In a typical carwash, vehicles have to undergo several wash and rinse cycles. In fact, there will likely be multiple rinse arches in a Car Spa location – each rinse arch will be placed after each cleaning station. Here’s a brief explanation of the wash and rinse cycles that your car will undergo during a typical carwash.
Blast from the Washer
Aside from the pre-soak solution and foam applicator treatment, your car will also be subjected to a high-pressure washer. This is a system of rotating water jets with each jet featuring several nozzles, usually arranged in a pinwheel arrangement; each nozzle also has a slightly angled design.
The water jets spray concentrated streams of water to your car’s surface, typically in a circular pattern due to the force of the water streaming from the nozzles. The force of the water is so strong – about 1,000 pounds/square inch in a typical carwash – that it can knock you off your feet! But it’s necessary because the force of the water combined with its circular pattern cleans your car through a powerful scrubbing action.
Carwashes with high-pressure system use between 1,000 and 1,500 liters of water per car, thus, the need for special pressure tanks to hold the water. Don’t be concerned about water loss and waste since most, if not all, reliable carwashes have recycling systems that recapture and recycle the used water back to the pressure tanks.
Rinse with Water
As previously mentioned, there are several rinse arches in a typical carwash. Each rinse arch consists of a series of nozzles that spray clean water to remove residues from the washers, mitters, and scrubbers.
A rinse arch is typically stationed after every major cleaning station. For example, the typical configuration can be:
- Pre-soak and mitter curtain followed by a rinse arch
- Foam applicator, scrubbers, high-pressure washer, and undercarriage wash applicator followed by a rinse arch
- Wax applicator, mitter curtain, and scrubbers then a rinse arch
The last step is a dryer. As you will observe, most carwashes have two sets of mitter curtains and scrubbers for a deeper clean.
Aside from the rinse arches, many carwashes also have a wax arch and the type of wax used is different from the type applied by hand. The carwash wax, furthermore, works on nearly all types of surfaces including glass, rubber, and chrome as well as metal and plastic. This will be applied in one of two ways: through foam applicators or through nozzles.