New Eco-Friendly Car Wash Now Open

The Bay Area has always been known for its progressiveness, and its innovative new startups.

Now, adding to the myriad environmentally-friendly businesses popping up in Redwood City this year is the new Eco Green Auto Clean car wash.

Eco Green Auto Clean is an environmentally friendly car wash service established in 2012. Located at El Camino Real and Dumbarton Avenue near the Atherton border, this innovative car wash company provides services priced at $14.99 and up and cleans cars using a technique that is gentler on the environment than the average wash.

The company's hand-wash service has nine different formulas for cleaning the cars. The formulas are unique in that they strip the dirt from the car, as opposed to just washing it around with regular water. Once the dirt has been stripped, it is wiped away with a cloth, and coated with a protective layer of silicone to give the car a freshly-waxed look.

“Eco Green Auto Clean wants everybody to be aware that conserving water is a serious necessity,” said founder Anton Van Happen. “Eco Green Auto Clean's services need to meet the expectations of our customers for cleaning their cars without using synthetic chemicals.”

Every year thousands of gallons of toxins such as oil, gasoline, and other chemicals are dumped into sewers. These sewers are direct transports to the world’s water supply and the pollution that this causes is detrimental to the environment, Van Happen says.

“By using our Green Auto Wash, you are saving up to 50 gallons of water that would otherwise just go to waste,” said Van Happen.

With record-breaking droughts in many parts of the world, fresh drinking water is a precious commodity, he added.

“Eco Green Auto Clean is committed to take action against this cause,” said Van Happen. “Fresh water is more importantly needed for drinking and keeping the environment healthy. Eco Green Auto Clean wants to make sure that there is a future for our children, with drinking water.”

The philosophy behind Eco Green Auto Clean is simple - using products that are free of harmful chemicals, and maintaining the highest quality standards by ensuring Eco Green Auto Clean's products are more effective than their traditional counterparts.

The atmosphere at the car wash is another innovative quality that the company offers.

“We’re trying to make it more exclusive. It should feel like a lounge,” said Van Happen. The waiting lounge is already equipped with modern art, a comfortable sitting area and suave lounge music, and Van Happen plans on putting in a beverage bar in the near future.

“When you start something these days, it’s going to be a lifestyle,” said Van Happen.

The ultimate goal of the Eco Green Auto Clean is to open physical locations in cities for customers to try out the products, and eventually move to apartment complexes and office buildings where patrons will pay a monthly fee to have their cars washed once a week.

Van Happen explained, many disregard environmentally friendly products with the common misconception of the quality being sub-par to regular merchandise. This, however, is not true, he said.

“My car looks 10 times better than when I take it to a normal car wash - it's shinier, and all the black trim looks darker instead of bleached out,” said customer Jessie V. “I only did the exterior today, but will definitely do the interior next time! Another plus was the price - only 19 dollars for my SUV.”

So, as the Bay Area strives to be greener, Van Happen and the staff of Eco Green Auto Clean hopes locals will do their part to save water and prevent the dumping of toxic chemicals into the sewers, by getting their cars washed at Eco Green Auto Clean. 

Does this sound like a business you would go to, to get your car cleaned? Tell us what you think of it in the comments below.

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