The little people make do with only four meager seasons, but Tom Dwyer clients have one more… FREE CARWASH SEASON! As spring and summer parch our lot, the dust can get pretty annoying. We can’t wash cars or pave the lot (see below) so instead, from May 15 to September 15 we offer our clients coupons for a FREE CAR WASH at WashMan. We can’t do it for every purchase so you won’t get one for just an oil change, but for most things beyond that you can have your vehicle washed on us.
So why don’t we just wash your car here or pave the lot so the dust isn’t a problem? You’re 
not the first to ask- it’s actually one of the most common questions we get. Here’s Tom’s answer, taken from a letter to a client who asked the same thing…
“Our parking lot is actually the end of SE Tenino Street, and the City has no intention of doing anything to improve the street at their cost. We looked at doing the improvements ourselves, and spent about $5000 getting engineering estimates to improve it to City code. The cost would have been well over $60,000.00 in drains, sumps, curbs, etc., which is well beyond our capability. Another complication is the matter of the Sellwood Bridge Project, which could mean changes that would destroy any improvements we made. Finally, although I definitely see the advantages of a paved lot, I have a contempt for pavement in general. There is too much pavement in the world as it is. It keeps water from absorbing into the ground, reflects heat back to our already heat-soaked atmosphere, keeps vegetation from acting as a carbon sink, and adds no beauty.
The obstacles to washing cars are a little different. Because we’re so close to the river, we (and the city) closely monitor our discharges. If we washed more than 7 cars a week we’d have to install capture systems for every drop or risk damaging the environment. During the summer months when our parking lot is dustiest we offer free coupons for WashMan, because they’ve already made the investment to do the cleaning right without environmental damage. Even just vacuuming cars presents problems. Although we used to vacuum, we stopped out of respect for our client’s privacy. You wouldn’t believe the things people leave in their cars, from fragile breakables to money to weapons. There are also liability and damage issues that outweigh the benefits of a clean carpet.”
That’s the story. Stop washing your car right now, and don’t forget to take advantage of our yearly blowout… FREE CARWASH SEASON!
