I haven’t been able to go through an automatic car wash for years. In the past few years, it’s been something I’ve been able to do. I just took a deep breath one day and did it. Those first few times were not easy, but eventually I just have been able to do it.

I have felt like it’s been a little accomplishment. I’ve been so proud of myself for this baby step.

I do like the ones with the rollers and brushes, mostly because they are staffed so if something were to go array, I know there’s help.

A new car wash opened and I have been using that one for the past year. I even have a membership, so I have the convenience of pulling up, the little camera sees my license plate and the bar lifts so I can just coast on through.

I do not recall having any issues previous times, but there have been times that I had gone through the car wash and as soon as I’m on the belt and in neutral with the sprayers going, I would hear muffled yelling, because obviously my windows are up, so I have never known where the yelling has been coming from. I’ve had people with me when this has occurred and they, too, were not able to make out the muffled yelling. The belt was never stopped. There was never a person at the exit to give further instructions or feedback, so I guess, I just thought the workers were having a good time.

Today, after running my errands, I went to do my weekly car wash visit, when I get to the entrance, there’s a man waving me in, then he tells me to stop, so I put my vehicle in neutral. The belt starts carrying my car, I hear all this commotion. I look out my window to at least three people, yelling. I brake. They yell at me to back up and to stop completely when my tire hits the belt. I am not sure when my tires hit the belt because it doesn’t feel any different and there’s no noise or anything other than the guy with his motions, in which along with his waves, I just follow what the lighted flashing sign tell me to do.

They get me rolling again, I exit the car wash and pull over to the side, as I always have to fix my mirrors. This time, I noticed that I still had a lot of caked on mud and gravel because they were so busy yelling at me they had forgot to pressure wash the underside of my car and my wheels.

I go back through the car wash and again, following exactly what the lighted signs are telling me to do, they are all yelling at me,again…I started to brake but the light up sign said not to brake, so I just rode it out to the end.

Traumatizing and just too much pressure for this girl.

I’m done. I’m cancelling my membership.

Car wash trauma is real.