A (Loose) History of the Car Wash
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And you may find yourself in another part of the world.
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile.
And you may find yourself traveling through Lincoln’s premier car wash.
And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did car washes get here?”
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A (Loose) History of the Car Wash
By JetSplash Car Wash
Long before Teslas were parking themselves, early methods of transportation began appearing in the 16th century.
When cars had four legs, a long nose and used apples for fuel, Leonardo Da Vinci sketched a horseless, mechanized cart in the early 1500s. However, bogged down with other commitments like painting the Mona Lisa and inventing the parachute, his idea never materialized. (Also, a friendly reminder that JetSplash is not equipped to bathe horses.) (Vacuums also off limits.)
But the original Renaissance Man wasn’t the only one tired of hoofing it. Sailing chariots, where large masts hoisted sails high into air, were used to propel carts by wind, and were employed by the Chinese in the 1600s.
These sailboats-but-for-land-vehicles wigged out townspeople at a zippy 20 miles per hour! (Also, a kindly remembrance to thee that JetSplash Modern Car Wash definitely can’t handle roadboats.)
But as any kite surfer knows, the wind blows when it pleases.
A new fuel was needed, and in the 1700s, a Frenchman by the name of Cugnot built a self-propelled steam-engine designed to move artillery pieces.
A bunch of other mustachioed inventors put their thinking caps on and ultimately the steam-engine was altered to burn gasoline. This internal combustion engine was attached to a horseless-carriage and voila!
The car as we know it today was born in 1886 with Carl Benz’ Patent-Motorwagen.
Not to be outdone, the Americans were coming up with models of their own—most notably the T. But we here at JetSplash believe the Stars and Stripes’ next move really put the cherry on top.
Before Motown was known for its rhythm and blues, Motor City USA gave the world its first car wash business.
Around 1914, the “Automobile Laundry” opened where cars were manually pushed through a tunnel where workers soaped, washed and rinsed the vehicles until the hot rods rolled out the other side. High-tech!
Progressing along, in 1940 the first automated car wash opened in Hollywood—using a conveyor system to pull vehicles through.
And in the decades that followed, air blowers for drying the cars, overhead sprinklers for washing the cars, wraparound brushes and many other incremental improvements became staples of the American car wash.
This story really gets interesting in 2003, when our state-of-the-art washing and drying process first opened its doors here in Lincoln. Since then, JetSplash has grown and expanded—now at 7 locations scattered around Lincoln as of 2023. At each location, our friendly bunch will hand-prep your car, send you thru our fancily equipped wash tunnels, and hand-dry your car at the end. Put that in the Louvre!
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Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.
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Sources:
https://www.livescience.com/37538-who-invented-the-car.html
https://aquabio.co/uncategorized/blog/car-wash-history-from-simple-beginnings-to-modern-day-features/#:~:text=The%20first%20car%20wash%20business,wash%20an%20assembly%2Dline%20feel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car#:~:text=In%201893%2C%20the%20first%20running,Street%20in%20Metro%20Center%20Springfield.