Running a Car Wash

Car Wash Refund Policy

In my years of running a car wash, the best car wash refund policy is to refund money when requested. Even though you may have the rare customer who claims to have put $10 worth of quarters in a bay that isn’t working, most requests are going to be legit (and if they aren’t is a few dollars worth fighting over?). Also refunds can be a way to build lifetime loyal customers. Although there are a few that will try to abuse this type of refund policy, most of the folks taking the time to report a problem are legitimate. By quickly responding and giving them more than their money back, they are very appreciative and become a very solid customer. When you consider the volume of revenue, typically isn’t worth the worry to fight giving most refunds. Refund requests will also be more legitimate if you are using tokens versus coins. By refunding tokens, your potential loss is lower (tokens cost less than coins) and there isn’t much to gain if they are scamming.

Track every name, address and phone number of people calling for money lost in the changer to keep tabs on repeats. Almost every time it will probably be verified by the changer count.

Cameras can help solve most of the refund requests too. By verifying lost money by equating the time customer said they were there, to the problem they are reporting. Some operators will verify every single refund request, even those for less than one dollar which seems like a huge waste of time for the operator. How much did it cost in the operator’s time to track and deny a $1 request?

Car Wash Soap

Getting the right car wash soap is a challenge and you need to make sure it’s right as if your soap doesn’t work, your customers cars won’t come out clean. In addition to picking the right soap you have to decide on powder vs. liquid. With the powder you have lower costs but incur the hassle of mixing and clogging. Over the long run liquids should save you time, money, and provide overall less aggravation.

There are several good manufacturers of soap and some of the best in the business are Blendco and Klean Rite. A lot of variables go into what makes a soap good and your water quality and chemical make-up makes in almost impossible to recommend one over another. But, just like many other things in life- price often reflects the quality of a product. The prime factor in the overall cleaning ability of soaps is the level of alkalinity. After boosting other products to the same level of alkalinity the performance gap between many manufacturer’s products really narrowed.

Don’t be afraid to try products from all of the manufacturers. They are more than happy to give you samples to try. Also while some people like to buy all of their product from one supplier do what’s best for your business and mix products from different suppliers that give the best performance for the dollar.

Remember that the best purpose of the foam brush is to help emulsify the presoak, (keeping the presoak in contact with the car), and to provide friction to assist in the cleaning of the car. The foam brush should be neutral, as close to 7 PH as possible. More cleaning power in the foam brush soap can be a bad thing as there’s less chance of damage to a finish if the soap dries.

Winter Soaps

Keep in mind in areas that experience cold weather that you need to pay attention to the soap you use to keep your equipment and customers cars from becoming damaged. Two soap options include.

Winter Formula Soap – Winter formula blends are available on the market pre-mixed. Sometimes the viscosity of the winter formula was so different from the normal soap that you will spend a lot of time getting everything recalibrated to flow correctly.
Methanol added to your current soap – I’ve since learned to buy straight methanol from a chemical supply house, and add it to my regular soap. That way, I don’t have to change buckets, soap products, etc. And I can control how much methanol I add compared to the amount of soap. Doing this made it much easier on me when migrating from Fall to Winter. You can get methanol from most suppliers or you can get some from where the local midget racer (not the vertically challenged people) get theirs from. This way you can buy in small quantities as needed instead to buying a 55 gallon drum.

Soap Additives

The jury is out whether people really care enough about colors and smell to make the investment in equipment. There are products out there that can produce lots of foam, color and fragrance and have no cleaning power at all. While some markets seem to really like the colors (higher-end families with kids) don’t sacrifice cleaning for an illusion of quality.

Be careful with the additives. It is best if you can inject it in line rather than simply adding it to the mixed solution. Some scents might cause problems of separation, reduce foaming or even affect the color of the foam. Be sure to test first before letting your customers try it out.

You need a small amount of alkalinity in your foam brush tank which will help cleaning and prevent scum build-up in the tank.

Cleaning the Car Wash

You might think that since your business is dispensing just water and soap and the car wash stays clean, but cleaning the car wash keeps your facility looking good and is more inviting for customers than a dirty one. There are a number of products for cleaning the mold, mildew and grime from your car wash bay walls.

