Car Wash Equipment

A car wash equipment manufacturer is a company that provides the equipment and material necessary for various kinds of commercial and sometimes industrial car washes. When starting a car wash business, many businesses purchase used car wash equipment. There are many different kinds of car wash systems; some work without employees and some operate with many. Automated car washes are popular and use either brushes or are considered touchless car washes. These auto car washes are often housed in car wash tunnels and use car dryers. Self service car washes are a do-it-yourself alternative to the automated type, and they often accept either credit cards or are coin operated car washes. Customers can take their car to a hand car wash, a more expensive option, where workers clean and do detail work by hand. Sometimes companies start mobile car washes, which are services that travel to their customers instead of the other way around.

Automated car washes have gained significant popularity in recent years. They are very common and come in two different varieties: touchless and cloth friction. Touchless car washes use high-powered water pressure sprayers to clean cars, which either move around the parked car or are stationary through which the car passes. Only the water and cleaning agent come in contact with the car, which prevents scratching and marking the car's finish. The alternative, cloth friction, uses soft yet powerful cloth to clean the car, which are large, rotating brushes that use soap to scrub the car exterior clean. Both forms of auto car washes use sensors called eyes that trigger a digital control system to enable the washing sequence and adjust to the car's size. Near the end of auto car washes is usually a drying station, where high-pressure compressors blow air over the surface of the vehicle, drying it before exiting the car wash.

Self service car washes are a less expensive, do-it-yourself alternative to the automated type. They are composed of one or more bays, which are covered, drainable areas where cars are washed. Inside, a water gun with different settings is set on a timer, which is dependent upon the amount of money customers want to pay; the more money they pay, the longer they have to wash their cars. Many of these timed systems are coin operated, but newer wash stations now accept credit or debit cards. The pressure sprayer and foaming brush are joined to a boom, which is a hose connected to a large central pump. The booms are attached to the wall or ceiling of the bay, with plenty of slack so the customer may move around their car easily. Because self service and automated car washes rarely have employees on hand and are machine-run, they are often open to the public 24 hours a day. Many car wash companies offer waxing and undercarriage cleaning services.

Hand car washes offer hand washing with wool towels or mits, car detailing and hand waxing in about 30 minutes. Some offer interior cleaning, carpet shampooing and vacuuming, and they can cost as much as $100 per visit. Mobile car washes are the most convenient option for car cleaning; they bring their services to locations specified by their customers. Mobile car wash services generally offer exterior cleaning, waxing, vacuuming and interior cleaning. Like the hand wash system, this is a more expensive option since customers pay for use of the equipment, man power and sometimes for the transportation costs of the company. These services tend to be patronized most frequently by customers who are unable or unwilling to bring their cars to car wash services or to wash them themselves. Using commercial car wash systems has many benefits in comparison to at-home driveway methods. They use much less water than a hose, which is in some cases recycled and filtered for future uses. Home car washing can negatively affect the environment unless the contaminated water is collected somehow and disposed of in an appropriate way. Commercial car washes are generally better equipped to do this. Non-commercial cleaners can damage a car's finish over time, while the cleaning agents used at car washes are designed specifically for car exteriors and do not harm a car's finish. Despite some common misconceptions, using commercial car washes is also more economical, because less water is used per wash. Whatever the method a customer chooses to use, as long as there are cars, there will be a need for car wash equipment.

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Types of Carwash Equipment

• Auto car washes are a popular system where cars are driven into a wash bay and either guided into the washing equipment by conveyors or the equipment moves around the stationary vehicle. They are also known as full service wash since they typically include the whole process of a complete wash, dry and vacuuming (by hand).
• Automated car washes are vehicle cleaning systems that do not require attending employees or managers to perform cleaning; instead, the cleaning is performed by automated machines.
• Car dryers are heating blowers utilized in car washes that are employed to remove excess moisture from vehicles after they are washed.
• Car wash tunnels are narrow channels that are dedicated to car wash operations.
• Car washes are operations where car wash services are the primary business focus.
  
• Car wash supplies are any of the materials used in washing cars.
  
• Car wash systems include self-serve, automated and full service car washes.
• Coin operated car washes are self serve car wash operations where customers can make use of coin operated cleaning equipment to wash their cars.
• Conveyorized hand wash is a conveyor wash in which workers wash the vehicle as it passes with large mitts in place of mechanical mitters and side washers.
  
