Cars

Remember the times washing your car used to be such a tiresome chore? For those who could not bear to indulge in this work, the neighborhood odd job man or the automated car wash was the answer. Neither guaranteed quality service as the handy man worked to his own pace and the early car washes were, in reality, ‘paint strippers’ on account of using hard mechanical brushes. Since the early beginnings in the 1950s automated carwashes have come a long way. You have self service coin operated, ‘in bay or tunnel washes as the basic options to choose from. The brushes are better and gentler on your car skins and the detergents used are not as corrosive. A Self service car wash utilizes slot machines for payment of services to be used. Then the driver had to personally use the various appliances for a time duration determined by the number of coins inserted. In the ‘In bay’ variety, the car remains stationery and the brushes, jets and dryers move over the car. In a tunnel system the car moves on a conveyor belt, on either side of which, are fitted the various brushes, water jets and dryers.

A popular variation of an automated car wash are the Bikini Car wash, a sure fire crowd puller. Bikini clad girls do their thing and wash the cars for your viewing pleasure, a sure fire financial success. Hollywood played an important part in popularizing this ‘art form’ through the movie ‘Bikini Carwash Company’. Bikini carwash events are also organized to raise funds for a social cause. Indeed car wash has come a long way in its evolution from a stand alone activity to a community fundraiser event.