Chlorine/Bleach – Easy to get as you can buy it by the gallon at your local home improvement store. Spray it on, let sit for a few minutes and hose it off with high pressure. Be sure to not spray on signs or get it on your clothing as it makes a stain that will be there forever.

Muriatic acid – Strong stuff and available at most home improvement stores but can damage if used improperly as it is hydrochloric acid. Muriatic acid will not hurt Lexan, but it eats some plastics, so you’ll want to test it in an inconspicuous spot first. It won’t harm stainless right away, but if you leave it on too long or let it dry it turns it black. Otherwise it will clean it like new. It can also strip the galvanizing and chrome right off steel. It will also remove concrete, so you’ll want to wet the floor or use a tarp that will resist the acid.

If you use muriatic acid, go to the paint department and get a deck sprayer. It’s the only one Home Depot/Lowe’s carries that will resist the acid.

Muriatic acid is one of the most effective things for calcium build-up.

If the buildup is bad, you can use it straight. Try to do it when there’s no breeze, and preferably when it’s raining.

Specialty wall cleaners – There a number of powerful products marketed to the car wash market for cleaning bay walls. A lot of products that contain hydrogen fluoride because it is such a good cleaning compound or her cousins potassium bifluoride, ammonium bifluoride both of later two compounds are just as hazardous as hydrogen fluoride and must be used with great respect and caution. HF or Hydrogen fluoride will etch the gloss finish off of tile, and then you have a porous tile that will shuck everything into it.

Whatever product you use, make sure the wind is not blowing, and it’s best to have a safety person to keep customers from coming over to you. Another good tip is to keep another garden hose close by and connected, so that ifs you do get some on you, you can rinse right away.

If you insist on using products with acids or fluorides you need to use protective gear to include goggles, respirator, rubber gloves, rubber boots and long sleeves and pants (or even a rain suit). Long term slight exposure can be as dangerous as a one-time heavy exposure. Take the time to put on protective gear. You won’t regret it.

Cleaning Graffiti From a Car Wash

At some point sooner or later your car wash will be a target for graffiti. A few ideas for cleaning graffiti from a car wash that work quite well.

Paint stripper – Be sure to get a good quality so you don’t have to do the job twice, but the paint stripper should weaken the graffiti it and allow you to remove it with normal bay pressure. One product in particular is from Grainger called Amnesty. It is an aerosol product and works great on things like signs, walls, stainless, etc. Good Luck!

Another source of graffiti removal could be through the city or fire department. They can get ahold of special stuff and sometimes give it free of charge because the graffiti makes the entire city look bad.

Cleaning the Car Wash Pit

You rarely see any mention about cleaning the car wash pit when hearing about the wonderful opportunities owning a car wash provides. The pit will tend to need more attention in the rural areas as more mud will get in there but regardless you will need to clean it out and isn’t the most fun.

The most common way to clean the pit is to shovel it out, dry and then taken to the local landfill where they accept it. Dry material is not considered hazardous but in a wet form it is. Some areas are more difficult to dispose this mud as they have concerns about levels of petroleum hydrocarbon levels. While many studies have been performed and dirt samples are deemed to be non-hazardous as the levels are low, good luck getting long standing laws repealed.

Two types of shovels to make the job easier are a sewer shovel and a product called the handi-clam pit shovel. It has parts like a clam shell that come together when using a lever on the top of a long extension. Everybody has their personal favorite.

One of the benefits to the mud is that some of the same chemicals (most notably phosphates) that are in fertilizers are also in detergents. You may be able to sell it or just use it for your landscaping.

If the manual removal isn’t for you look to hiring septic tank cleaners. The costs are pretty high as opposed but you can’t argue against the time savings. Check to see if any are in your area who specialize in car wash pit cleaning.

Painting a Car Wash

When painting a car wash, don’t go cheap and stick with the big name paint stores (Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, etc.) and look to a latex or oil based epoxy. Talk with the local with the rep to get the blend and colors right. This isn’t an area to try to go cheap as the cheap paint doesn’t stick well. Expect to pay $300 for 5 gallons.

If you can get away with it keep your painting at a minimum or you will be freshening it every year. The curse of a car wash is paint–any paint. Try tile, plastics, metal, stained block or other coverings. Keep paint to an absolute minimum and you will love yourself for many, many, years down the road.