Water Spots

You are using far too much water at your car wash!  Has anyone ever said that to you before?  Excess water usage is not only a concern for delivering a clean, dry, spot-free car, it is also a concern of your customers that you are not wasting water in order to satisfy them.  The single act of using of drying agents in the car wash is consuming

If you’ve ever noticed a large amount of water outside your car wash exit, had to increase the amount of time a vehicle spent going through your air dryers, or dealt with a water spot problem, there may be one small but important step in your wash process that could be the culprit—your drying agent. In automatic car washes, drying agents strip away excess water and play a pivotal role in how effective your wash is at producing a clean, shiny and dry vehicle.

Drying Agents

Drying agents repel water from a vehicle instantly, similar to how water reacts when it comes into contact with oil and is pushed away. The ingredient within a drying agent that causes this effect is called a cationic surfactant. Cationic surfactants have a positive charge that is attracted to the negative charge of the vehicle surface, much like a magnet’s positive charge is drawn to a metal object’s negative charge. The chemicals that make up a drying agent bond to the exterior of the vehicle and form a thin layer of protective film that acts like a shield, pushing away the water on the car’s surface.

Drying agents are typically applied through a low-volume, overhead arch. This application process uses one to two gallons of water per car. Drying agents are applied after a vehicle has been fully washed because it needs to be rinsed free of dirt and soap so the drying agents push water away from the vehicle’s surface.

Customer Expectation

According to the 2005 International Carwash Association’s “Study of Consumer Car Washing Attitudes and Habits,” across all types of car washes, customers rated their satisfaction with the “quality of the wash higher than the importance of it.” In addition, a spot-free rinse was recognized as one of the most important factors consumers considered when choosing what type of car wash to use. And once again in its 2008 survey, ICA found that the quality of the wash remained the top satisfaction driver for consumers of all wash types.

Another key survey finding showed that the importance and delivery of a thoroughly dried car was rated the highest for full-service washes. To help meet your customers’ expectations and provide the best service you can, keep an attentive eye on your drying agent’s performance and talk to your supplier if you have any questions.

Make Comparisons

As with any car wash solution, the types of drying agents can vary in quality, cost and performance. When you are looking at purchasing drying agents, it’s best to compare products by how well they perform in your wash. Your supplier should be able to help you test your water quality, set up proper dispensing and evaluate use costs to ensure the drying agent you choose matches your wash needs.  When selecting a drying agent, the quality of your water impacts your overall wash operations.

Save Energy

Vehicle dryness and appearance is best judged by operators themselves. Manually drying vehicles may be a nice feature, but it can also be an expensive labor cost and slow production. You can minimize hand drying costs by making sure your drying agents and air dryers are energy efficient.

One additional benefit to selecting a drying agent that matches your wash needs is a reduction in energy costs. Drying agents come into contact with all parts of the vehicle, which reduces water dripping from the cars as they exit the wash and decreases the length of time to complete the drying process. The less time you need to run air dryers, the more money you will save in energy costs.

If you operate a wash that doesn’t use air dryers, some drying agent products use non-ionic surfactants to help spread rinse water and promote a sheeting effect which minimizes water droplet formation and post-wash water spotting. Although this approach is effective in drying, many consumers still prefer to observe the “beading” effect delivered by cationic surfactant drying agents.

Save Water and Energy

Understanding the drying process, is about delivering a clean dry car but cannot be done in today’s marketplace without smart attention to energy and water waste. Consumers expect a dry, spot-free car but they also expect a business owner to not waste water or energy in their community.