However do you cope without a commercial portable shopping cart washer

"The #1 show stopper at Global shop and FMI."

Shopping Cart Washers [Medco]

[#1 posted by HeatherB , November 12, 2008 7:39 PM]

The "Pure Cart" system was featured on the Today show this morning. A bit neurotic in my opinion. I'm fine with the wipes.

www.purecartsystems.com

[#2 posted by mgfarrelly , November 12, 2008 9:00 PM]

I worked at a grocery store doing cart duty when I was in high school. Worst job I ever had. People leave food in carts all the time. These carts are then smashed into the cart returns at something like the force used in the Large Hadron Collider. Add rain or heat or snow to this mix and you end up with this viscous sludge that still makes me feel unclean.

For the truly heinous cases, we pilfered rubber gloves, BBQ tongs and took the damned things behind the store and dumped bleach on them, spraying intermittently with a hose.

Just a word of warning, if you drop a grape or cookie in the basket, just...just let it go man.

[#3 posted by schmod , November 12, 2008 9:08 PM]

They have a similar system to scare the crap out of dogs:

http://www.medcoequipment.com/dog-washers.html

[#4 posted by Not a Doktor , November 13, 2008 12:19 AM]

My best shopping cart WTF moment came when I grabbed a cart in the parking lot at night, and noticing how unusually heavy it was a mexican woman came running after me to get her kid.

[#5 posted by Anonymous , November 13, 2008 7:02 AM]

I think we should put it on the ship with the phone sterilizers.

[#6 posted by Anonymous , November 13, 2008 10:20 AM]

Yes, this will finally get rid of the poopy diaper residue in the upper basket where I usually put the fruit and veggies.

[#7 posted by drtwist , November 13, 2008 10:40 AM]

I wish they had these things when I was a "courtesy clerk" (read as "doer of shitty jobs") in my teens at Safeway. I had to wash the carts after too many customers had used them during bottle returns, turning them into sticky smelly messes.

[#8 posted by DrJen , November 13, 2008 7:16 PM]

My cat now dislikes BoingBoing. Saw the thing about the carts...led me to read the thing about the dog-washing machine...realized that the cat hadn't had a bath in way too long...well...the rest is history.

[#9 posted by montauk , November 15, 2008 9:19 PM]

I laughed so hard at the title of this I choked on my perogi(e?)...

[#10 posted by mdh , November 15, 2008 10:44 PM]

@#1 - I was told that stuff was "Zhuzh" (long u). It is layers of what's left when almost everything washes off. You don't want it on your hands. Another place it is found is on the sides of mop buckets.