Ben and I moved to the Gulf Coast in February 2010 as a spontaneous reaction to a natural disaster that ruined our home in NC. Only two months later, the biggest news in the nation was of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster. We were just getting by at the time, working at the Olive Garden, and wanting to make the world a better place. We were scared that the sugar-white beaches we’d just relocated to would be blackened with crude oil. Our concern for our young family and this beautiful place inspired us to change the detailing industry.
What inspired us to change the detailing industry by creating Cleen Green Detail?
A combination of concern for our industrial impact to the environment, desire to work for ourselves (we’d also considered a food truck), and Ben’s existing knowledge of car care led us to starting our auto detailing service, Green Cleen Detail. We spent 10 years figuring out how to best reduce our impact, from resource management to the ingredients in the chemicals we choose. One goal was to end our dependency on gasoline. In 2010, that meant we operated an old diesel pickup and our personal cars on filtered fryer oil from a restaurant. As time went on and vegetable oil became challenging, we kept on looking for a way to fuel our business without petrochemicals.
In 2015, we caved and decided we couldn’t avoid a gasoline vehicle, but also bought a Nissan Leaf for a personal car. By this time we’d been attaching solar panels to our vehicles for a couple years. All the detailing equipment was operating without any fossil fuels, just the power of the sun. That van was rear-ended, leading Ben to put all his gear into that little Leaf. It fit, so he attached a solar panel to the roof and worked out of it. We added a Chevy Bolt in 2023. Electric cars have been in our lives since 2015, and I would never go back to an ICE vehicle.
The Next Steps for Green Cleen Detail in our mission to change the detailing industry
As we realized the profound benefits of working without using gasoline, without a generator, it only seemed a natural extension to offer such freedom to other people in our industry or anyone who needs power in a remote location. Since an ecological disaster inspired us to change the detailing industry, we looked again to the natural world. The name for Narwhal came during a science trip to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington DC, where we learned all about these majestic creatures who were once thought to be unicorns if they existed at all. We’re kind of like that: something that people thought would be impossible but really existing. The Narwhal of the Industry. The logo has a sun, and all the media lists SolNarwhal as a nod to the real concept: using the power of the sun to operate your mobile life or business.
We Moved to Austin, TX
Mobile detailing in Austin has been elevated to a new level. Green Cleen Detail offers a luxury service at your home, just like a landscaper or pool care. Don’t leave your vehicle for days or weeks at a shop. Instead, have it cleaned and cared for right in your driveway. Don’t worry about what’s being applied to surfaces you expect to keep you safe because Green Cleen has done that for you. Choose Green Cleen Detail of Austin and stop riding dirty.
Green Cleen serves the greater Austin area, from Bee Cave and Cherrywood to Walnut Creek and Wells Branch. We can work in the small neighborhoods of SoCo, Travis Heights, and Tarry Town, and we happily visit the apartments at the University of Texas, Concordia University, and downtown Austin. We also love the rolling Hill Country, and travel from Leander and Cedar Park to Lakeway and beyond. Howdy, y’all. We’re Green Cleen Detail, and we do detailing differently.
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