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A car wash, or auto wash, is a facility used to clean the exterior, and in some cases the interior, of
car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
s. Car washes can be
self-service Self-service is a system whereby customers acquire (or serve) themselves goods or services, paying for the items at a point-of-sale, as opposed to a shop assistant or clerk acquiring goods or providing services in addition to taking payment. Comm ...
, full-service (with attendants who wash the vehicle), or fully automated (possibly connected to a
filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...
). Car washes may also be events where people pay to have their cars washed by volunteers, often using less specialized equipment, as a
fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
.


History

The first U.S. patent for a mechanized car wash was filed in 1900 and soon followed by "auto laundries". The Automobile Laundry in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, Michigan, opened in 1914 by
Frank McCormick Frank Andrew McCormick (June 9, 1911 – November 21, 1982) was an American baseball first baseman who played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Buck" in honor of Frank Buck, he played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelp ...
and J.W. Hinkle, is considered the first business in the U.S. to adopt the name "car wash" for their services. Manual car wash operations, which used manpower to push or move the cars through stages, peaked at 32 drive-through facilities in the United States. The first semi-automatic car wash in the United States debuted in 1946 at a facility in Detroit, which used automatic pulley systems and manual brushing. Dan Hanna, encouraged by car washers in Detroit, founded a car wash in 1955 called the Rub-a-Dub in
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
. He later formed Hanna Enterprises and reached about 31 locations. Hanna operated his wash rack until adopting a mechanized car washing system in 1959. The company became one of the leading manufacturers of car washing equipment and materials, including brushes, conveyor belts, tire washes, and recirculating water systems. In the late-1960's, some car washes began to adopt "flex-serve" models to accommodate customers who did not want a full interior and exterior cleaning, in which facilities such as vacuuming and hand detailing are constructed near the exit as an optional service. The car wash industry in the U.S. remained primarily led by small businesses that distinguished themselves through playful signage or building architecture. At the turn of the 21st century, the "express exterior" business model—first developed by a chain in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
—began to emerge, in which computerized
point of sale The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice f ...
and
queueing Queue areas are places in which people queue (first-come, first-served) for goods or services. Such a group of people is known as a ''queue'' (British usage) or ''line'' ( American usage), and the people are said to be waiting or standing ''i ...
systems are used to manage customer throughput via automation, reducing the amount of staff required. In the 2010s, this model began to be combined with subscription-based car wash services, which offer convenience and potentially lower costs for car owners compared to traditional pay-per-wash models. Due to their
turnkey A turnkey, a turnkey project, or a turnkey operation (also spelled turn-key) is a type of project that is constructed so that it can be sold to any buyer as a completed product. This is contrasted with build to order, where the constructor builds ...
nature and lower staffing requirements, express exterior washes became an ubiquitous business model for the industry, resulting in many operators and private equity firms investing in opening larger chains of locations. As of 2024, the United States is estimated to have approximately 60,000 car washes that constitute a $14 billion industry. It has experienced steady growth, with an average annual expansion of 5% in recent years; some market analysts project the industry to double in size by 2030, partly attributed to the growth of subscription-based services. Additionally, the market share of professional car washes has grown significantly, from 50% in 1996 to an estimated 79% in 2021. This suggests a decline in the number of individuals washing their cars themselves. The average revenue per car wash location is reported to be around $1.5 million. Some municipalities in the United States have enacted saturation bans due to the number of new car wash locations being constructed in clusters.


Categories

The following are forms of car washing. * Hand car wash Vehicles are cleaned manually by attendants using cloths, brushes, and buckets or hoses. These facilities may offer basic exterior washing or full detailing services, including interior cleaning. * Self-service facilities, generally coin-operated, where the customer manually washes the car with a water-dispersing wand and low-pressure brushes, including pressurized "jet washing". * In-bay automatics involve the customer parking and an automatic wash machine rolling back and forth over the stationary vehicle. Housed at
filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...
s and stand-alone wash sites. * Conveyor or tunnel washes involve the car moving on a conveyor belt through a series of fixed cleaning mechanisms while the customer waits outside. Friction (brushes or curtains) or frictionless (high-pressure nozzles and touches wash) are used. * Mobile car washes Operators travel to the customer’s location with equipment mounted on vans, trailers, or trucks. Services may include exterior washing, waxing, and interior cleaning. Many operators use water tanks, pressure washers, generators, vacuums, and buffers. * Car wash lift systems, where cars are placed on a lift platform that can be used to wash under the car. * Touch-free (or touchless) car washing technology is the modern car wash system that reduces water consumption, chemical solutions, and time. Washing machinery uses high-pressure jets that measure the length and width of the vehicle. * Steam car wash: Steam cleaning uses high-temperature steam to remove dirt and grime from both the exterior and interior surfaces. This method is water-efficient and often used for sanitization purposes. * Waterless car wash: This technique uses high-lubricity cleaning agents and microfiber cloths to clean the vehicle without the need for rinsing with water. It is favored in areas with water restrictions or where mobility is prioritized.


