How to ensure you are delivering the shiniest wheels & best looking tires possible

by Megan Loch

At Ecolab Vehicle Care, we recently conducted focus groups around the country to ask consumers their thoughts, concerns and preferences regarding professional car washing. Do you know what was cited as the most common “sign” indicating to them their car was clean? Clean wheels. And beyond that, they felt that if their wheels were clean and their tires were dressed properly, they had received a “quality wash”—a point of differentiation that kept consumers returning to the same location wash after wash.

So just how do you deliver these “quality wash” indicators to your customers every time? Obviously, there are a number of different products and types of equipment on the market that deliver clean and shiny vehicles. But what is the best combination for your particular soil and cleaning challenges? To find the answer, you need to look a little deeper.

Five Factors of Cleaning

We’ve all come to understand the various “factors” that come into play when trying to clean a vehicle: chemical action, time, temperature, mechanical action and procedures. Each of these factors impact the other, so when you adjust time, you may need to also adjust the mechanical action, and so on.

Starting with effective, sustainable products is really step one. Soils vary by region and geography, so no one cleaner is going to work for every site—even in the same city. When choosing your provider, find a company that acts as your business partner not just a product delivery company. Find a provider who will work with you to deliver the cleanest wheels possible; one who understands your soil and your unique cleaning needs.

Next, consider dwell time. Chemistry needs time to work. Make sure you are giving it the time it needs. Whether that be through moving a CTA a few inches or adjusting the speed of a conveyor, dwell time can make or break the end result. Of course, too much time translates into waste—so find that right balance.

And it’s certainly no secret that hot water tends to clean better. This is true whether we are washing laundry at home or a car at a wash site. Short of using hydrofluoric acid (HF), using hot water on wheels can help deliver a better result. However, there are new products entering the market that no longer require the assistance of heat to cut through challenging soils. When you no longer need to heat the water, you save more money and increase your sustainability profile with customers.

Finally, consider mechanical action and procedures. Are you cleaning wheels by hand or do you use an online system? This is another place where your product can support your process. If you have the right product working for you online, your need to prep the wheels via a spray gun or bucket and brush at the start of the wash can be greatly diminished if not eliminated all together. Considerations whether you use cloth, brushes, bristle or foam, as well as water pressure and impingement (the angle at which the water hits the wheel) as they all impact the efficacy of the cleaning. Work with your provider to ensure you have the right mechanical action working with the proper product at the right dilution to minimize your labor costs and maximize the “wow factor” that sets your wash apart.

Now that we’ve considered all the factors that impact the final product you provide to your customer, let’s zero in on the chemistry that can help deliver clean, shiny wheels and tires.

Wheels With “Wow”

When it comes to cleaning wheels, the traditional philosophy has always been “stronger is better,” explained Lucia Byrne, Ecolab principle chemical engineer. “Traditional wheel cleaners have often been hydrofluoric acid-based (HF-based) or strongly alkaline. Operators used to believe that if a wheel cleaner did not make their employees cough, it wasn’t good enough. We know today that this approach is not only unnecessary, but can be avoided entirely with a quality one-step, non-HF alternative.”

Because of the various soils found nationwide, many wheel cleaners on the market have a tendency to be very regional—working in one area but not another. In fact, regional soil challenges are so complex that many operators resourcefully blend two products to achieve cleaning. While creative, this approach also leaves room for improvement. Instead, work with your product supplier to identify and bring on a one-step wheel cleaner that gives you the results you need, as well as increases your sustainability profile among consumers.

As an example, operators are finding that even without high-pressure application or heated water they can achieve superior cleaning results. A one-step product helps customers differentiate themselves by providing their customers with a cleaner wheel. In fact, a one-step wheel cleaner saves customers money by not having to heat the water used on wheels and by using less water in a low-pressure applicator. That’s a win-win all around—including the fact that it all comes in recyclable packaging!

Tires That Triumph

Just as consumers want a “wheel that wows” they also view the state of their tires as an indicator of a quality wash. Regional differences do exist that dictate exactly what the proper shine is (matte, gloss or glazed), but overall, the most common shine level requested by consumers across the country is a nice “gloss”; not too shiny that looks like the tires are “slick,” and not just “blackened.” They want a shine level that will compliment their wheels and make their cars look well cared for.

Again, if we look back traditionally, most tire dressings have been applied manually either by brush or spray because there were few reliable online tire dressing applicators. However, the applicator market is growing. Today there are good tire dressings designed specifically for use with automatic machines.

The ideal dressing should provide a high level of gloss, spread across the surface of the tire easily, dry quickly and last several days. If you find that your tire dressing is not performing as expected, you should ensure that the product is flowing to the applicator appropriately and that it is getting onto the tire. If it doesn’t produce the desired shine, look to the rinse process immediately preceding the tire dressing application. If the tire is not properly cleaned and rinsed, residual surfactant left on the tire can negatively impact the performance of the dressing.

You want to make sure tires are well prepped (clean) and well rinsed prior to applying the tire dressing. Simple adjustments in the wash process can relieve this issue and improve your shine results immediately. Consult with your product supplier for assistance in bringing industry best practices to your site.

And finally, whether your tire dressing is glycerin-based, polyethylene glycol-based or silicone-based, there is a risk of freshly applied dressing “slinging” onto the newly cleaned car. When using the proper chemistry for your online applicator set to the proper flow, these potential problems can be minimized. Your product partner should be able to bring best in class chemistry designed to work with the unique requirements of your online applicator.

Shining Your Way to Success

When walking through your car wash site, take a moment to consider what we’ve discussed here to ensure you are delivering the shiniest wheels and best looking tires possible. Remember the following points:

• Clean and shiny wheels, along with great looking tires, are the number one way consumers determine if they’ve received a quality car wash.
• Make sure that you are using sustainable chemistry designed to attack the soils in your region.
• Dwell time is critical. Does your wheel cleaner have the time to do its job?
• High temperatures are no longer required for great wheel cleaning. Look for a provider who has the technology to work with cold water and save money.
• There are a variety of different ways to clean and each can be effective. Make sure that the chemistry you use supports your processes to save you money and labor.
• Work with a provider who understands your business and works to improve your bottom line. When you are successful, everyone is successful!

Megan Loch is the vice president of marketing at Ecolab Vehicle Care. She can be reached at megan.loch@ecolab.com.