Many residents in Dubai and Sharjah are dealing with unexpected expenses after an irregular drizzle recorded in the last few days dirtied their cars. The changing weather has been leaving vehicles coated in dirt and prompting some residents to wash their cars multiple times.
A slight drizzle led to frustration among some car owners who found their vehicles dirty again after each wash. Some residents said that they had washed their cars as many as three times in just three days, with the costs adding up to more than Dh120.
“I usually park outside my building if I want to leave early for the office. In the last four days, it has drizzled at night which left my car extremely dirty. The first time I got it washed at a petrol station near my home, I couldn't believe how quickly my car got dirty again after washing it,” said Abdel Rahman, a Sudani expat residing in Al Nahda, Sharjah.
“I ended up spending more than I expected just to keep it clean. Until now, I have spent Dh120 in the last 3 days just to keep my car clean,” added Abdel Rahman.
Similarly, Shaver Khan, a sales executive at a store in Dubai Mall, has been facing quite a challenge with unexpected drizzle. Khan is a resident of Mamzar in Dubai and usually parks his car outside – in the RTA parking. “The rain has been relentless in dirtying it. I have been handing over my car to the washing boys in the Dubai Mall parking lot every day. It's been adding up quite a bit and I've spent Dh80 in just four days trying to keep my car clean. It's frustrating, but what can you do? You can't control the weather,” added Khan.
The unexpected weather pattern has left car wash businesses bustling as residents attempt to keep up with the appearance of their vehicles.
“We have seen a significant increase in the number of cars coming in for washing recently. On a regular day, we typically service around 40 cars, but in the last 5 days, we have been averaging around 75 cars per day,” said Iftekhar Alam, manager at Wassel Auto Wash based in the Industrial Area, Dubai.
“The irregular drizzle has boosted business and has kept our team busy and our customers satisfied with clean cars,” added Wassel.
Similarly, at ADNOC cars on Al Ittihad Road Sharjah, employees said that during peak hours they recorded long queues of cars wanting to get cleaned.
“The automatic and manual wash bays were continuously in use for most of the time in the last 4 days. Usually, many motorists opt for an automatic wash as it gets done quickly. Although manual washing is required for extra dirt that has accumulated on cars over a few days,” said the employee washing cars at ADNOC car wash.
“We have 3 bays here for manual washing, and surprisingly, they were occupied most of the time during the peak hours when people were returning to their homes from offices,” said the attendant.