What's Up With Car Wash Variety?

How to wash and maintain your vehicle can be as polarizing as choosing pizza toppings or coffee varieties for purists who maintain their vehicles as a hobby as well as for simply getting from point A to point B. While the majority of newer car wash businesses fall into two categories – conveyorized tunnel washes and full service – you’ll still see plenty of other options that have been around for decades. So what’s up with all those varieties of car wash, and how can you spot a decent wash?

Car wash businesses can be categorized by how they clean your car and where that cleaning happens. Here are the basics.

Conveyorized Exterior Tunnel Wash

All of Snap Clean Car Wash’s locations are exterior tunnel washes. You move through the tunnel a conveyor belt, and our high-powered robot applies carefully timed detergent, shine agents and rinse application, followed by a blow dry. We use soft-touch brushes to apply our chemistry. It’s efficient, affordable and effective. Our tunnel takes care of your exterior, and we provide vacuums and spray cleaner for customers to use to clean the interior of their vehicles. The majority of newer car washes are conveyorized tunnel washes with some being full-service. Look for a wash that uses soft-touch brushes vs. a “touchless” system. Some friction is required to effectively clean your car and remove stuck-on dirt, bird droppings, sap, etc., and touchless car washes often don’t use enough water to be effective.

Full-Service Tunnel Wash

Full-service washes aren’t usually a high-end detailing experience. Rather, they are usually a conveyorized tunnel washes with an additional hand drying and vacuuming service performed by staff. A full-service wash is more expensive than an exterior only wash because of the additional staff required to maintain quick turnaround for customers. Usually staff collect tips, so this is another cost to customers in addition to the wash package itself. These tunnel washes use the same types of equipment and chemicals as exterior wash businesses like Snap Clean, but they charge much more because customers don’t have to clean their own interior.

In-Bay Wash – Touchless or Friction

In-Bay washes are most often seen behind gas stations. You pull your car in after selecting your wash at a pay kiosk, and the equipment moves around the car applying detergents and other chemicals to clean your car. In-Bay washes may be touchless or use some type of cleaning cloth or brush to apply the chemicals. Most of us probably remember when an in-bay wash was the most easy-to-find commercial car wash, easy to add on when you paid for your gas. Today, you’ll often see empty bays behind filling stations because these aren’t as popular anymore. We recommend steering clear of in-bay washes IF there’s no one around who is well-trained to address equipment malfunctions.

Self-Service Drive-In

These wash facilities are powered by you the customer. If you’re a DIY-er but don’t have a driveway or another spot to wash your car yourself, you’ve probably turned to this variety of car wash. Usually you can wash your car fairly affordably as long as you bring plenty of quarters! PROS: Popular DIY option for those who like to tackle their own wash. CONS: Harder to find and usually older structures with older equipment. Chemicals may not be the best or may be watered down, and there’s no one around to help when equipment fails.

High-End Detailer

If you own a high-end sports car or luxury vehicle, you may have turned to a high-end hand detailer for cleaning. Our advice: if you’re going to pay for expensive detailing, make sure you’re actually getting a hand wash and hand dry. Get a recommendation from your dealer for a detailer who actually takes the time you’re paying for. Detailing is expensive because it takes the most labor to do a good job. Don’t pay for high end cleaning if the detailer is just going to run your car through an automated tunnel wash and then vacuum it out. You can do that yourself for much less!

While every type of car wash has its pros and cons, industry standards exist for a reason. The most common car wash today is a conveyorized tunnel exterior wash with a friction-based application of chemistry. Why? Because it works. We believe it’s the best way to clean your car while caring for the paint and getting our customers back on the road efficiently.

At Snap Clean, we pride ourselves on offering quality chemicals, a great experience and friendly, professional service at every location. Ready to drive clean? Stop by and see us today!