Car washing goes green

Using a few rags, a pump sprayer and a bucket of water, John Campbell and Jerrod Ham have created one of the only environmentally friendly car washes in northern Mississippi.

Mobile Green Auto Clean was created by Campbell, a marketing major, and Ham, a business management major, after graduating from the University of Mississippi last year.

“People will look at it and don’t understand it, and they’ll say, ‘I don’t believe this is going to work,’” Campbell said. “But when we’re finished they are like, ‘Wow.’”
Mobile Green uses all soy-based biodegradable products to prevent the water runoff from being polluted.

Most major car wash products contain petroleum distillates that mix with the water when the car is being washed. The wash water then runs into storm drains, polluting the water, Campbell said.

According to Campbell, an average between 80 and 140 gallons of water is used in a typical 10-minute car wash.

The soy-based products that Mobile Green uses help the dirt from the surface of the car adhere to the microfiber towels they use. This process cuts out the excess use of water and leaves the car spotless.

“It is not terribly time-consuming and uses very minimal resources,” said Alyssa Klein, Mobile Green client and graduate student at Ole Miss. “It typically takes only about an hour to an hour and a half when they are doing a full service wash, wax and inside.”

According to Ham, other mobile car washes and people who wash their cars at home use high-pressure hoses that put out gallons of unnecessary water.

“The biggest thing we are doing is changing the perception of how cars are washed,” Ham said. “We are showing people that there is a greener and more cost-effective alternative.”

Campbell’s father invested in a similar idea in Memphis, which inspired Campbell and Ham to start the business in Oxford in June of last year.

“Oxford itself is very green, and the people of Oxford have really embraced the idea of a green lifestyle,” Campbell said. “What I want to do is create a culture of convenience.”

Convenience is key, according to Ham and Campbell.

“I like the idea of a mobile car wash because people don’t have time nowadays, and everyone is really busy,” Campbell said.

Campbell said they have many clients who have their cars washed while they are at work, mowing their lawns or even during a baseball game.

“It’s been much easier to take two minutes and call up the boys and set up an appointment and watch them slave away while I touch up my nails from inside on the couch,” Klein explained.

With the few supplies that Mobile Green needs to wash a car, they can easily meet clients wherever and whenever is convenient for them.

One of their clients, who works at 208 on the Square, has them wash her car once a week while she is at work.

Mobile Green also strives to be a low-price leader that can accommodate anyone in the Oxford area, Campbell said.

For $15, Mobile Green will wash the outside of your car wherever you are, and for $25 and $35, Mobile Green offers detailing services.

You can call or text them at 662-259-7007.