By J.R. Tidwell / Editor

 

Members of the Southeastern Car Wash Association went on a tour of several different facilities in and around the Birmingham area on Sept. 17.

The third stop on the tour was Peachy Clean Car Wash, which opened in Clanton some 10 weeks ago. Peachy Clean is located at 1301 Seventh St. S near Wendy’s.

“We went to two in Hoover and then came here, because we are one of the few two-story car washes in the country,” said Peachy Clean owner Cebo Craig. “They wanted to see that. I’ve already had several people say that’s what they’re doing next. It gives you more room.”

Craig purchased the self-service car wash on the site in 2015, and later on decided to add a state-of-the-art two-story automatic wash to the property.

According to Craig, the tour was supposed to start with an equipment exhibit at a hotel in Birmingham, but flooding at the establishment caused the event to be canceled.

“A friend of mine who has several car washes in Birmingham decided to go ahead and still put the tour on to get everybody together and for networking,” he said.

“We have members from around the southeast. It’s mainly car wash owners, and then we have a lot of chemical and equipment people. They come for the show.”

Since Peachy Clean happened to be the stop at lunch time, people on the tour had a chance to eat a barbecue lunch while sitting at tables in the shade provided by the self-service car wash stalls on site.

Afterwards, the tour went to a car wash in Chelsea and finished up at another business on Highway 280 in Birmingham.

Craig said he had received a lot of positive feedback from other industry professionals during the stop.

“I have had a lot of compliments on the way we did it,” he said. “It turned out good. People want to know what issues I ran into with a two-story, and I tell them nothing. It’s a big presence, and you have a lot more room for your vacuums.”

He also said things have been going well since Peachy Clean opened for business.

“You always have those hiccups in the beginning, but we are about to get those ironed out,” he said. “It’s probably going a little better than expected; it’s great.”

Given the two-story configuration of Peachy Clean, some local residents expressed concern on social media that the building’s height could make it vulnerable to high winds.

Upon hearing this concern, Craig chuckled and said, “Trust me, it’s got enough steel and concrete in it that it will be here.”