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How does an automatic car wash compare to other car wash options?

Home » Car Maintenance » Automatic Car Washes » How does an automatic car wash compare to other car wash options?

Automatic car washes are popular, but they are by no means the only option for cleaning your car. The other three primary car wash options are: hand-washing your car at home, self-service car washes, and full-service car washes.

• Car Wash by Hand: Have you ever spent a Saturday in the driveway with a sponge, soap, a garden hose, and a bucket? This method is enjoyable and, depending on your water bill, may save you money. In addition, you can more adequately clean your car because of your eye for detail. On the other hand, most rags and sponges will actually scratch the paint over time and the garden hose won’t actually get rid of all the dirt. In addition, except for high-pressure washes, automatic car washes use only half as much water as you do letting the hose run at home. In addition, you’re putting detergents and chemicals directly into your local sewer whereas automatic car washes have to properly dispose of chemicals.
• Self-Service Car Wash: A self-service car wash has open bays with coin-operated pressure sprayers and foaming brushes. These are easy to use and less expensive than are automatic car washes, but they are less convenient and put the pressure on you to hit every spot.
• Full-Service Car Wash: Many full-service car washes have an automatic car wash but go far beyond washing your car. The car wash itself is the same as a traditional automatic car wash, but after the car wash employees manually dry your car and clean, vacuum, and perhaps even detail the interior. These extras are very nice, but they make full-service car washes fairly expensive.

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