One of the primary reasons to wash your car regularly is to ensure that you maintain the interior and exterior quality of your vehicle, maintain its beauty, and extend its lifespan and functionality. Another reason is to maintain the safety and security of you and the other drivers on the road. An improperly maintained vehicle will harm you and other road users.
More and more vehicle owners nowadays prefer driving directly to a drive-through to get their cars washed instead of doing it themselves. This is one of the reasons you see more drive-through car washes available in neighborhoods all over the country.
Here are some pointers on choosing a drive-through car wash likesparkcarwash.com that does the job and is value for money:
Type of car wash
In most neighborhoods, you can find two types of car washes. One is the automatic car wash that uses cloth and brushes in their drive-through, and the other is a touchless drive-through car wash that uses lasers to clean cars.
Automatic drive-throughcar washes are the most common ones you see. It’s been around for decades, and you can spot them anywhere from gas stations to independent sites. It’s also easy to use. You simply choose the type of wash you want, drive your car towards the bay or platform, set it to neutral, and let the platform move along the rotating vertical wheels of the brushes. You go through hoses that spray soap solution and then brushes that work to clean all sides of the car.
Once you reach the end of the platform, you shift your car back into drive mode to the drying station, where it is either dried manually by the car wash personnel or using giant blowers. Also, depending on your choice, waxing may be done at the end for the interiors and exteriors of cars. Automatic drive-through car washes take about 20 minutes to complete.
Alaser car washdoes not feature gigantic cleaning instruments. It’s a pretty new age, so only a select number of car washes feature this new upgrade. A laser car wash only requires water and cleaning substances, and it uses powerful pressurized nozzles that direct cleaning solution and water to lift dirt, grime, and debris off your car. Then the vehicle is rinsed using high-pressured nozzles to clean it up.
The drying process is also automatic and touchless. It uses high-pressure air dryers to dry the surface of the car. Just like the automatic carwash drive-through, laser car washes also offer spray-on wax and conditioner. Some car owners prefer the touchless method because it ensures no scratches form on the car’s surfaces. Laser cash washes take under 10 minutes to complete.
Both options offer you cheap and fast ways to clean your car. If you’re looking for speed and economy, both options provide a great way to keep your car spick and span.
In more recent years, steam car washing is gaining traction because it combines the benefits of touchless laser cleaning as well as the drive-through automatic features of deep cleaning.
Type of water treatment systems
If you’re looking for a quality car wash, then checking on the water treatment systems they use is beneficial. Most car washes now require water treatment systems, but only a few follow this ruling. As a result, toxic chemicals and other elements like salt and debris end up in the water from the previous user. These unwelcomed substances can cause premature rusting and paint damage to the body of your car, not to mention it’ll also pollute the environment.
Cleaning methods
What would your preference be regarding the cleaning methods used in car washes? This preference will also help you choose which car wash serves your needs. As a rule, avoid extremely high-pressure water systems. An adequate amount of pressure is required, but if it’s too strong, it might cause dents and scratches on your car.
Cleaning solutions
If the price of a drive-through car wash is too good to be true, it probably is. Suppose your objective of a car wash is to maintain the car’s exterior and interior quality, including the paintwork. In that case, checking the car wash’s cleaning solutions is essential.
Ask the personnel about the type of solutions used or the brand. Harsh chemicals in some car washes might produce a high shine when the car comes off the washing bay, but it will eventually erode the paint job after a few washes. Contaminated cleaning materials and improper cleaning can also cause your car’s exteriors to be dull after a few washes.
Drying methods
Do you prefer manual drying or automatic drying? The after-wash wipe-down is as just as essential as the cleaning itself. Most commonly used in drive-throughs are strong heated air jets to speed up water evaporation after the wash is done. Sometimes, the car washes have manual drying, where personnel uses dry clothes to wipe off excess water.
The cleaning tools used
Finally, you also want to look into the tools used in drive-through car washes. Some use highly stiff brushes that cause scratches, swirls, and other marks on the car that was never there before. These brushes can cause paint damage over time too.
So, should you go to an automatic drive-through car wash?
The simple answer is yes. With any wash, there are always pros and cons. It depends on what your preferences are. Some prefer touchless washes, whereas some are okay with regular drive-throughs. There could also be options for steam cleaning in some neighborhood car washes that you could try.
Ultimately, you want to be able to keep your car clean because it will ensure smoother and safer driving. Washing your car with a frequency of once in two or three weeks is a good ballpark for a well-maintained vehicle. Not only will it ensure safer driving, but a properly maintained car will also help you sell it in the future for a better rate, should you choose to.
