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Friction Vs. Touchless Car Washes

Car Wash Equipment

A Comparison of Two Different Automatic Inbay Car Wash Approaches

There are several options available for automatic vehicle cleaning. Two of the most common are touch-free inbay washes and friction cleaning inbay car washes. Touch-free uses high-pressure water jets to loosen and remove dirt and grime. Friction cleaning inbay car washes use high-pressure blasters with foam or cloth brushes. Both wash types have pros and cons and deserve careful analysis when selecting which type of car wash to build. 

  • Processing Speed

    Touchless inbay car washes are known to be relatively slow. They can only process one vehicle at a time and take 4-6 minutes for each car (10-15 cars per hour). This can result in long lines on good wash days and wasted opportunities for generating revenue. 
    Conveyorized friction cleaning car washes are speedier. Short inbay models can wash 15-25 cars per hour at ~3 minutes per car, and longer conveyors wash up to 50 cars per hour (depending on the equipment installed). 

  • Performance

    Even with modern presoaks, detergents, and laser-guided contouring, touchless car washes have difficulty dealing with heavy dirt, mud, road grime, bugs, and other hard-to-remove debris. 
    Brush-equipped car washes generally perform better, using a soft cloth and foam brushes with a thick layer of body soap to lift and remove debris from all visible surfaces of the car, including hard-to-reach places like rocker panels and side-view mirror contours. 

  • Safety

    Recent advances in car wash brush materials have resulted in outstanding increases in wash safety across all vehicle types. Today’s soft cloth and closed-cell foam material are lighter, do not absorb water, and last much longer between replacements. It is important to note that vehicles with loose components, aftermarket components (roof racks or undercarriage lighting), or heavy rust damage should not use express car washes. 
    In these situations and those involving certain ‘special needs,’ touch-free washes or handwashing often present a better option, reducing pressure and eliminating physical contact. 

  • Establishment and Operations

    Inbay car washes, whether equipped with a cloth or a touch-free system, have the advantage of being low profile, compact, and relatively inexpensive to build and maintain—contributing to their frequent use as secondary profit centers incorporated in auto dealerships and gas stations. 
    However, friction cleaning systems frequently provide operators with greater revenue due to increased cleaning performance and faster processing speeds. 

For these reasons, Tommy Car Wash Systems offers a comprehensive Inbay Conversion System, which brings a conveyor-equipped express car wash’s processing speed and cleaning power into an existing touchless inbay or rollover building. The result is a fully conveyorized micro car wash tunnel equipped with our propriety Triple Presoak arch, soft cloth cleaning modules, and circular applicator arches. 

To learn more, visit our Inbay Conversion system page or fill out the form here to contact a Tommy Car Wash Systems team member. 

Tommy Car Wash Systems.