using them.

If nothing is done about this problem, it might become a major source of PFAS exposure for cities that are already having trouble with water safety. As more people learn about PFAS, businesses like car washes may have to reveal more about how they use the chemicals and improve their systems. Cities and towns may also rethink how these facilities are allowed and watched over, which could mean using new treatment methods or banning the use of cleaning products that contain PFAS.

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