Wash Talk: The Carwash Podcast

In this episode of Wash Talk: The Carwash Podcast, host Kyle Alexander welcomes back Josh Bachner from Moleaer for a closer look at how nanobubble technology is helping operators get more out of their reclaim water. Bachner explains what sets a nanobubble apart: at roughly 100 nanometers in diameter, or about 2,500 times smaller than a grain of salt, the bubbles are invisible to the naked eye and stay suspended in water rather than rising to the surface.  The conversation digs into where conventional reclaim systems fall short. Bachner notes that while these systems do a good job settling out heavy materials such as sand and grit, they struggle to remove suspended solids, soaps, waxes and oils. He also breaks down how Moleaer’s patented shear method differs from cavitation-based approaches. Bachner shares results from a Pennsylvania site that cut its freshwater use down to just 12 gallons per car, along with typical savings of about 20 gallons per car and payback periods ranging from two or three months to roughly 18 months.  Bachner closes by looking three years ahead. He predicts nanobubble technology will become standard equipment in carwash reclaim systems, both as a retrofit and in new builds, as early adopters continue to de-risk the technology for the rest of the industry.

In this episode of Wash Talk: The Carwash Podcast, host Kyle Alexander is joined by Bob Blasi, founder of Rocket Glide, for a conversation at The Car Wash Show™ 2026 about in-bay automatic door maintenance and a smarter approach to replacement parts. Blasi, a nearly 40-year veteran of the carwash industry and operator of self-serve and in-bay automatic sites, shares the firsthand frustration that inspired him to design a better solution for failing door carriage systems.  Blasi walks through the core engineering behind Rocket Glide's patented carriage design. He explains how the system is built to be fully rebuildable so operators can get back up and running in hours rather than days.  The episode is a practical look at in-bay automatic door maintenance and why investing in rebuildable components can deliver long-term savings without sacrificing performance. Blasi also outlines how Rocket Glide's carriage and cylinder products are designed as direct replacements for existing Airlift Doors systems, requiring no modifications to install.

In this episode of Wash Talk: The Carwash Podcast, host Kyle Alexander talks with Dave DuGoff and Mike Ashley from Carwash Con East about why the 36-year-old event changed its name and what operators can expect when the show returns to the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from Oct. 5-7.  DuGoff said the rebrand grew out of a need to match how operators and prospective owners search for industry information online. Ashley added that the change comes with new signage, a new logo and a rebuilt website, carwashconeast.com, developed with marketing partner OhmCo. This year's show also expands its Monday virtual tour program to every attendee rather than just full-package registrants, and it adds simultaneous manager, self-serve and tunnel education tracks so operators and their teams can find programming suited to their business. A new welcome reception will move to the show floor Tuesday evening, giving attendees more time to talk with exhibitors over food and drinks. The show is also introducing its first Giving Back Award. Keynote speaker Ken Schmidt, a former Harley-Davidson communications leader, will address building consistent brand messaging across a carwash team.  Reflecting on more than three decades of the event, DuGoff and Ashley traced its growth from a hotel ballroom setup to a 100,000-square-foot show floor hosting 420 exhibitors this year. Both encouraged first-time attendees to focus on building relationships with fellow operators and vendors, while advising those still deciding whether to attend to come for the educational sessions, which they said offer takeaways for even the most experienced operators. Carwash Con East runs Oct. 5-7 at the Atlantic City Convention Center. More information is available at carwashconeast.com.

In this episode of Wash Talk: The Carwash Podcast, host Kyle Alexander speaks with Mark Thomas, executive vice president of marketing at Way, about how AI-driven carwash memberships are reshaping customer loyalty and retention. Thomas discusses Way's growth from a discovery and payment network into a full marketing and point-of-sale platform, and explains how artificial intelligence helps operators personalize service at every stage of the customer journey.  Thomas breaks down the difference between a subscription and a membership, noting that added benefits such as roadside assistance, gas discounts and glass repair coverage give customers more reasons to stay enrolled between visits. He points to data showing operators using WayPlus benefits have cut churn nearly in half compared with the industry average of about 7.5%. The conversation also covers how automated marketing tools, license plate recognition technology and mass personalization allow attendants to tailor recommendations for every customer.  Looking ahead, Thomas discusses how agentic AI will move beyond simple chat responses to take on marketing, segmentation and operational tasks across the tunnel. He emphasizes that AI-driven carwash memberships work best when built on lightweight integrations rather than replacing an operator's existing technology stack, giving operators flexibility as they scale.

In this episode of Wash Talk: The Carwash Podcast, host Kyle Alexander returns with Nautilus co-founders Ali Sareini and Amayr Babar at The Car Wash Show™ for a deeper look at artificial intelligence for carwash operators. Sareini opens by breaking AI adoption into three distinct tiers: consumer-grade tools like ChatGPT used for general guidance; integrated platforms that connect AI directly to a carwash's point of sale data for business-specific insights; and autonomous agents capable of taking action on behalf of the operator.  The conversation covers how both mom-and-pop operators and enterprise chains can benefit from AI. Smaller operators see the biggest early wins from smarter customer communications, better website conversion and timely credit card decline alerts. Enterprise operators benefit most from automated reporting, data anomaly detection and the ability to make pricing decisions backed by real-time trend data across dozens of locations.  Sareini and Babar also discuss why Nautilus relocated from Virginia to San Francisco, highlighting how proximity to Silicon Valley's engineering talent and frontier AI development has allowed the company to bring capabilities to the carwash industry months ahead of what would otherwise be possible. The episode closes with both founders' outlook on the future of AI for carwash operators.