PUEBLO, CO — Drought conditions here have resulted in water restrictions putting a huge strain on detailing operations that are now struggling just to stay in business.
The Pueblo Chieftain reported that water restrictions might be driving customers to standard carwashes instead.
Scott Armenta, owner of the Pueblo Auto Shine, said he wasn't prepared for the drought and wasn't expecting business to plummet almost as soon as news organizations began announcing water restrictions, the newspaper reported.
"Usually we're so busy we have a hard time keeping up," Armenta said in the article. "Now we're only washing about two cars a day."
Before Pueblo residents were instructed to watch their water levels, Pueblo Auto Shine was detailing six or seven cars a day and celebrating its 10th anniversary in Pueblo, the newspaper said.
Now, Armenta is talking about closing the detailing business and relying solely on revenues from the family's small used car lot, the article said.
The newspaper said Gerard Trujillo, owner of Gerard's Automotive and Detail, has been detailing cars for 11 years and said he's never experienced such a sharp decrease in business.
He said his business was accustomed to servicing more than 12 cars a week, but now has about three customers during that time, the newspaper reported.
"People aren't washing their car in their yard anymore," Black Cloud Inc. General Manager Bill Thayer said in the article.
Thayer said carwash owners worried the Pueblo Board of Water Works might impose restrictions on the business, but carwashes aren't required to decrease usage, so more customers are coming in.
Armenta is predicting a bleak future for his business and all detailers in Pueblo County, the article said.
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