Do you think about the water in your car wash? You should.

 

Paying attention to your water quality will help you to clean better. Hard water can create a number of cleaning problems and will hinder the ability of your presoaks and detergents to work effectively in the wash end. You might be thinking “I use a water softener, I’m good….” Not so fast – soft water in the wax end of the wash is counterproductive! Waxes and drying agents work more effectively with hard water. Hard water, soft water and reverse osmosis water have a chemically different water droplet shape that will affect the performance of car wash chemicals.

In addition to paying attention to the type of water you have, you should choose to use chemicals that work better for your specific water conditions. Under hard water conditions, use chemicals that are “hard water tolerant” and have the right kind of conditioning additives.  Another important factor is rinseability – choose chemicals that rinse easily. When chemicals do not rinse easily, you will actually have chemical residue left on the vehicle, diminishing the cleaning effect. Or you could use a lot more water and hope that all of the chemical will rinse off. Take a look at this video that shows the difference in rinseability. We added a special dye and used a black light after rinsing  to see how much chemical was left on the surface. Watch the Ver-tech product on the right and see the difference.

Using and saving water water often involves a water reclaim system. Unfortunately, many car wash owners give up on their systems due to the smell, the clogging and the conclusion that the reclaim water might be putting more soils back on the vehicle. An easy fix is to use “reclaim compatible” products. Your reclaim system is like a science project and putting the wrong chemicals in allows for noxious smelling  bacteria growth and glob-like substances that interfere with the dispensing system. Read more about reclaim compatible chemicals here:

Finally, if you are using less water in your wash and using a reclaim system – market your savvy water use to potential customers. How you use water can become a competitive advantage. “Saving water” and “eco-friendly” practices can be appealing marketing points to the next generation of car wash customers, the millennial generation.

Using water wisely will continue to be an important factor in car washing. Aging water treatment infrastructure requires updating that will be passed along in rising water costs. Water availability is subject to droughts and usage demands. Someone once remarked that in the future, water will become the new gold. At Ver-tech, we’re working on chemicals that will help you to save water and clean better.

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For more about Water in your Car Wash:

  • download our Water Tips PDF
  • listen to Tony Vertin’s podcast on the How of Carwashing