This method is claimed to be eco-friendly. 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.Ī chemical car wash, also known as waterless car wash, uses chemicals to wash and polish car surface. Most car wash facilities are required by law to treat and/or reuse their water and may be required to maintain wastewater discharge permits. There has been a move in the industry to shift to safer cleaning solutions. This is in contrast to earlier times, when hydrofluoric acid, a hazardous chemical, was commonly used as a cleaning agent in the industry by some operators. Modern car wash facilities, whether tunnel, in-bay automatic, or self-serve, detergents, and other cleaning solutions used are designed to loosen and eliminate dirt and grime. Washing machinery uses high pressure jets that measure the length and width of the vehicle.
Housed at filling stations and stand-alone wash sites.
In-bay automatics involve the customer parking and an automatic wash-machine rolls back and forth over the stationary vehicle.Self-service facilities, generally coin-operated, where the customer manually washes the car with a wand dispersing water and low pressure brushes, including pressurized "jet washing".Hand car wash facilities, where the vehicle is washed by employees.Categories Īn in-bay automatic car wash performing a friction wash pass The 1970s introduced the automatic wheel cleaner and the polish'n'wax. This includes the Wrap-Around Brush, Roller-on-demand Conveyor belt, soft cloth friction washing, several ways to wash the tires, and a recirculating water system. 1960s īy the mid 1960s, Hanna Enterprises established itself as the main manufacturer of car washing types of equipment and materials. As the news spread throughout the city, so did his business. In 1959, Hanna operated his wash rack until he made the first mechanized car washing system. In 1957, he formed the Hanna Enterprises and eventually reached about 31 locations. 1955 ĭan Hanna, encouraged by the car washers in Detroit, made his own car wash in 1955 called the Rub-a-Dub in Oregon. A facility in Detroit, Michigan, used automatic pulley systems and manual brushing. The first semi-automatic car wash in the United States made its debut in 1946. Manual car wash operations peaked at 32 drive-through facilities in the United States. The name is credited to belong to Automobile Laundry in Detroit, Michigan. People used manpower to push or move the cars through stages of the process. The history of commercial car washes in the United States began in 1914.