Local car washes keeping busy between lack of rain and high pollen counts

BRYN MAWR, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Between the lack of rain and the pollen, car washes in our area have been very busy lately.

A coating of yellow and green dust clinging to cars is a common sight these days.

"That one gets to stay in the garage, but the other car is literally yellow," said Emma Dailey of Haverford, indicating a freshly washed car.

Customers have been flocking to Bryn Mawr Car Wash and Detail Center on Lancaster Avenue by Warner Avenue.

"I'm on the way home, and I'm like the car is dirty. There's pollen. There's bird poop. The car needs a wash," said Abbe Miller of Villanova. "So for $20 instead of $12, they do the entire inside, and you leave like you have a new car."

Crews at this car wash have been working hard.

"The last month, the pollen on the cars has been horrendous," said Bruce Howard of Bryn Mawr Car Wash and Detail Center.

This car wash boosts personnel on the busier days to ensure enough workers are ready to manage all the cars coming in.

"A lot of first timers that usually don't wash their car are coming to get the pollen off their cars," said Howard. "It's the lack of rain, the pollen that's on the cars is not getting washed off, and then the dirt in the air."

Action News Mornings meteorologist Karen Rogers says we need rain to wash the pollen away.

"It has been so dry. Since January 1, we're at a rainfall deficit of a little over five inches in the city. We desperately need the rain," she said. "Right now that pollen forecast is at the medium high range - same as it was yesterday, same as it's going to be tomorrow. So if you've been sneezing, you're going to keep sneezing. We need that rain to really change things for us, and it just isn't happening right now in the forecast."

Rogers added that there could be some pop-up showers, but nothing significant is in the forecast.