In full service car wash establishments like The Wash Tub, the process can involve several more steps after the entry into the tunnel and the initial cleaning. Here’s part 2 of the series.
The Scrubbing
Don’t worry as the scrubbers used in reliable full service car washes are safe for use on your car’s paint job. The scrubbers usually consist of large vertical cylinders containing hundreds of small cloth strips, which spin between 100 and 500 revolutions per minute (rpm). As your car moves between two or more scrubbers on each side, the cloth strips clean its vertical surfaces.
In many car washes, wrap-around washers are used. These are also scrubbers albeit positioned on short booms so these can be moved around from the front to the rear of the car. These are also operated by a combination of hydraulics and electric motors, as is the case for conventional scrubbers.
The cloth strips are relatively soft but you don’t want to be scrubbed by them because of the resulting pain akin to being whipped. These are regularly cleaned to prevent the buildup of possible abrasives, as well as replaced when too worn or soiled.
The Blasting
There are no blasts that can damage your car either in this step! Instead, a system of high-pressure rotating jets spray concentrated streams of water on the car’s surface. The circular pattern of the streams of water as it moves over the car’s surface combined with the strength of the stream itself creates a powerful scrubbing action.
Again, it may look fun to be in the line of these concentrated jets of water but it isn’t because you can easily be knocked off your feet. The force in many water jets has been measured at 1,000 pounds per square inch (psi).
If you live in an area with a pronounced winter season, then you should choose a car wash with an undercarriage wash applicator. This device is equipped with several nozzles on the ground level that wash away the mud, salt and dirt buildup from your car’s bottom part.
The Rinsing
The rinse equipment also include a series of nozzles that spray concentrated streams of clean water to remove the residues from the mitter curtain, scrubbers, and high-pressure washer. The nozzles are usually arrange in an arch so almost every surface of the car can be covered.
Most, if not all, full service car washes also offer extra services that will transform your car’s appearance – at least, on the cosmetic level without a completely new paint and detailing job. These services usually include interior and exterior dressing, tire dressing, white wall treatment, and waxing and polishing.