At Rocket Express Car Wash, we get asked a lot about what makes our wash different from others in Littleton, Dakota Ridge, and Morrison. Sure, we’ve got the fast tunnel wash and free vacuums that people love. But there’s something happening behind the scenes that we’re genuinely proud of: we recycle 100% of our wash water.
That’s not a typo. Every single drop of water we use gets reclaimed, treated, and put back to work. For a family-owned car wash serving the 80127 area, this kind of investment in water conservation might seem unusual. But here’s the thing: we think it should be the standard. Colorado’s water resources matter, and so does giving you a quality wash without the environmental guilt.
Let us walk you through exactly how our water recycling system works, what technology makes it possible, and why it results in a better wash for your car.
Why Water Recycling Matters in the Car Wash Industry
Here’s something that might surprise you: washing your car at home typically uses between 60 and 120 gallons of fresh water. That’s water running down your driveway, picking up oil, soap, and grime, and heading straight into storm drains. None of it gets treated. None of it gets reused.
At our facility, we use just 18 gallons of fresh water per wash. The rest? It’s reclaimed water that’s been filtered and treated to meet quality standards.
Water recycling in the car wash industry isn’t just about being “green” (though that’s a nice bonus). It’s about:
- Reducing freshwater demand in a state where water is increasingly precious
- Lowering the environmental impact of runoff that would otherwise carry pollutants into local waterways
- Maintaining wash quality without compromising on results
- Keeping costs reasonable so we can pass savings on to customers
For residents in Littleton and the surrounding communities, water conservation hits close to home. We’ve all seen the drought conditions and water restrictions that come with living in Colorado. When you choose a car wash that recycles its water, you’re making a small choice that adds up to a big difference.
The car wash industry has actually become a leader in water reclamation technology over the past decade. And at Rocket Express, we’ve invested in the best systems available to make sure we’re doing our part right here in the 80127 zip code.
The Water Reclamation Process Explained
So how does water recycling actually work in a car wash? It’s more sophisticated than you might think, and the technology has come a long way from the early days of simple settling tanks.
Collection and Filtration Systems
Every wash at our facility starts the same way. Water, soap, and whatever dirt and grime comes off your vehicle flows into collection drains throughout the wash bay. This “used” water contains everything from road salt and mud to brake dust and pollen.
The first step is physical filtration. Our system uses multiple stages to remove solid particles. Think of it like a really advanced version of the filter in a swimming pool, except it’s handling much dirtier water and needs to work much faster.
We use a 5-micron filtration process. To put that in perspective, a human hair is about 70 microns wide. Our filters catch particles more than 14 times smaller than that. This removes virtually all the visible contaminants and a lot of the stuff you can’t see.
Treatment and Purification Methods
Filtration alone isn’t enough. The water also needs treatment to remove odors, bacteria, and dissolved contaminants that could affect wash quality or create unpleasant smells.
We use the PurWater Recovery system from New Wave Industries, which is specifically designed for car wash applications. This system doesn’t just filter water: it treats it to produce odor-free, clean water that’s suitable for every stage of the wash process.
The result is water that performs just as well as fresh water in the wash tunnel. Your car doesn’t know the difference, and neither will you. What you will notice is a clean, spot-free finish that rivals any wash using 100% fresh water.
Technology Behind the Closed-Loop System
Let’s get a bit more specific about the equipment we’re using, because the technology really is the backbone of our water recycling program.
Our facility runs on two primary systems from New Wave Industries: the PurWater Reclaim System and the PurClean Spot-Free Rinse System. These work together to create what’s essentially a closed-loop water cycle.
The PurWater Recovery system is engineered to reduce water and sewer usage by as much as 85%. It produces that 5-micron quality water we mentioned earlier, and it does so without creating the odor problems that plagued older reclaim systems. If you’ve ever been to a car wash that smelled like a swamp, you know what we’re talking about. That’s not an issue here.
The PurClean Spot-Free Rinse system handles a different challenge. Hard water leaves spots on your car because of mineral deposits. Traditional solutions use water softeners, which create brine water as a byproduct. The PurClean system pre-treats water hardness without softeners, eliminating the brine and still giving you that spot-free finish you expect.