Use of chemicals

In modern car wash facilities, whether tunnel, in-bay automatic, or self-serve, detergents and other cleaning solutions are designed to loosen and eliminate dirt and grime. This is in contrast to earlier times, when
hydrofluoric acid Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in water. Solutions of HF are colorless, acidic and highly corrosive. A common concentration is 49% (48–52%) but there are also stronger solutions (e.g. 70%) and pure HF has a boiling p ...
, a hazardous chemical, was commonly used as a cleaning agent in the industry by some operators. There has been a move in the industry to shift to safer cleaning solutions. Most car wash facilities are legally required to treat and/or reuse their water and may be required to maintain wastewater discharge permits. This is in contrast to unregulated facilities or even driveway washing (at one's home), where wastewater can end up in the storm drain and, eventually, in streams, rivers, and lakes. A chemical car wash, or waterless car wash, uses chemicals to wash and polish car surfaces. This method is claimed to be eco-friendly, but is recommended only for cars with light dirt accumulation to avoid paint damage. Mechanized car washes, especially those with brushes, may risk damaging the exterior finish. Paint finishes and car washing processes have improved. More facilities utilize "brushless" (cloth) and "touch-free" (high-pressure water) equipment, as well as modern "foam" washing wheels made of closed-cell foam.


Self-serve car wash

A self-serve car wash is a simple and automated type of car wash that is typically coin-operated or token-operated self-service system. Newer self-service car washes offer the ability to pay with credit cards or
loyalty card A loyalty program or rewards program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of one or more businesses associated with the program. Single-company vs. coalition programs Loyalty prog ...
s. The vehicle is parked inside a large, sometimes covered, bay equipped with a trigger gun and wand (a high-pressure sprayer) and a foam brush for scrubbing. When a
customer In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a Client (business), client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a Good (economics), good, service (economics), service, product (business), product, or an Intellectual prop ...
inserts coins or tokens into the coin box, they can choose options such as
soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...
, tire cleaner, wax, or clear water rinse, all dispensed from the sprayer, or scrub the vehicle with the foam brush. The number of coins or tokens inserted determines when customers operate the equipment; in most instances, a minimum number of coins is necessary to start the equipment. These facilities are often equipped with separate
vacuum A vacuum (: vacuums or vacua) is space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective (neuter ) meaning "vacant" or "void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressur ...
stations that allow customers to clean the
upholstery Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English wor ...
and rugs inside their cars. Some self-service car washes offer hand-held dryers. While self-service car washes offer flexibility and cost savings, they can also present challenges. In colder climates, water runoff can freeze in and around the bay, creating potential safety hazards.Moreover, self-serve vacuum stations may harbor various bacteria, including ''
Staphylococcus aureus ''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a Gram-positive spherically shaped bacterium, a member of the Bacillota, and is a usual member of the microbiota of the body, frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the skin. It is often posi ...
'', ''
Pseudomonas aeruginosa ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common Bacterial capsule, encapsulated, Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-negative, Aerobic organism, aerobic–facultative anaerobe, facultatively anaerobic, Bacillus (shape), rod-shaped bacteria, bacterium that can c ...
'', ''
Listeria monocytogenes ''Listeria monocytogenes'' is the species of pathogenic bacteria that causes the infection listeriosis. It is a facultative anaerobic bacterium, capable of surviving in the presence or absence of oxygen. It can grow and reproduce inside the ho ...
'', and coliforms such as ''
Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Escherichia'' that is commonly fo ...
''. These microorganisms can pose health risks, particularly to individuals with compromised immune systems, and may lead to the transfer of contaminants onto vehicle interiors during cleaning.


