Shiokr, a local app, brings the car wash to you to save busy drivers the effort of driving to a car wash. Photo: 123RF.
What if your car needs a wash but you don’t have the time to bring it to one?
Shiokr, a local car wash booking app, aims to change that.
What is Shiokr?
Screenshot of Shiokr’s website.
Instead of bringing your car to get it washed, the app brings the groomers to where you’re parked.
The aim is to save you time and money, Shiokr says.
“For years, the local car wash industry have (sic) stagnated, with no progress in terms of quality or efficiency,” Shiokr says on its website.
“Long queues at the petrol kiosk washing station, poor quality washes by untrained groomers, the inconvenience of washing the car are but some of the problems faced by every car owner.”
What’s a touchless car wash and where can you get one in Singapore?
After downloading the app, the company touts a simple process to book a wash.
First, key in your car’s license plate and location and the app will find the nearest available groomer.
Then, once your groomer has accepted the job, you can track them in real-time and be notified when your car is ready.
You don’t have to meet the groomer, but if you do, Shiokr says they’ll be happy to walk you through the cleaning process.
You can pay through the app using your credit card, so no cash changes hands.
One wash costs $14.90 and includes full exterior hand wash, exterior window cleaning, rim cleaning and UV coating.
It takes about 60-90 minutes from delivery to completion of wash.
What’s special about it?
One wash costs $14.90.
One of the areas that Shiokr highlights as being distinct from traditional car washes is their “waterless” wash.
It’s not technically water-free as it still uses about a litre of water, but it’s claimed to save “150L to 250L of clean water” compared to other car washes.
Shiokr claims to use “only the best” products like microfibre towels for car cleaning, as well as products from brands like Aero Cosmetic (Wash Wax All) and Kwazar (spray bottles).
The company also sells its range of car care products on their website.
Coupled with “fully trained” groomers, Shiokr says their washes minimise scratch marks or swirl marks that normally appear at car washes at this price point.
Their products also leave a shine and a thin layer of polymer wax to protect the paint from UV rays.
Any exceptions?
Shiokr says a booking “might” be cancelled if it’s raining as their groomers cycle to the car’s location.
Also, if the vehicle is heavily soiled, the groomers will call the owner to cancel the booking and instead tell them to first rinse off the car.
“This is because by continuing with the waterless wash, the process might cause scratches on the vehicle,” Shiokr says.
For now, Shiokr only operates in Sengkang, Punggol and Hougang but have plans to expand island-wide.
The service is open from 5pm to 1am on weekdays and 10am to 1pm on weekends.
What do you think? Would you use an on-demand car wash service like this?
