The car wash industry has been vigilant for years in protecting the
environment and providing customers with solutions that can help them
take care of their cars and stay green.

Here’s 5 environmental facts that you probably didn’t know about Professional Car Washes…

• After lawn watering, summer car washing produces the second largest
  demand for peak summer water use. It has been estimated that
  professional car washes use less than one tenth of one percent of the
  water used by a municipality daily.
• Many professional car washes use water reclamation systems to significantly reduce water usage.
• Professional car washes discharge their water into a separate
  sanitary sewer or treat and recycle it. Discharge is not emptied into
  storm drains. Most storm drains carry excess rainwater directly into
  nearby waterways without any additional cleaning of that water. Putting
  anything down a storm drain is the equivalent of dumping it straight
  into your local lake, river or steam.
• Many residents do not associate the effects of driveway washing
  with local water quality, and may be unaware that the pollutants that
  enter storm drains are not treated at plants before being discharged
  into local waters.
  Detergents, even the biodegradable ones, can
  have a toxic effect on a wide variety of marine life. For home car
  washing, use a bucket of water and dispose of the water in the sink (so
  that the water will be treated). Wash on a grassy area or other
  pervious porous surface such as gravel that can provide filtration
  layers for small discharges — and prevent travel into storm drains.
• If your organization is hosting a carwash fundraiser, consider
  using a local self-serve or commercial facility. Professional car wash
  facilities collect detergent and road grit from washing cars and
  dispose of it in a safe manner that protects our environment. “Charity
  car washing is no trivial matter. During a typical event between 2,000
  – 7,000 gallons of water are combined when soap, detergents, oil and
  grease, heavy metals and other pollutants, are washed down the storm
  drain. Water from these events typically runs into a storm drain that
  discharges directly into receiving waters.’ -  Natural Resources Defense Council, November 2002

Are you in the Central Kentucky Area?  If you are, that’s fantastic!  You’re just a little drive from the best Full Service Professional Car Wash in the State of Kentucky!  And you’ve got a chance to become a member of our Preferred Customer Program and receive a FREE Exterior Wash just for signing up!  Head on over and sign up today!

Your car has many enemies, some visible, some not so much. Emissions from industrial plants are released into the environment, where they are transformed into nitric or sulfuric acid. When deposited onto your car, in either a wet or a dry state, these contaminants can eat paint and, in extreme cases, metal.

Temperature accelerates the problem. Acid from bugs, bird droppings, tree sap and even leaves becomes more active when heated. Metal retains heat when sitting out in the sun, which in turn increases the chances that these irritants will cause permanent stains when left on your car.

And even though water is the best way to remove these contaminants, it can also trap them on metal surfaces if not removed itself, allowing oxidation to occur, which ultimately causes rust and corrosion. Sea or road salt exacerbates the problem by causing a chemical reaction that can accelerate pitting and rusting.

But all of these issues pale in comparison to time. The longer an offensive substance is left on your vehicle, the greater the probability and extent of damage.

So what, you say? A few war wounds on the surface on your car are endearing, right? Wrong! What it means to potential buyers — either through the resale market or a trade — in with a dealer — is that you didn’t maintain the vehicle properly. This neglect can bring resale or trade-in values crashing to the ground, all because you failed to wash your car regularly.

The reality is that people often value material things based on the way they look. According to the folks at Kelley Blue Book, aesthetics is one of the top considerations when a person buys a car. And since more people are testing the pre-owned or used market these days, it is important to keep your car looking its best so it’s worth more when you are ready to upgrade to a new car. A vehicle that has a pitted or stained finish or splotches of rust is a turnoff, and thus is worth less than a car that looks pristine, regardless of how you maintained the vehicle mechanically — sad, but true.

If you currently don’t clean your car regularly, it’s not too late to change your ways. Of course, the quickest and easiest way to a sparkling clean car inside and out is to take it to a profession car wash and detail shop for a professional treatment.

Before You Start
Mike Pennington, director of training for Meguiar’s, a leading producer of car-care products, says you should wash your car once a week. “Your car is constantly bombarded with contaminants such as tree sap mist and bird droppings,” Pennington says. “If the contaminants are not removed quickly, they can bond to the paint and even etch the paint.”

Are you in the Central Kentucky Area?  If you are, that’s fantastic!  You’re just a little drive from the best Full Service Professional Car Wash in the State of Kentucky!  And you’ve got a chance to become a member of our Preferred Customer Program and receive a FREE Exterior Wash just for signing up!  Head on over and sign up today!

