Going to the Car Wash

Driving down the street, we see dozens of car washes.  Some are completely full service, some are completely self service, and some are a mixture of the two.   One would think that all car washes would be the same, but I have found that there are definitely some car washes that are worth driving a little out-of-the-way.

Typically, I prefer to wash our cars by hand at home, but this summer's heat and being pregnant has caused me to prefer to use a car wash so I can get the job done more quickly. 

We have found the Little Joe's Self-Service car washes to be affordable while still having the needed water pressure to properly clean the cars.  The car wash located on 21st St N between Ridge and Tyler is our favorite one to go to.  Since we tend to do most of our shopping on the west side of town, it is usually on the way to another location so we do not have to waste a trip just to wash one of the vehicles. 

The car wash is maintained well and it only costs $1.50 to begin the wash.  They provide a timer so we know how much time we have left to wash the car and it allows users to add extra quarters to add more time.  They also have covered bays for vacuuming the car that are off to the side of the car washes so that the people vacuuming and drying the cars are not in the way of people who want to wash their cars.  I do not vacuum my car there very often, but the last time I did, I think it only cost 50 or 75 cents and their vacuums have proper suction to really clean up all the sand and dirt.

Not too long ago, I went to a car wash near my parents house since I was right there and did not want to drive to another location to wash the car.  That car wash charged $1 to use the vacuum and it hardly had any suction at all.  Then it cost $2.00 to begin the car wash.  Their system also allowed the addition of more quarters for extra wash time, but it did not provide a timer and it also did not provide a warning beep to let the user know that time is about to run out.  I managed to get the car washed and rinsed with the quarters I put in, but I was not impressed with the results.  I felt that I had to rush through the process to make sure I did not have to add another $2.00.

There are a few car washes on the east side of town that we will use if we happen to be on that side of town and need to wash a vehicle, but by far, Little Joe's on W. 21st Street is our car wash of choice.