Every industry has its own language and the car wash industry is no different. The following is a list of terms that will help the car wash novice better understand the language car washers speak. The list of terms are the different types of car washes.
Manual HP washing- exterior
This means cleaning the vehicle with the use of a pressure washer. This mechanical device is mainly used after applying an alkaline prewash product. The chemicals lower the tension of the dirt which makes it easier to remove the dynamic and static roadfilm with a high pressure washer afterward. We also use a high pressure device to rinse the vehicle after applying a shampoo or wax/drying agent.
Detailing & interior cleaning
Detailing or car valeting is getting your vehicle in a perfect condition, sometimes better than when the vehicle was leaving the showroom. This includes cleaning, polishing, waxing, leather & upholstery treatment, tire gloss, paint protection, and so much more. This segment is quality driven, time consuming and the demand for premium products is high. Interior cleaning is a part of detailing where the focus is on cleaning windows, textile and leather and renovating leather, plastic and vinyl parts.
Selfwash
Also referred to as Jetwash. This is a type of car wash where customers come in and clean the car themselves. They are getting the necessary equipment for the washing of the vehicle at the station.
This generally consists of a foam lance, a brush and a water sprinkler. A selfwash consists of several bays and is typically coin-operated or token-operated. The cleaning can be done with liquid and/or powder chemistry.
Roll-over
A roll-over is the type of carwash where you park your vehicle and the equipment rolls over the vehicle. This type of carwash is often found in gasstations because of the quality of the wash and the low maintenance of the installation. The disadvantage is that they limit production. Most rollover can wash only twenty cars per hour.
Tunnel carwash
This refers to a car wash that is a conveyorized operation. You park the vehicle on the chain, never forget to put it into neutral, and the vehicle is pulled through a series of cleaning steps on a conveyor. Depending on the size and type of carwash you can wash a certain amount of vehicles/hour. The size of the carwash can range from 15 to 100m long. For these carwashes the topic of water quality of recycling water and the influence of chemicals on it is becoming more and more important.