Many cars have been designed with special layers of paint that help protect the main layer of paint from corrosion or other damage. This special top layer has been put on most cars since the early 1980’s and is about as thick as a trash bag. Frequently washing your vehicle, about once every week and polishing your car about once every two months will help protect the investment you made in your car.

One of the best times to wash your vehicle is after a rain storm. This is because all of the acid rain that has hit the paint on your car can cause a lot of damage sitting on your car. If you wash off your car, the acid rain will be removed and your car will look a lot better.

If you drive on muddy roads or live on a dirt road you should consider getting an occasional undercarriage treatment. This will remove the caked dirt from under you car and enable you to remove the moisture that this dirt accumulates.

Driving in snow and sleet can add to the problems of acid rain as road salt does not like having to deal with your car. Road salt can have a severe damaging effect on the underside of your car, so be sure to get that underside cleaned often as well. With the underside of your car, don’t just let it be “out of sight, out of mind!”

If you follow all of these helpful tips you will have a car that will look nice on the road and sitting at home for many years to come. Although these tips may seem stupid and moronic to many, it actually does help to keep your car looking nice. Imagine if you wanted to trade in your car one day and the dealer declined it due to rust issues you could have prevented had your car been washed and polished on a regular basis.

Frequent car washing is one of the best things you can do for your car. Best of all, you can do it without spending a lot of your time and work by taking your car to a professional car wash, like Buggy Bath. After all, doing some preventative maintenance on your car will let you keep driving a vehicle that looks and runs great for many years to come!

Commercial car washes require an average of about 45 gallons of water per car, whereas home washers typically use between 80 and 140 gallons, according to the trade group International Carwash Association. That’s a big difference!

Few people realize that washing our cars in our driveways is one of the most environmentally un-friendly chores we can do around the house. Unlike household waste water that enters sewers or septic systems and undergoes treatment before it is discharged into the environment, what runs off from your car goes right into storm drains — and eventually into rivers, streams, creeks and wetlands where it poisons aquatic life and wreaks other ecosystem havoc. After all, that water is loaded with a witch’s brew of gasoline, oil and residues from exhaust fumes — as well as the harsh detergents being used for the washing itself.
On the other hand, federal laws in both the U.S. and Canada require commercial carwash facilities to drain their wastewater into sewer systems, so it gets treated before it is discharged back into the great outdoors. And commercial car washes use computer controlled systems and high-pressure nozzles and pumps that minimize water usage. Many also recycle and re-use the rinse water. So feel good when you bring your car to Buggy Bath. You’re keeping your car clean, and helping the environment at the same time!

Taking your car to a professional car wash can take some time. And waiting for your car to be washed can be a daunting and tiring task at times.  Depending upon how busy the wash is, it can sometimes take 30 minutes or more before your car is finished.

However, you can prepare yourself for coming to the car wash and make the wait not quite so unbearable, especially on a busy Saturday.

Here are 4 secrets that you can use the next time you come to Buggy Bath (or any professional car wash) to keep yourself busy.

1. Don’t just sit and watch! Ever heard the phrase, “a watched pot never boils?” The same is true of watching your car at the car wash! Just sitting and watching your car will make the time go by so slowly that you won’t be able to stand it!
2. Sit down.  Most full service car washes provide a waiting area for their customers.  This is true of Buggy Bath.  Sit down, relax. Get comfortable, it might be a little while.  Know that your car is in good hands and will be cleaned and returned to you as quickly as possible.
3. Bring a “distraction device”. We’ve all got one, maybe even two.  Whether it’s a magazine, book, an ipod, or a video game, we’ve all got distraction devices.  Bring one with you to the car wash.  Or, bring your checkbook and balance it.  Keep yourself occupied and you’ll be done quicker than you know!
4. Bring a friend.  Hang out for a little while with a buddy.  Or, make a friend while you’re at the wash.  They’re waiting just like you and would probably be relieved to speak with a friendly person.

Follow these steps on your next visit, and you’ll be done with your wash before you know it and be on your way about your busy day.

You know the importance of cleaning your car to keep it looking good and performing. How many times, however, have you taken the time to clean the undercarriage? You’re making a mistake if you don’t.

Let’s be honest. The phrase “out of sight, out of mind” is about as accurate as it gets these days. If you can’t see it, you tend to ignore it. This is exactly what happens when it comes to washing your car. Oh, the sides and tops look great, but what about the engine compartment and undercarriage? Can you even remember the last time they were cleaned?

The engine is an obvious need, but why is it import to clean the undercarriage? There are a number of reasons. First off, the undercarriage of a car is where a lot of the heat removal occurs. The oil pan sits on the bottom of your engine and heat dissipates through it. The same goes for your transmission and the high friction elements of the suspension. As air rushes by under the car, the heat is pulled away and the parts are cooled.

