Car washes

[Thirteen]

The outside isn't so bad right now. The inside... eh.
White dog hair, hiking gear, dirt and mud - the trunk had something questionable in it that appears to have a smell? Ugh.
Time to clean out everything and scrub that bad boy.

[rainbabies]

I wash mine in the winter when it's warm
Enough, to remove the salt from the under side. In the summer...the rain. Its almost pointless...I live on a dirt road.

[MrsK]

DrK is compulsive about keeping the outside of the cars clean. However, the inside of his car looks as though someone may actually live in there -- discarded clothes, food wrapers, etc. It's gross. I'm compulsive about the inside of the car but since I cannot see the outside of the car when I'm in it, I rarely think about getting a car wash.

So, the other day I thought I'd do something nice for DrK and run his car through the carwash. He goes to some specialty place that I don't know but I figured that the gas station car wash was better than nothin'. Well, I got the car stuck in the carwash. I drove in, the door closed behind me, the machine soaped up the car, and then. . . silence. Nothing. I turned on the wipers and found that the carwash had stopped with part of the machine over the car and the door in the front of the carwash was open. I tried honking but no one heard me. I cautiously and quickly tried opening the window to push the machine off of the car but it was immovable. I was afraid to get out of the car because I didn't want to be trapped in there if the machine started again. I managed to back the car out from under the machine and manuver around it to get the car out. Then I parked in front of the gas station shop, marched up to the register, and in the most perky voice I could muster announced to the cashier "Hi! I'm MrsK and I just got trapped in your carwash. My car is the one out front that is covered in suds. . . " They were super nice about refunding my money but couldn't do anything to help me wash the soap off the car. The car ended up looking worse than it did before I attempted to wash it and DrK had to take it to his fancy-schmancy carwash after all. Fail.

Oh my god MrsK that story freaks me out!!! That is one of my irrational fears, getting stuck in a car wash. Just another reason I let my husband take them or I wash them by hand. When I was little my parents and big sisters had a special "carwash" song for me so they could successfully make it through the machine without me flipping out. As I got older I would just get out of the car and wait on the side. I'm a weirdo but your story proves it couldand does happen! Glad you're ok even if the car isn't clean

[MissCrabette]

That's so strange. Don't they have an attendant who directs you to pull the car up, put it in neutral, take your hands off the wheel, etc.? Someone should've heard you and turned the machine back on. Then again, I've only ever been to a dedicated car wash, not one attached to a gas station. Are they different? Scary stuff, anyway.

[v-girl]

The gas station washes are usually unattended and all automatic.

[MrsK]

That's so strange. Don't they have an attendant who directs you to pull the car up, put it in neutral, take your hands off the wheel, etc.? Someone should've heard you and turned the machine back on. Then again, I've only ever been to a dedicated car wash, not one attached to a gas station. Are they different? Scary stuff, anyway.

No, they only do that at the fancy schmancy carwash that DrK uses. At this one, you punch your "car wash code" into a little box at the entrance, drive in, and then put your car in park. The light turns green when it's done and you drive out.

[SoonerTexan]

Creepy! Reminds me of that scene from one of the Final Destinations