4 Examples of When To Use a Self-Serve Car Wash

You can probably find a self-serve car wash in just about every city or smaller town.  Self-serve car washes are ideal in Minnesota, especially in more rural areas like Milaca or other cities in Central MN, since there are numerous dirt roads that cause a lot of dust, mud and snow to pile up on your vehicle, and, automatic washes are not the answer.  Plus, in MN, you can’t take a hose to your vehicle most of the year.  Keeping our vehicles clean in MN is somewhat of an on-going challenge.   Thankfully there are manual car washes where you can clean every vehicle you have to help maintain the value of your expensive assets.  Plus, they are a lot easier to use then you may think too!  Below are four great examples of when and why to use a DIY car wash.

Thick Layer of Dirt on Your Vehicle

All that dust that accumulates does not necessarily wash off your car in an automatic wash if it’s thick and plastered on your vehicle.  Plus, you risk scratching your car or truck if you take a vehicle with a lot of dirt into an automatic wash.  The dirt and fine gravel can get caught in the brushes and scrape the side of your car.  The brushes are watered down during the wash, however, if you have a lot of dirt or mud on your car or truck when you drive in, some of the dirt gets stuck to the brushes before the water can wash it down.  You should never use an automatic car wash if you have more than just dust on your car or truck.

Bunch of Snow or Ice on Your Vehicle

Another important time to use the manual car wash is in the winter when you have snow and ice on your vehicle, trailer, Ice Castle or RV.  Taking a vehicle into an automatic wash with a lot of snow and ice is as risky as one with a lot of dirt.  As you know, it takes ice a while to melt even if you blast warm water on it.  A lot of the time the ice is stuck to runner boards on trucks, on the tops of cars and on the bumpers.  Most automatic car washes do not have enough water pressure to blast all the ice off your car before the brushes start spinning.  You do not want to brush hard ice off your vehicle – you will end up brushing the ice into your paint finish.  Also, contrary to what most people think, most automatic car washes do not use hot water.  Imagine how much water you would need to heat, with a hot water heater in the back room, to wash one car after another in hot water.  Plus, the cost to heat all that water would drive up the cost of a wash considerably.  The temperature in most automatic car washes is only room temperature (about 70 degrees).  If you have some ice or a bunch of snow on your car or truck, don’t cut corners and make the mistake of taking your vehicle through an automatic wash.  Choose to manually wash off all the ice and snow in a self-serve wash instead.  At the very least, wash off all the ice and snow in the manual wash and then you can run your car through the automatic wash after that if you prefer.

Own a Vehicle You Cannot Take Through an Automatic Car Wash

Obviously, if you need to wash an oversized truck, shuttle van, delivery truck, boat, RV, camper, motorhome, 4x4s, side-by-side, motorcycle, boat or Ice Castle, the manual wash is a perfect place to wash those!  Not all manual car washes are large enough to house the larger vehicles however.  Unfortunately, the large format self serve car and truck washes are few and far between.  We are so pleased to be able to provide a wash bay large enough for all these vehicles at Dusty’s.  At Dusty’s Car Wash, the entrance and exit doors of the self-serve wash bay are 13’2” high and 12’0” wide.  Also, there are two wash bays that are tandem, meaning they are front to back, so the total wash bay area is 60 feet long!  You can get pretty much any RV, motorhome or truck in the manual wash bay area.

You Want to Wash Every Inch of Your Car

Do you get frustrated when you take your car through an automatic wash and there is still some dirt on the back of the vehicle, especially in the indented areas in back?  Well, unfortunately, that is pretty normal.  The reason automatic car washes struggle to get all the nooks and crannies clean is because automatic car wash brushes and machines are designed to put only a certain amount of pressure on the vehicles since the machines are trying to wash everything between a “smart car” and a extra long full ton pick-up truck.  Essentially, no set of brushes can fit the back of every shape and size vehicle.  Trust us, we have researched and looked at most car wash machines out there and they all struggle with that.  Maybe someday someone will design a machine that can tackle every square inch of your car, but, not today.  Until then, if you take your vehicle to a manual wash, there are high pressure wash and rinse and scrub brushes that will allow you to safely clean every crevice.

Regardless of what type of vehicle(s) you own, it is really important to keep your car, truck , trailer, boat, RV, etc. clean to help maintain their value.  Dirt, salt, bird dropping, sap and all the other elements that land on your vehicle are all corrosive and can cause rust and wear down the vehicle’s protective coating.  It is wise to wash your vehicles fairly regularly regardless of if they are being driven or sitting in a garage collecting dust.

If you are in the area, swing into Dusty’s off Hwy 169 and Hwy 23 in Milaca and check out the Self-Serve wash.  There is plenty of room to maneuver in and out of the extra tall and long wash bays.  Also, there is terrific water pressure and all the soaps, wax and protectant that you will need.  We even offer towels in the vending machine to wipe down your vehicle after your suburb wash.

Dusty’s Car and Pet Wash is open 7 days a week from 4AM to midnight. For more information, give us a call at (320) 362-3162 or visit our website. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see what’s happening at Dusty’s.