Updated 03/02/2008 12:06 PM

Pressure washers fight drought woes

By: Deborah Tuff

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RALEIGH -- The Power Washers Network of the Carolina's say they want to set the record straight.

"We are stewards of the environment, we are stewards of the water and we are responsible business people," said business owner Peter Marentay.

Marentay drove from Summerville, South Carolina to attend a PWNC meeting in Raleigh.

With the drought forcing many cities like Raleigh into water restrictions, pressure washers say it’s wearing on their business.

"People don't understand that we can bring our water from other sources," said Ralph Moore who owns a pressure washing business just outside of Zebulon but does most of his work in the Capital City.

The Power Washers Network of the Carolina's say they want to set the record straight.
Sources like recycled water and well water, as well as low-flow water spickets.

"We can wash an entire house with as little as 200 gallons of water. We specialize in developing these techniques. This is something we developed over the last 10 or 15 years," continued Marentay.

And by using these techniques, pressure washers say they don't need to borrow from the dwindling supply of water in the state's most drought-stricken cities.

But they say in order to stay afloat -- what they need to do is to educate the public. Pressure washers say they've made attempts to work with cities in the Triangle to no avail. They've even been physically threatened by residents who believe they are wasting water.