Dry Cars Impress Carwash Customers
By Angela Altass
“When customers drive away from a carwash, they expect to see a dry vehicle, particularly a dry windshield and a dry hood,” says Kyle Martin, sales manager, Oasis Car Wash Systems.
Some customers won’t get out of the vehicle before they get home or to their next destination, so the only areas they see are the windshield and hood, notes Martin. Some customers will pull off to the side after their wash to vacuum or to look their car over.
“If the wash they paid for includes a dryer, they expect to get what they paid for; a clean, dry vehicle,” says Martin. “If you can provide a clean, dry vehicle every time customers come through your carwash, they will continue to visit your location. One of the interesting things regarding carwash dryers that we do as a company is what we call our Eclipse Dryer system. It can run in tandem with our i5 soft-touch machine, our Typhoon touchless machine, or our XP touchless machine. We call this our in-bay tunnel, and it requires a bay of a minimum of 60 feet.”
With the Oasis in-bay tunnel, the first half of the bay is dedicated to wash equipment. In the middle of the bay there is a divider door that separates the wash equipment from the dryer, keeping the dry bay area dry.
“Once the wash is complete, customers drive forward into the dryer bay,” says Martin. “Once their vehicle is in position within our electronic scanning and positioning (ESP) system, they put their vehicle in park, just like they would for the wash bay. The dryer then begins to move back and forth over the vehicle on our rack and pinion rail system. It moves from front to back and back to front, giving a consistent dry every time. It takes the customers out of the equation, not requiring them to drive slowly through a timed, stand-alone dryer, and allows them to just leave their vehicle in park while the dryer works.
Upgrading the dryer system can be a great renovation for a carwash site, says Martin, who recommends exploring the various options available before choosing a new system.
“There have been many changes in technology over the years,” notes Martin. “So, take the time to do your research and talk to different manufacturers about their products.”
There are a number of service models in the vehicle care industry, says Cheryl Ehmen, chief executive manager, Aerodry Systems.
“You need to know and use proper customer service tools to sustain and grow your business,” says Ehmen. “Dryers typically get blamed for the quality of the wash. The truth is, it takes a collaborative effort to deliver a clean, dry car in a timely, cost-effective manner to a satisfied customer. Nearly all of the customers descending on your wash look forward to spending minimal time on a mundane chore.”
For repeat customers, small annoyances of poor service build up over time, says Ehmen.
“No matter how well established your business is, you cannot grow if your customers are either not happy or if the services they need are not being provided,” says Ehmen. “As the carwash industry continues to evolve, so do the technologies that support it. The most exciting advancements in the field of carwash dryers are not limited to the dryers themselves but are part of a broader, more cohesive approach with other carwash components. One area of development that stands out is the improvement in chemicals and application methods used in the washing process. New chemicals, and the application methods of those chemicals, hopefully improve vehicle cleanliness while increasing the ability of the dryers to remove properly treated rinse water. In other words, better pre-drying processes lead to more efficient drying, reducing the number of blowers needed to achieve an optimal clean, dry, and shiny result.”
Dryer equipment features have also become smarter as well as more effective and efficient, says Ehmen.
“These include better nozzle construction and airflow management, which help optimize the drying process,” says Ehmen. “The result is a more efficient system that can dry vehicles faster and more thoroughly.”
Blower nozzle customization has been trending, says Dylan Seton, marketing coordinator, A.V.W. Equipment Co. Inc.
“There are many options to get the nozzles closer and pointed in the right direction, including nozzle extensions, angled nozzles, and pivoting nozzles,” says Seton. “For dryers, blower placement is just as important, or more so, than horsepower.”
A.V.W. Octa Square blower arches allow for more efficient placement of blower producers to improve dryer results, says Seton.
“There are more angles in the arch compared to a typical square arch, giving the option of a more calibrated dryer set up,” says Seton. “Our new AVW Mat Blaster offers a fast and powerful clean for floor mats, both large and small. It is a great way to add value to the vacuum section of your carwash.
Strategic placement of the nozzles is important, notes Cody Schmidt, vice president of sales, Premier Touchless Drying.
“The first factor we look at when we talk with end users is nozzle orientation,” says Schmidt. Premier recently launched its Evolution Series with oscillating and flip nozzle options and Schmidt says there will be more options rolling out in the near future.
Schmidt also notes that there are many new products coming to the vacuum market, such as air dryers for dashboards and various detailing products. Premier recently integrated new motor systems into its stand vacuums.
“We continue to evolve,” says Schmidt. “That’s why we came out with the new Evolution blower system. We are also trying to bring to market options that help operators with energy efficiency. We are currently rolling out our new air gate product that allows the motor to still run but not at full speed to save on electricity. When a car approaches underneath it, the air gate opens to let the blower run at full operational speed. That is a big milestone for Premier.”
Self-serve is often the forgotten part of the carwash industry, comments Keith Lutz, vice president of Kleen-Rite Corp., recently announcing Kleen-Rite’s acquisition of fragrance and vacuum machine manufacturer Fragramatics. Kleen-Rite will now offer the full line of Fragramatics fragrance and vacuum units while continuing to carry repair parts and accessories.
“Not only does the acquisition give us the ability to provide product and continuity to that line, it also provides an opportunity to help the self-serve segment by making sure the product continues to be available,” says Keith Lutz, Kleen-Rite vice president. “We want to position ourselves to champion the self-serve segment.”
