Singapore: Waterless Carwash Gets Official Opening

A new small independent carwash service has officially opened in Singapore. Griener Solutions is taking the green route and using waterless carwashing technology as a key driving force to build the business.

Griener Solutions managing director Firdaus Iqbal named his car-washing service Grienwash because he wanted to ‘put a spin’ on the word for branding purposes. Mr Iqbal, 29, started Griener a year ago after he developed an interest in environmental issues from reading about water shortages and droughts in different parts of the world. Singapore as a small island has to import a lot of its water from Malaysian and so has to treat water as a valuable resource. Circumstances that are ideal to promote the green solution of waterless carwashing!

The initial site of  Grienwash was officially launched at 313 Somerset in Orchard Road in Singapore. It is a stand alone booth site based in a carpark. As customers queue or enquire about the service, Trained staff explain the concept and eco friendly service to motorists who queue or enquire about the service. Customers learn that the average person wastes more than 400 litres of water while cleaning his car at home, while the conventional car wash at fuel service stations uses much less than this at around  120 litres per car.

The staff use a combination of products – made from natural ingredients that give it a smell similar to orange juice – to clean the car, using spray guns to cover surfaces with a mist that attacks the dirt, before wiping it off with an eco-friendly microfibre cloth. The product is so effective it can also tackle difficult stains such as bird droppings, said Mr Iqbal.

It costs SG$15 for a standard sedan car, more if the vehicle is bigger. Green cars such as hybrid vehicles and those powered by compressed natural gas get a discount. While some customers think it is a reasonable price, there are others who say it is expensive as a conventional car wash costs only SG$6 said Mr Iqbal. Griener Solutions is now in talks to expand the business in Singapore.

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