Mudbusters Carwash owners open ‘Muttbusters’ for dogs

WASILLA — In less time than it takes to wait through two cycles of a typical car wash, your dog could be clean, too.

That is, if you take both your dirty car and your dirty dog to Mudbusters Carwash next to Burger King at the corner of the Parks and Palmer-Wasilla highways.

With an average of only $10 cash, credit or a Mudbusters value card, you can easily wash your tiny toy or your mighty mastiff in the new self-serve “Muttbusters” dog wash in one of two wash rooms attached to the right end of the car wash.

“It’s convenient, it’s fast, it’s comfortable and it’s the only one in the Valley,” said Steve Mahoy, the owner of three Mudbusters Carwash outlets and now one Muttbusters Dog Wash in Wasilla. “There’s only one other similar dog wash and that’s at Monster Carwash in Anchorage. They’re really popular in Europe and Australia.”

Mahoy and his wife Karen opened Muttbusters three weeks ago in a leap of faith after investing about $50,000 in the building and “K9000” dog wash stations.

They’ve already had an estimated 50 customers, but are anticipating interest picking up as soon as people realize it’s there.

“We’re getting our sign guy on it,” the professional electrician said Friday afternoon as a steady stream of cars went through the automatic car wash bays, but none stopped at the 24-hour dog wash. “Right now, we only have one temporary banner and you can only see it from the west side. One lady said she turned around and came back when she saw the sign in her rearview mirror. But when people pull into the car wash, they don’t even know we’re here because we don’t have a sign in the front yet.”

Set up similar to the self-serve car wash bays where customers slip coins, bills or cards into a slot, the Muttbusters wash dial is color-coated and offers scented shampoo, oatmeal shampoo, regular rinse, conditioned rinse and either high or low blow dry.

There’s even a vending machine on the outside wall offering dog treats, teeth wipes, ear wipes, eye wipes, ponchos and even dog breath mints.

“The vending machine is not hooked up yet, but it will have a variety of extra items, if needed,” Mahoy said with a laugh.

The 5-foot-long washtub is tall enough that dog owners don’t have to bend over and a glass door allows dogs to easily jump in and out at the appropriate times.

Short chains on either end of the no-slip tub allow owners to easily tether their pooches in place during the bath and the spray nozzle offers a variety of water settings.

Mahoy said one man with a 175-pound Bull Mastiff asked him about the weight limit on the metal and stainless steel tub.

“I’m 225 pounds and I was standing in there to calk the ceiling and didn’t have any problems,” said Mahoy, who’s lived in Wasilla with his wife and family since 1977.

The Mahoys said they are not trying to compete with local dog groomers since they a re not offering grooming services — only a self-serve wash.

It’s something they’ve been thinking about for the past three years, they said.

“We saw just the right unit when we were at a car wash convention in Vegas last year,” Karen said. “We knew then that it was time to do it.”

The Mahoys are used to gambling when it comes to what they feel is a sure bet for the market.

Mahoy clearly remembers waiting at one of the few stoplights in Wasilla in the early 1980s and noticing a sea of dirty vehicles.

“I remember shouting out the window, ‘This place needs a car wash!’ You’d look around and every car was the same color,” he said.

They built their first Mudbusters off Knik Road in 1997, investing everything they had. When all was said and done, they’d spent about $500,000 on the venture.

And even though it took several years and thousands of car wash cycles to get that money back, it was well worth the wait, he said.

They opened their second car wash off Lucille Street behind KeyBank two years later and the Parks and Palmer-Wasilla location in 2002.

“The hardest thing we ever did was start our own business,” he said, explaining the intricacies of the computerized car wash system and the constant maintenance needed to keep everything running smoothly. “There’s so much you have to consider and learn and risk. But if it was easy, everybody would do it.”

Mahoy said he is confident their newest venture will be “awash” in happy returns before too long.

And if their dogs’ wagging tails are any indication of success, they’re even more sure they’ve made the right move.

“Pete and Rocky weren’t sure about it the first time they went in,” Mahoy said of his son’s pit bull and his own Siberian husky mix. “But once they realized the water was just the right temperature and there wasn’t a lot of stress about this bath, they really seemed to like it — especially afterward!”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.McKee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.