As you might imagine, the bottom of your car gets incredibly dirty. Dirt and gunk sprays up under the car when you drive through a puddle. Roads are naturally oily and this oil sprays up on the undercarriage. Parts of your car have leaks, which also end up underneath. If you live in an area where icy roads are salted in the winter, that salt is accumulating in the undercarriage area. All and all, the bottom of your car takes a beating and you need to clean it every so often to keep it from causing problems.

The best way to clean the bottom of the car is to have it professionally done. By the time you think to do it, the bottom may already be a mess of caked on gunk that will take some serious cleaning.

Cleaning the bottom of your car with every wash is a smart move if you want it to last. You can stop things from overheating and cut the source of rust off at the knees before it rots your car from the inside out. Buggy Bath offers underbody cleaning in many of our wash packages, including our Gold and Diamond Packages. Just ask on your next visit and our staff will be glad to assist you in making your selection.

Are you in the Central Kentucky Area?  If you are, that’s fantastic!  You’re just a little drive from the best Full Service Professional Car Wash in the State of Kentucky!  And you’ve got a chance to become a member of our Preferred Customer Program and receive a FREE Exterior Wash just for signing up!  Head on over and sign up today!

Generally speaking, tire dressings help to prevent cracking, fading and hardening of your tires. Tire dressings also help to revitalize rubber while leaving a rich shine. Many tire dressings also give great protection to all rubber and plastic moldings as well as removing wax residue that gets onto any trim or moldings.

Buggy Bath offers tire dressing in a number of our wash packages, or as an add-on service for a full service or exterior wash.  You best option is to purchase one of our wash packages that include the tire dressing, along with other services that will help keep your car looking it’s best.

Are you in the Central Kentucky Area?  If you are, that’s fantastic!  You’re just a little drive from the best Full Service Professional Car Wash in the State of Kentucky!  And you’ve got a chance to become a member of our Preferred Customer Program and receive a FREE Exterior Wash just for signing up!  Head on over and sign up today!

You’ll want to rinse off all the salt, get the paint protected and give the interior a good cleaning – as well as taking care of any and all springtime maintenance which might be required.

The best option to take care of these needs is to visit your local professional car wash that offers full service car wash services and car detailing services.

The family minivan or SUV sees a lot of dirt in a given week. Muddy shoes, hockey bags and slurpee-wielding toddlers are just a few of the culprits – and cleaning your family ride can often be a bit of a nightmare. But it doesn’t have to be. Especially not when you’ve got a great local professional car wash to do it all for you.

Here are some things you need to think about as you’re getting your car ready for a new year and taking some time in the spring to clean things up a bit.

1. Exterior – First things first: it is NOT okay to wash your car with dish soap. Car finishes (like your skin) require a gentle cleaner to take away grime but leave behind protection. Your car’s paint has protective finishes built in, and possibly remnants of its last coat of wax. Trouble is, dish-soap thinks these things are just leftover turkey supper and strips them away: not ideal to keep your car looking new. Remember that protecting the paint also protects the sheetmetal underneath it.
   A proper washing technique, plus using the right products, will help keep your vehicle looking newer, longer. A professional car wash has all the right products and chemicals to keep your car in great shape.Your paint takes plenty of abuse over the winter. We’ve all been stuck behind a plough-truck as it dumps heaping chunks of salt all over the roadway, often times chipping away at the front of your machine. It’s time for a very thorough professional cleaning and polishing of your car.
2. Interior – The footwell carpeting of your vehicle is probably covered in a crusty concoction of sand and salt. It might look hopeless, but the fix is fairly simple. Time to head on over and get that carpet shampooed at your local full service car wash. Doing so will help make sure that no sand or salt is left behind to be ground into your carpeting and wear it out prematurely.
   Don’t forget to protect the plastic parts like your dashboard and console. They’re designed to be durable, but they put up with a lot of wear and tear from sunlight and extreme temperatures. Any protection you can offer will see them lasting longer. But be careful: if you cheap out on cleaners, you may wind up with worn-out or cracked surfaces. Make sure you look for a product guaranteed not to damage vehicle components.

Keep these tips in mind when it’s time for spring cleaning on your car.

Are you in the Central Kentucky Area?  If you are, that’s fantastic!  You’re just a little drive from the best Full Service Professional Car Wash in the State of Kentucky!  And you’ve got a chance to become a member of our Preferred Customer Program and receive a FREE Exterior Wash just for signing up!  Head on over and sign up today!