Automatic car wash


Conveyor-driven/tunnel car wash

The first conveyor-driven automatic car wash appeared in Hollywood, California, in 1940. Conveyor-driven automatic car washes consist of tunnel-like buildings into which customers (or attendants) drive. Before entering the automated section of the wash tunnel, attendants may prewash customers' cars. The car wash typically starts cleaning with chemicals called presoaks applied through special arches. CTAs, or "chemical tire applicators", apply specialized formulations, which remove brake dust and build-up from the surface of the wheels and tires. A high-pressure arch may direct water at the vehicle's surface at the end of a car wash's presoak. Mitters are ribbon-like components that suspend cloth strips or sheets over the tunnel The car is rinsed with fresh water immediately, followed by extra services if required. In many car washes, the first of these services is a polish wax. After the polish, the wax application is typically a retractable mitter or top brush and, in some cases, side brushes or wrap-around brushes. Next is a protectant, which creates a thin protective film over a vehicle's surface. Protectants generally repel water, which assists in drying the car and aiding in the driver's ability to see through their windshield during rain. A low-end wax or clear coat protectant follows the primary protectant. A drying agent is typically applied at the end of the tunnel to remove water from the vehicle's surface before forced air drying. After the drying agent, there may be a "spot-free" rinse of soft water that has been filtered of the salts usually present and sent through semi-permeable membranes to produce highly purified water that will not leave spots. Dryers may be present in various forms, such as stationary gantries with a contouring roof jet or small circular assemblies with nozzles of different shapes and sizes mounted on arches. Mitters, side brushes, top brushes, and/or wraps outfitted with
chamois The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpa ...
- or
microfiber Microfiber (microfibre in British English) is synthetic fibre finer than one Denier (unit), denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometre, micrometers. The most common types of microfiber are made variously of polye ...
-based material may follow the dryers. At "full-service" car washes, the car's exterior is washed mechanically, by hand, or using a combination of both, with attendants available to dry the vehicle manually and clean the interior. Many full-service car washes also provide "detailing" services, which may include polishing and waxing the car's exterior by hand or machine, shampooing, and steaming interiors as well as other services to provide thorough cleaning and protection to the car.


Touchless wash

Like soft-touch car washes, touchless car washes are automated, with the vehicle passing through a tunnel where it is cleaned. However, touchless car washes do not use the foam or cloth applicators that soft-touch washes use; instead, they rely on high-pressure washers to clean and rinse the vehicle. Sensors utilized by these washes allow for a more precise clean along with the vehicle's exact shape. To compensate for not physically contacting the vehicle, touchless washes use higher pressures and more caustic detergents than ordinary car washes. Because the vehicle is not physically touched during a touchless wash, the vehicle is at a lower risk of being damaged. However, touchless washes have a harder time cleaning off tougher materials or reaching difficult-to-reach locations on vehicles, and their usage of stronger chemicals can potentially damage a vehicle's paint finish.


Environmental factors

The primary environmental considerations for car washing are: * Use of water and energy resources; * Contamination of surface waters; * Contamination of soil and
groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...
. The use of water supplies and energy is self-evident since car washes are users of such resources. The professional car wash industry has made strides in reducing its environmental footprint, a trend that will continue accelerating due to regulation and consumer demand. Many car washes use water reclamation systems to significantly reduce water usage and a variety of energy usage reduction technologies. These systems may be mandatory where water restrictions are in place. Contamination of surface waters may arise from the rinse discharging to storm drains, which eventually drain to
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
s and
lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
s. Chief pollutants in such wash-water include
phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...
s; oil and grease; and
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
. This is almost exclusively an issue for home/driveway washing and parking lot-style charity washes. Professional carwashing is a
point source A point source is a single identifiable ''localized'' source of something. A point source has a negligible extent, distinguishing it from other source geometries. Sources are called point sources because, in mathematical modeling, these sources ...
of discharge that can capture these contaminants, generally in interceptor drains, so the contaminants can be removed before the water enters sanitary systems. (Water and contaminants that enter stormwater drains are not treated and released directly into rivers, lakes, and streams.) Soil contamination is sometimes related to such
surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to ''channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...
and is associated with soil contamination from underground fuel tanks or auto servicing operations which commonly are ancillary uses of car wash sites — but not an issue for car washing. For these reasons, countries like Switzerland and Germany have banned citizens from washing their cars at home. In the US, some state and local environmental groups (the most notable being the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staf ...
) have begun campaigns to encourage consumers to use professional car washes as opposed to driveway washing, including moving charity car wash fundraisers from parking lots to professional car washes. Poland, Portugal, Italy, and many other countries have no regulations regarding
wastewater Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of do ...
from car washing.


See also

* Auto detailing *
Automobile repair shop An automobile repair shop (also known regionally as a garage or a workshop) is an establishment where automobiles are repaired by auto mechanics and technicians. The customer interface is typically a Customer service representative, service adv ...
*
Car costs A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one bill ...
* Jetwash * LaserWash, a brand of touchless in-bay automatic car wash


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Car Wash
Wash Wash or the Wash may refer to: Industry and sanitation * WASH or WaSH, "water, sanitation and hygiene", three related public health issues * Wash (distilling), the liquid produced by the fermentation step in the production of distilled beverages ...
Wash Wash or the Wash may refer to: Industry and sanitation * WASH or WaSH, "water, sanitation and hygiene", three related public health issues * Wash (distilling), the liquid produced by the fermentation step in the production of distilled beverages ...
Service retailing