Skokie Soft Cloth Car Wash

Unfortunately the Skokie Car Wash has gone out of business. It was a well-​run operation when Evelio owned it but the new owners were not successful.

Update: under new management. Now there is no interior work done and no credit cards accepted at all. I was disappointed as I really needed the interior done

This place is cheaper than crappy gas station car washes and pretty much gets the job done! For $ 5 you get an exterior wash and dry. It’s not the most thorough job, but then again it’s only $ 5.

This review is only based on my most recent experience and not the overall very good ones I have had before. Prior to today, I have had good experiences here. Good wash, with a good dry that has my car looking better when I leave then when I arrive. Today, I’m not sure that was the case. I pulled up and after the guy walked into the booth, I handed him my gift card. I said, «That should cover it.» He said, «Cover what?» I said, «A car wash.» I should have said a beautiful lady for the night but I didn’t… He said, «Which one?» And pointed to a sign with different levels of washes based on the price and what work you wanted done. I had never seen that board there before and I had been there many times, which I told him after he said something assuming I had never been there before. As I was thinking about it, he said, «We’ll just do the basic one since I’m the only one here.» I said OK (Why didn’t he just say that to begin with!!!). I pull up and and he does his thing. Before I pull into the machine he tells me to put the car in D, leave my foot on the brake, go slowly and to not turn the steering wheel. This is something I’ve NEVER been told to do at any car wash, EVER. I’ve always left my car in N and let the machine do its work as my car sailed through the wash. I pull out, pull around to the side of the wash, expecting my car to be dried as well. Guy walks up and says, «It’s just a wash and go.» I said OK… He said, «I would wash it, but…» WTF does that mean? How was I to know that a simple $ 5 wash didn’t come with a dry as well!!! Oh well. Guy lost out on some tip money and the company lost out on some future business as I don’t intend on returning, as long as this moron is still employed there. Idk how long he’s been there for and my hope is that he doesn’t last much longer. Otherwise, this longtime patron will take his business elsewhere (maybe to the nearby Turtle Wax which has always done a fine job).

I’m super lazy about washing my car. I have a 2010 Matrix and I should take better care of the exterior and interior. I make sure the engine stays healthy, and everything else mechanical. That’s it. They say the way you take care of your things is a reflection of you. Heck yeah! I get into the gym. I try to eat healthy. If you ask me to try to dress up and look nice just so the rest of the world likes me? Forget about it. Once the world grows up, then maybe. The world has yet to present people to me that are worth dressing up for. Trust me, I have dealt with all kinds of people.
Skokie Soft Cloth Car Wash cleans my car enough. I get what everyone else is saying. They don’t use clean enough towels. The back of my car is still dirty under the spoiler and where you have to grab the handle to the hatch. This is because of the way the machine washes your car. The front of your car gets a good once over with some kind of mop. The rims receive a chemical treatment that efficiently eats away at the caked on dirt and break dust that has sunk into all of the decorative crevices of the metal. They do a fine job. I don’t really care.
Soft Cloth gives you a business card that rewards you with a free wash for every how many washes I don’t know. I just have the card in my visor and I happen to remember that I have it when I go there, like once every 3 months. It must work as a sales pitch, because I swear I’ve had that darn thing for a year and they’re still offering it.
The staff is really nice. I could also see the owner getting easily distracted by a conversation with someone to the point where a customer would leave. Shucks, it’s his business and he has no one to answer to. After working years of retail, if I had a day where I felt like a person could wait for service, I’d totally do it. All of you would. Don’t lie to yourselves. Don’t worry either. Do you think he’d allow his employees get away with that? Oh heck no! Sounds pretty run-​of-​the-​mill to me. If I see that his place is busy, I keep on driving. If I was that other person waiting in my car for this guy to finish his conversation; I’d lay on my horn. You get back what you put out, right?
Anyway, I don’t like those professional places where the attendants are all up on the inside of your car, vacuuming the interior and actually washing things. I’d rather pick a day where I take Moya to a place to only have the interior detailed. My car isn’t messy inside, but I keep a lot of personal receipts laying around and various items I don’t want people putting their grubby hands all over. If I want my car washed, I want just that. If I want my car detailed, I’ll go somewhere else. I just don’t want anyone inside my car unless I know them. Soft Cloth Car Wash respects this; even if they really mean to just try to insert more tiers in their pricing. I don’t care. I love the fact that they leave the interior alone!
My one thing I don’t like about this place is that you cannot use your card for purchases under $ 10. I always choose the $ 8 wash. This also decreases the frequency with which I wash my car because I never have cash on me and whatever extra you pay for (I think it’s a wax) with the $ 10 wash doesn’t turn me on. I have conceded to pay the upcharge if I knew I’d be driving to a date later. Other than that, my car hasn’t started to rust. Not yet. I’ll probably start washing it more once it rusts. Then all people will notice is the rust. Not a dirty car.
You get what you pay for. I like what I am paying for. I even remember to tip the people who towel dry your car. I wonder if that Skokie Native has any idea of what it feels like to towel and dry off a car. My shoulder joints are killing me by the time I’m done. I am not going to complain over a slightly used towel. I have never seen heavy dirt marks on these bright white towels they use, however, the towels always look like they are too wet. I don’t care. My car looks 10 times better than what it did when I pulled in. Thanks guys!

not too many reviews for this place, but I think it is a great price for an exterior car wash and they hand dry your car very thoroughly.
My husband bought a package so he saved and extra dollar off the car wash for 5 washes.
They were meticulous to spray around the wheels prior to the wash and prepared the car for the quick exterior machine wash with soft cloth.

I’m a Skokie native and I’ve used this place a couple times. The washes weren’t that thorough and they use not the cleanest towels to dry your car. Overall they never stood out as a great car wash to me, but I decided it’s been a long time since I’ve checked out the place. Poor choice.
There is one car going through the wash and no cars in line. I pull up to the pay booth to get my ride scrubbed down. Unfortunately, the owner is off to the side chatting for around 5 minutes and shows no sign of coming over, even after he looks at my car several times. Really? Must have been a very stimulating conversation.
Anyhow, I don’t have time for this so I leave. I don’t plan on going back. Go to We Wash (best car wash I’ve been to but a farther drive from Skokie) and the others in the area.

i don’t clean my car. ever. my car is in a perpetual state of stankiness. there are typically no fewer than 4 big gulp cups in my car at any given time and i don’t even drink big gulps. it’s as if trash materializes from the floor. needless to say, my car was a hot mess.
for a mere $ 10 i got an exterior wash, hand dry, vacuum and dash cleaning. they did a pretty thorough job, even managing to get into that pesky crack in between the chair and center console. you know, the void into which all of your change disappears?
one beef… and it’s a minor one. i have no mats in my front seat (long story), so when the guy offered me new car mats for $ 2, i assumed that’s what i’d be getting. instead i got two back seat mats, even though i already had those! hrm?

Great price, fast, low profile place — the guys work really hard! You don’t see people work like that these days. They totally deserve to be tipped. My car was gleaming when I left. I will go back again.

Solid, good service, pretty easy to get to if you are ever on the Edens.