Power washers bash water rules

Owners say drought ban unfair, compare work to hair salons, car washes

GARNER -- Add power washers to the stream of businesses feeling beleaguered by the protracted drought and restrictions aimed at conserving water.

More than two dozen pressure washers gathered Saturday to talk about how to battle an image problem that has hampered their business. They say their work, blasting high-powered streams of water to clean building exteriors, construction sites and other outdoor places, is misunderstood as a waste of water.

Car washes, they complain, can use city water in Raleigh while they cannot.

"The pressure-washing industry was ... one of the first professions to have our livelihood restricted without anyone clearly understanding exactly how much we give to our cities and towns," Celeste Gothorp said at the first Power Washers Network of the Carolinas meeting. "Pressure washing should not be regarded as a luxury, but a necessity."

The business owners who met at Xterior Sales and Service agreed to call and e-mail legislators, city officials and others with a new spin on their industry.

Power washers, they say, remove graffiti that violent gangs use to communicate. They help keep streets and sidewalks clean and wash away mold and mildew that can lead to health problems.

"Does it affect your health to have dirt on your car?" Gothorp asked. "Is it a matter of safety to have your hair washed in a salon?"

A certification program adopted by Raleigh allows professional car washes to use up to 55 gallons of drinking water on a single vehicle. Power washers say an entire 2,000-square-foot house takes about 250 gallons to clean.

The power washers took jabs at Pepsi Bottling Ventures, which uses Raleigh city water in soda and Aquafina. They also complained that local governments had not expanded water resources to keep up with the boom in residential growth.

"The public just needs to be educated," said Edward Leigh, a power washer in Wake County.

Some washers put well-water signs on their trucks in communities where drinking water cannot be used. They assure customers they are not breaking rules when they arrive with well water or city water from such places as Cary, which has less severe restrictions.

Raleigh prohibits using potable water to wash sidewalks, patios, decks, driveways, parking lots, and buildings, except for soiled areas for the maintenance of public health and sanitary conditions.

Tougher water-use restrictions went into effect in Chapel Hill and Carrboro on Saturday, including a power-washing ban similar to Raleigh's.

Pressure washers say they think the government bans are misleading, because they don't note that some businesses truck in water drawn from wells or municipalities with no restrictions.

Although some municipalities have begun to offer reclaimed water -- or disinfected waste water -- as an option for some outdoor use, pressure washers say there are too many restrictions on where and how it can be used to help them much.

The power washers were so fed up they talked about calling all big rigs to circle through the capital in protest.