• Drying systems vary with site and application, but typically the dryer heats large amounts of air and forces it out through a series of nozzles in blasts, which dry the vehicle. Some sites use a special chemical after the final rinse to speed up the drying process.
• Hand car washes are car cleaning services where all cleaning processes are performed by hand by trained professionals.
• Mobile car washes are car wash operations where the service providers come to the location of the vehicle with high powered equipment to clean the vehicle.
  
• Self serve car washes have an open bay with a pressure sprayer and sometimes a foaming brush that is connected to a large central pump. They are usually coin operated.
• Touchless car washes are car wash services that involve the use of machines that do not come into direct contact with the vehicles they clean.
• Truck washing systems consist of a combination of manual washing and special washing brushes, rinsers, hoses and chemicals designed to clean a truck or heavy equipment.
• Used car wash equipment is a popular alternative to new equipment when a car wash company invests in new cleaning machines. They can be sold to refurbishing companies that offer them at discounted prices.
• Waterless car wash systems usually consist of chemicals, which break up dirt and oil to be wiped away and leave a shine on the vehicle. With most waterless systems, effectiveness is increased with frequency of use.
  

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Carwash Equipment Terms Acid - An important chemical additive due to its capability to react with alkalies or bases in water to produce salts.   Boom - The arm extension holding the hose and nozzle assembly for washing vehicles in a self service car wash bay; the boom could be mounted either to a bay wall for 180° or to the bay ceiling for 360° mobility.   Centrifugal Separator - Apparatus that removes big particles of dirt out of the flow of reclaim water flow.   Cloth Friction Wash - The use of wash material on the surface of the vehicle for dirt removal. Conveyor Systems - A system of small rollers, which push the wheel forward through the tunnel in an automatic car wash system. The two types of conveyor systems for these purposes are front-wheel pull (FWP), which uses the front left wheel and rear-wheel push (RWP), which uses the rear left wheel. Correlator - Can be found at the beginning of the conveyor in an automatic drive in car wash. It is the system of rollers that aligns the vehicle wheel with the conveyor. Detergency - The capability to remove or clean soil. Typically, detergency is relative to the action of a cleaning medium like detergent, soap, alkaline salt or a mixture.   Dissolved Solids - Particles of dirt or other debris too fine to be visible in water. Digital Control System (DCS) - Calculates information determined by eyes/sensors and activates proper stations and phases of the wash as needed.   Exterior Wash - A phrase that refers to a car wash service that only cleans the outside of the vehicle, typically an unattended wash without detailing services. Eyes - Infrared sensors with a beam between them to activate the car-washing system when a vehicle enters and measure the length and width of the vehicle. Foam - Car wash cleansing foam created by mixing chemical cleaners with water and air. Foam is usually for deep cleaning or a main wash station. Foam Applicator - Applies foam detergent to the car for deep-cleaning, usually with adjustable nozzles. High-Pressure Washers - A system of rotating water jets, arranged like a pinwheel, that spray concentrated streams of water onto the car. Often used on the lower portion of the vehicle to remove mud, dirt and salt. Mitter Curtain - Long strips of cloth that hang from the top of the tunnel in a car wash and are usually motorized to move up and down the vehicle. They clean the hood, roof and trunk. Motor Control Center - Enclosed area housing the switching, starters and overload protection equipment used in a complete car wash system to run the different motors on various machines. Pre-Soak - A solution that is sprayed over the car in the initial wash stage to wet the vehicle before detergents are added and to loosen dirt and oil.   Rinse Arch - Nozzles arranged on an arch that use clean water to remove whatever residue is left after the wash. Scrubbers - Large cylinders that rotate rapidly (anywhere from 100 to 500 rpm) to spin the hundreds of small cloth strips attached to them. Tire Applicators - Nozzles, near the ground, which spray the tires with a solution designed to remove brake dust and brighten the black rubber of the tire. Undercarriage Wash Applicator - Device to deliver high volumes of wash water to the underside of vehicles to remove mud and salt. Can also be used as a rust inhibitor applicator. Wax - Usually applied by an arch, forms water-resistant coating on vehicle for shine, polishing and protection. Sometimes applied in foam form or liquid. Wrap-Around Washers - Type of scrubber on short booms that move around to the front and rear of the vehicle.

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