We also use wash equipment from Ryko Manufacturing, one of the leaders in the car wash industry. Their conveyor systems are designed to work efficiently with reclaimed water, so the whole operation runs smoothly from start to finish.
And here’s something else worth mentioning: our entire facility runs on solar power technology. So we’re not just conserving water: we’re minimizing our carbon footprint across the board. When you pull into Rocket Express Car Wash near Littleton or Dakota Ridge, you’re visiting one of the most environmentally responsible car washes in the region.
Environmental and Community Impact
Water recycling isn’t just about what happens inside our facility. It has real effects on the community around us in Littleton, Morrison, and the broader 80127 area.
Let’s start with the numbers. A busy car wash can process hundreds of vehicles per day. If each of those washes used 60-100 gallons of fresh water (like a home wash), we’d be consuming an enormous amount of a limited resource. By recycling our wash water and using only 18 gallons of fresh water per vehicle, we’re reducing our freshwater consumption by roughly 70-80%.
Over the course of a year, that adds up to millions of gallons saved.
But there’s more to it than just water volume. When you wash your car at home, all that dirty water runs off into the street. It flows into storm drains, which in most areas (including ours) empty directly into local waterways without treatment. That means soap, oil, heavy metals from brake dust, and other contaminants end up in creeks and rivers.
Professional car washes like ours are required to capture and treat our wastewater. Our reclaim system ensures that contaminants are filtered out before the water is either reused or properly discharged. It’s a much cleaner process for the environment.
For families in Dakota Ridge and Morrison who care about protecting Colorado’s natural beauty, this matters. The foothills and open spaces we love depend on clean water systems. Choosing where you wash your car is one small way to help protect them.
We also reduce sewer usage significantly. The PurWater system can cut sewer discharge by up to 85%, which means less strain on municipal wastewater treatment facilities. That’s good for the community and helps keep utility costs down for everyone.
How Water Quality Is Maintained for Every Wash
Here’s the question people really want answered: if you’re recycling water, how do you make sure my car actually gets clean?
It’s a fair question. Early water reclaim systems had problems. The recycled water sometimes smelled bad, left residue, or just didn’t clean as effectively as fresh water. Those systems gave water recycling a bad reputation that took years to shake off.
Modern systems like the ones we use are completely different. The 5-micron filtration we mentioned earlier removes particles small enough that the water is essentially clear and pure. The treatment process eliminates odors and bacteria. The result is water that meets high quality standards for car washing.
We monitor our water quality continuously to ensure consistency. If something goes wrong with the reclaim system, we know immediately. And because we still use fresh water for certain parts of the wash process (like the final rinse), you get the benefits of recycled water efficiency without any compromise on results.
The PurClean Spot-Free Rinse system deserves special mention here. Spots on your car after a wash are usually caused by minerals in hard water. Colorado has notoriously hard water, which is why a lot of car washes struggle with spotting. Our system pre-treats the water to remove those minerals, so you drive away with a genuinely spot-free finish.
What does this mean for you as a customer? It means you can feel good about choosing an environmentally responsible car wash without wondering if you’re sacrificing quality. You’re not. The wash is excellent, the water is clean, and your car looks great.
We’ve been serving Littleton and the surrounding communities long enough to know that our customers have high standards. People in this area take care of their vehicles, and they notice when a car wash doesn’t deliver. Our water recycling system lets us meet those standards while doing right by the environment.
Conclusion
Water is precious in Colorado, and we don’t take it for granted. At Rocket Express Car Wash, recycling 100% of our wash water isn’t a marketing gimmick. It’s how we’ve chosen to operate because it’s the right thing to do for our community in Littleton, Dakota Ridge, Morrison, and throughout the 80127 area.
The technology we’ve invested in, from the PurWater Reclaim System to the PurClean Spot-Free Rinse System, lets us deliver a high-quality wash while using just 18 gallons of fresh water per vehicle. Compare that to the 60-120 gallons you’d use washing at home, and the difference is clear.
We’re a family-owned business, and we plan to be here for a long time. That means thinking about the future, not just today’s bottom line. Our solar-powered facility and closed-loop water system reflect that commitment.
If you’re looking for a car wash that delivers great results and respects the environment, we’d love to see you. Stop by Rocket Express Car Wash and experience the difference for yourself. Your car will look fantastic, and you’ll know you made a choice that matters for Colorado’s water future.