Selecting the right car wash detergent has a number of advantages for your business. The right detergent can increase profits, customer satisfaction, ecology, and productivity. The wrong detergent can ruin customers’ paint jobs and clog nozzles. These are just the beginning of the challenges you face when selecting a car wash detergent.
Profits
Strike a balance between an economical car wash chemical and an effective one by purchasing a high-foam detergent. The sudsing action extends the chemical, covering greater surface area for the dilution rate than a low-foaming detergent.
Customer Satisfaction
Customers value a complete experience whether through a tunnel operation or a drive-through system. A detergent that includes a fresh scent—without seeming heavy or artificial—can set your operation apart from the competition from driveway do-it-yourselfers or self-serve bays. Choices here can range from bubblegum scent (to attract a teenage customer base) to fresh mountain scent.
Harmless dyes inserted into foaming detergent, too, can enhance the drive-through experience. Car wash detergents are available with red, blue or yellow foam that younger drivers and drivers with young children enjoy.
Customers should know (from you, offering useful advice as a community service) that car wash chemicals are exclusively formulated to do one job—clean the surface of painted vehicles without harming the paint and clearcoat.
Highlighting the superior performance and gentle cleansing of car wash detergent, and contrasting it with alternatives, can increase customer satisfaction:
- Driveway car soaps, powders or homemade formulas are often harmful—dish detergents will strip paint jobs of polymers and accelerate oxidation, according to Barry Meguiar, of Meguiar’s, the internationally renowned car care product company.
- Driveway car washing is likely to destroy the car’s paint job—a University of Texas study showed that handwashing more deeply scratches the average paint job than an automatic car wash. Repeated handwashing, often following worst practices (hot metal; washing the entire surface simultaneously; allowing suds to dry) accelerates the deterioration of the paint job
- Car wash chemicals do a better job cleaning—a car wash (tunnel or drive-through) actually does two things: it washes and cleans. Washing removes superficial dust and dirt, while cleaning helps remove some bonded contaminants.
- Professional detailing (using a clay bar, for example) combined with automated washing provides the greatest benefit. Linking your automated wash with the care of detailing removes the greatest quantity of bonded contaminants such as road rubber (microscopic tire rubber worn off by the road and thrown up by cars to land, hot and sticky, on car paint jobs) and tree sap.
Ecology
Driveway car washing provides no safeguards to the water table, as thousands of weekend car enthusiasts ignore the detergents, runoff and wasted water their Saturday rituals create. A professional car wash operation uses:
- less water
- environmentally sensitive detergents
- recyclable packaging
By selecting a higher concentration detergent, you reduce packaging and transportation costs. The right detergents and chemicals can become a hallmark of a “green” operator:
- No hydrofluoric acid
- No ammonium bifluoride
- No phosphates
- No formaldehyde
- No volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
This allows car wash operators to position themselves as environmentally aware, and more protective of water and air resources than do-it-yourself bay operations or the driveway devotees. Combined with careful water usage and a quality foaming detergent that reduces total water consumption, your operation can have the reputation of being the most ecological car washing choice.
Productivity
The right car detergent at the correct dilution can keep your system flowing smoothly, lessening downtime from clogs and malfunctions. Liquid detergents, because they contain no solids, improve flow rate through nozzles and create more foam than powders or other solids.
Choose a detergent with high lubricity, to increase wetting speed and provide quick spread of the detergent. Overlapping nozzles each spraying a car chemical that spreads quickly and cleans efficiently will increase the quality and speed of your line.
Paint Job
By using car chemicals formulated only to wash and clean auto paint jobs, your operation preserves customers’ cars. This contrasts your tunnel or drive-through system with the wand brushes of self-service bays and the harsh scrub brushes of driveway do-it-yourselfers, both of which routinely damage paint, and often leave swirl patterns that are difficult to remove.
Nozzle Performance
Whether a tunnel or drive-through system, your car wash depends on consistent spray patterns and pressure through your nozzles. The right car wash chemical can actually serve to lubricate nozzles, minimizing downtime for cleanout.
Water Quality
The ideal car chemicals provide a gentle, thorough wash and cleaning while still readily breaking down to return harmlessly to the water table. If your operation advertises that it uses well water, an environmentally sensitive detergent completes the loop. Not only are you conserving water through lower water usage and proper dilution, you can avoid water-softening chemicals and return the water back to the environment free of harsh chemicals.