Come clean at new car wash, dog wash

SpokaneValley residents will soon be able to wash their dog and their car in one stop.

Clean Systems Inc. is finishing construction of two buildings at 4920 E. Sprague Ave. that will house a self-service car wash, self-service dog wash and an automatic tunnel car wash.

“We’ll be planning our grand opening after we’ve begun washing cars,” said Jim Moran, who owns Clean Systems with partner Tom Albinson. “We want to be washing cars by the first of October.

“We’ve been planning this for two years. The location looked really optimum. The dog wash was something we saw in Yakima. We thought that would be a nice add-on business. It doesn’t take a lot of room.”

The two businesses are called Car Wash Express and Ruff & Fluff Dog Wash.

Automatic car washes will cost from $6 to $10. Self-service washes will start at $1.50 for three minutes for vehicles and $2 for three minutes for dogs. Credit card machines being installed in the self-service areas will require a $5 minimum charge.

Two of the eight self-service vacuums will have a shampoo option and vacuuming is free with an automatic wash, Moran said. “The self-serve will really be a step above what you see around town,” he said, describing the engine cleaner function and spot-free rinse. “We’re trying to be really green with our power and everything. We have a water reclaim system in the tunnel.”

The two buildings total about 5,000 square feet. When applying for a building permit Moran estimated the value of the buildings at $700,000. “It’s costing more than that for the project,” he said, declining to specify how much has been spent.

The businesses are expected to employ 10 to 15 people depending on the season.

Boutique offers Cyberhair

Diamondz Body Boutique owner Monique Smith took her entire staff to Minneapolis this summer to have them trained in the Micro Point Solutions technique. The technique involves adding synthetic Cyberhair to a person’s existing hair.

“We take one of your natural growing hairs and tie four hairs to it,” Smith explained. “It acts like natural hair. You can curl it, you can cut it, you can style it. It’s made out of nylon. It has its own style memory to it. It doesn’t fade in color. It’s very, very unique, that’s for sure.”

The hair can be used on men and women with thinning hair. The procedure must be repeated every six to eight weeks as a person’s natural hair grows. “You’ve always got a full volume of hair. It’s great for men who have those few little thin spots.”

Another method involves a hundred synthetic hairs wrapped around a sterling silver bead. About 10 natural hairs are then pulled through the bead, which is crimped on. “You don’t have any glue, any adhesives. It’s so much lighter than any human hair out there.”

The hair comes in hundreds of colors and special orders can be made. “We have school colors, too. We can put little accents in kids’ hair.”

The length of the procedure depends on how many hairs are being added. The cost varies, too, anywhere from $300 to $2,000 a year for regular visits.

Smith said she became involved in the technique after seeing many chemotherapy patients who didn’t want to wear wigs. Smith still carries about 2,000 wigs in stock. “We specialize in hair loss.”

Smith said her boutique is the only one in the area licensed to use Micro Points Solutions. She has about 100 clients from Washington, Idaho and Montana who are using the synthetic hair.

“It looks really natural wet or dry. You could go jump in the pool and nobody would even know you had them in your hair.”