The History of Car Washes

The History of the Car Wash might be a topic most of us don't ever bother to think about, even for those of us in the industry. Interestingly enough the commercial car wash has been around almost since automobiles became readily available to the consumer on the mass market. In 1914, only a few years after the launch of Henry Ford's the Model-T did the first car wash pop up in Detroit, Michigan. According to many sources that very first car wash was the Automobile Laundry.

In the decades to come the commercial carwash slowly evolved in phases slowly but surely automating. This included going from stationary to primitive winch systems and then eventually conveyor style tracks. The same is true for application of water, cleaning solutions and the washing itself. For a more extensive history visit here.