Car Washes Hoping to Clean Up

On a warm, sunny day like today, it seems everyone has the same thing in mind -- It`s time to wash the effects of a few days worth of snow and salt off your vehicle. KNWA`s Alexa Hamblin has more. KNWA spoke to Shell Spivey, who owns a few Happy Bays car washes in the area, and he half jokes that he was depressed last week because business was so slow. But after this weekend`s snow, and the salt and grit put down on the roads to combat it, this week business is much better. Spivey says the late winter weather really put a damper on his business up until this week, when the number of vehicles coming through Happy Bays went up about 100%. Most of the folks we talked to said they couldn`t wait another minute to get that grime off their cars. "My black truck was white, so I just wanted to clean it up," said Scott Haseman, who washed his car today. Debbie Power was doing the same, "Now that the roads are clear, I think that it`s okay to wash the car, get it cleaned up." Spivey calls the flood of cars this week a result of pent-up demand, the weather just hasn`t been nasty enough bring many people in until recently. "Once the snow started melting, it just got gross and slushy and, yeah, I`m getting ready to go through the car wash, now that I`ve vacuumed," said Power. Overall, the recent boom in business still may not help the car wash business too much, since all winter it`s been so slow. But car wash owners are optimistic. And whether you wash it yourself or drive it through, keep in mind there are better reasons than just aesthetics to get your car cleaned up. Haseman says, "It helps to have a clean vehicle for longevity of your car, now if that salt were to stay out there for a long period of time, yeah, it may do damage down the road." City of Fayetteville road crews say the salt solution they put on roads is only 23% salt, but they do recommend washing your car soon. For KNWA, Northwest Arkansas News, I`m Alexa Hamblin.