I have to be honest. I like to drive my car, and it gets bonus points if it is clean and shiny - one of the reasons that carwashes dot the landscape of the US. While many still wash their own car, there are times you just cannot beat the convenience of it. The very first car wash was opened up in 1914 in Detroit, Michigan. They called the Automated Laundry. The rest is history.
Today is #MarketFriday initiated by @dswigle (Denise, that's me!!) Join me as we share our markets across the globe. It is amazing to see the different markets and cultures of our friends here on Hive. Going shopping or gaining entry to a museum, zoo, or park where you pay a fee? Take us with you!
A Few Facts about Detroit
Regarded as a major cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music and as a repository for art, architecture, and design, along with its historical automotive background.
It's dubbed the Motor City for a reason. Detroit was home to the first mile of concrete highway, the first four-way three-color traffic light, and the world's first urban freeway. It's also the site of the Detroit Windsor Tunnel, the first traffic tunnel between two nations. And obviously, because I just told you, the first carwash.
First things first. Splash & Dash Car Wash is where one goes when your car needs a little bit of pampering done, especially when the long winter is done. I don't know about you, but, getting the salt off the undercarriage is easier said than done. Drive right up to the menu and see what they have to offer. Don't forget to look for coupons in all the regular places, mailed coupons, Groupon, and probably a few online sites that give out coupons. If you get the XTREME Exterior Unlimited Wash Plan, it is a monthly price, but, you can come back every day if you want. I treated my car with a free coupon. I had the coupon and I was going to be hiking the AP, so I would be West of home. It worked out well. They have them all over, so it is usually pretty accomodating.
These are the self-service vacuums where you can do the inside of your car that has a vacuum that will suck up beach sand from five feet away. Just kidding, I think it is only up to three feet. You can save a lot of money doing it instead of using their detail service.
What is the detail service? Glad you asked! A detail shop is another part of the carwash that offers many services or finishing touches They can hand wash your car, hand wax and buff it, steam clean your seats, polish the chrome, Wipe the knobs, buttons, polish the dash, spray the floor mats, and many other services. You can see below they are giving the car "the works" making it look almost new again.
Step right up, and pay the lady! She will put a colored X on your car after you tell her what you want to be done. This will identify which service you are getting and the next station will take care of your needs. Sit tight and stay in the car. We are getting a drive-through edition.
Driving your car to the entrance, an attendant directs you to position yourself to a spot that has a conveyor track. It latches onto your drivers-side tire, and you are directed to put the car in neutral and let the conveyor guide you through a tunnel. Woo-hoo! Let's go!
There are rollers that come up behind the wheel when it is on the conveyor. Front-wheel pull pushes it through the tunnel, stopping momentarily through each station. Above is a prewash station, soaping up the different areas of the car and scrubbing the tires with a brush. I know there is a set of infrared sensors that sense the car's presence and measures how long the car is, so it can properly service it.
These arches serve as stations to dispense soap, cleaners, and even wax. This has a piece of equipment close to the ground called tire applicators. These spray the tires with a solution that removes brake dust and cleaning up the tire in general.
Long strips of soft cloth move over the car in a circular motion, rubbing and loosening dirt and debris. As you are moving along, it stops along the way for more cleaning treatments. These are a set of scrubbers, working the entire car to loosen the dirt.
The foam applicator is the fun part. Ask any kid! The foam is created by mixing a chemical cleaner, with water. There is a place where the foam has a coloring agent in it. I must say this is my favorite part!
STOP!! BRAIN TEASER AHEAD!!
Question:You are in a room that has three switches and a closed door. The switches control three light bulbs on the other side of the door. Once you open the door, you may never touch the switches again. How can you definitively tell which switch is connected to each of the light bulbs?
source
Answer: Turn on the first two switches. Leave them on for five minutes. Once five minutes have passed, turn off the second switch, leaving one switch on. Now go through the door. The light that is still on is connected to the first switch. Whichever of the other two is warm to the touch is connected to the second switch. The bulb that is cold is connected to the switch that was never turned on.
Many commercial car washes are safer for the environment than when we wash it ourselves. If I wash it, all the water goes where? Perhaps a storm drain? On the commercial side, they trap the drain, stopping the chemicals from contaminations. They are then removed from there to do the water treatment plan.
Another set of noodles coming up and the rinsing arch. It is a highly effective method for cleaning. Somewhere around here, there are undercarriage cleaners to wash the salt and grime from your undercarriage. In the winter they use salt, which may deteriorate your car, the station sprays upward, cleaning it from the ravages of winter. To be fair, we didn't have snow, but, they sprinkled salt anyway. What you are seeing is the car's camera showing what it looks like outside.
Yes, please! Here comes the wax arch. Wax me, baby! Make me shine! Forming a water-resistant coating. This wax was made to work on glass, chrome and the metal surfaces of the car, unlike the hand-done wax jobs.
Do you see the heating arches? They blow the care dry, very effectively. As you can see from the person ahead of me, they hand towel dry the cars off.
You come out of the tunnel, the device pulls you off the track and all is well with the world. I come to a full stop and put the car in drive and continue to the drying station.
It was a little awkward trying to get her picture, but, this is the best I could get. She did a fine job!! It still looks nice.!
Rules of the Road
Go to the market, or anywhere that you pay money for a service.
Take pictures! Be creative (or not, we don't judge!)
Tell us a little bit about the market, what brought you here?
Post the picture(s)
Use the MarketFriday Community Platform to post #hive-196308
Or drop the link into the MarketFriday post so I can find it
Have fun!
Please leave the link to your post here so it can easily be found by others. It helps you and me to have them in one place. Where else can you take such a quick trip around the globe? Thank you so much for joining us!! ❤
As always, there must be flowers to color my world. #alwaysaflower
And just like that, this post is done. I hope you had a good time and learned a little something new. As always, I want to thank you for taking the time to visit, and just remember, #MarketFriday loves you! Thank you for supporting the challenge! Have a most fabulous day! Cheers!!
I have been discovering new places, every day! I love to share and be shared with you! I am intrigued by different cultures. It is exciting and yes! I would love to see you! Don't forget to take photos wherever you happen to be shopping - whether it be the grocery store, the local marketplace, or even an art gallery, a kite festival! Wherever money is exchanged for a service or for merchandise. Be different if you wish! It does not have to be a traditional market! We will love it! Don't forget to use the Market Friday Community, or hashtag #MarketFriday and @dswigle.
Even though many places have been cleared to carry on as normal, please wear a mask when you go out and use proper social distancing.
Thank you for visiting my post 💖 Don't ever forget what an amazing world we live in, people. Some days, it is not so easy to see, how truly wonderful it really is. Always remember, kindness counts. Wherever you go, whatever you do.
#TeamUSA is a growing community of quality-content people from the United States or those living here. Check us out on Discord!
