Lanemcfadden - All about steam car washes

House Cleaning

Steam Cleaner for House Cleaning

In recent years, steam cleaners have emerged as a safe and environmentally friendly alternative to cleaning with chemicals, detergents, and other substances that can be harmful to your health and the environment. The steam cleaner types like vacuum steam cleaners can be utilized to thoroughly clean and disinfect every area of your home.

Fortador Volt MINI

Cleaning and disinfection service companies might consider the Fortador Volt MINI. The favored approach for cleaning and sanitizing a range of items, including houses, offices, medical facilities, several sorts of commercial enterprises, as well as cars, over the past few years has been steam cleaning. read more

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Handheld Steam Cleaner

Handheld Steam Cleaner

Many different household tasks can benefit from the usage of handheld steam cleaners. Are you anxious to use steam’s various skills, yet unsure of where to start? That makes sense given the large number of goods available in this area.

Furthermore, buying the first one you see could leave you disappointed in the future. Therefore, it’s crucial to be aware of the qualities to take into account while choosing the right model for you. read more

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Reasons

5 Reasons Why People Choose Steam Car Washes

Steam cleaning is an ecological and efficient way to wash your car. An auto detail steam cleaner in a car wash shows that the owner is keeping up with time, respecting nature. Such a tool makes a car wash business not just a means of obtaining funds, but a goal. Clients are always attracted not only by the service but also by a common vision, global ideas. This and other reasons cause the influx of clients. Let’s consider some of them in detail.

 

Following Customers’ Needs

In the article “Marketing Tips for Your Business”, published in Entrepreneur magazine, it was written that a successful business needs only valuable services. The main responsibility of the car wash is to clean the vehicles efficiently. In this regard, a steam cleaner for cars helps a lot as it performs:

  • Steam cleaning the engine;
  • Interior washing;
  • Car body washing;
  • Removal of unpleasant odors;
  • Cleaning of the hard-to-reach places.

 

Careful Disinfection

As discussed on the motorist’s forum, the interior of your vehicle is not much cleaner than the toilet. Here, a steam machine for car detailing comes in handy, as it supplies high-temperature steam, thereby disinfecting the surface. It kills harmful microorganisms, germs, mold spores, bacteria. Such deep cleaning is needed by companies that provide transportation of people. 

 

Effective External Cleaning

The use of auto detailing steamers allows you to abandon aggressive chemicals and active polishing of the body. Therefore, you can not worry about the integrity of the paint. For metallic shades, steam washing is the best choice as it is very gentle and scratch-free. This device can be used to clean handles, doors, windows, mirrors. The steam does not leave streaks and traces.

 

Careful Detailing

The main advantage of steam cleaning the engine is speed and low risk of fire. After cleaning, leaks and breakages are easily detected. This extends the overall service life of the vehicle. Meanwhile, when washing the engine with a car detailing steamer by Fortador, the effect is the same as when cleaning with water and chemicals.

 

Reducing Prices

The steam cleaner gives better results than standard cleaning methods, and the process requires significantly less investment. This is positive news for car wash owners and motorists, as the time spent on cleaning is reduced, and the cost of the service is reduced as well. There is no need to purchase chemical cleaning products, as they are no longer needed. The company that makes industrial cleaning equipment indicates that steam cleaners reduce water consumption by 50%. Their website states: “Less water use, less waste in the drain = fewer COSTS.”

Car wash owners are beginning to be interested in including steam cleaning in the list of their services. With just one tool, one can improve the quality of the car wash services and add value. However, there are also those who have not yet decided on such a step. After reading this article, they will begin to think differently, as they will see that this tool simply cannot be replaced at a car wash.

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How to Choose

What Are the Washing Programs for a Self-service Wash and How to Choose the Right Ones?

The choice of washing programs that will be available at your car wash station requires certain knowledge and delicate calculation – if you provide too little or too much, you can significantly lose in profit. Let’s figure out what is worth investing in when choosing equipment, and what you can refuse.

 

High-pressure Water

This is a high-pressure water cleaning of surfaces and materials without the formation of dust. A stream of water allows you to remove contaminants of any physical nature and chemical composition: rust, bitumen, resins, carbon deposits, scale, lignosulfonates, pyrophoric compounds, etc. High-pressure pumps are used to generate a water jet with high kinetic energy. Water jetting is an effective, environmentally friendly, and versatile method for cleaning all surfaces. In this regard, it is similar to the auto detail steam cleaner.

 

High-pressure Shampoo/Chemicals

During this program, a chemical solution is injected under pressure. It foams a bit when it hits the car. If you have the relevant experience, this is the best and most economical option to wash your vehicle. Both chemical and kinetic effects are working on the dirt removal at the same time. However, if the client does not treat each part of the car at least twice, then after the car dries up, traces will be visible in those places that he will miss. To remove such traces, one can use a car detailing steamer by Fortador.

 

Wax

Both after cleaning the vehicle with a steam cleaner for cars or after using a regular high-pressure water method, many clients prefer to wax their autos. It covers the paintwork with a thin film on a silicone base, which gives shine and a slight hydrophobic effect when the drops roll off. There is a large number of fans of this program, due to which the average check increases, and the owner earns more.

 

Osmosis

The water served on this program can be called distilled – very clean, almost free of impurities. When the user sprinkles this water on the car after washing, the normal water is replaced with osmotic. When drying, such water, unlike ordinary water, does not leave streaks and “drops”, and it is no longer necessary to dry the car with clothing. However, this procedure is rarely applied after the use of the steam machine for car detailing.

 

Active Foam

The liquid is usually served in the form of foam from a separate pistol, which covers the car with a white cap. It consists of a more concentrated cleaning solution. Due to the high concentration of surfactants, the dirt is removed from the paintwork and in the form of a suspension flows down together with the foam.

The list of cleaning programs can be continued. If you try to study the preferences of your clients, and whether it is worth investing in new equipment such as auto detailing steamers, do research or ask professionals. 

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How Should

Self-Service Car Wash Design: How Should the Canopy Look Like?

Imagine that a self-service car wash canopy is a huge storefront. Would you like to buy groceries in a place whose shopfront is dirty, broken, and not made of the best material? Perhaps, you wouldn’t. The same scheme works with the canopies of self-service car washes – the brighter and more beautiful it is, the more people will want to come to you.

 

Factors Influencing the Future Success of Your Business

No matter how strange it may sound, the design of the self-service car wash canopy can be included in the list of the top-3 factors influencing the future success of your business alongside the location and quality of the services offered. However, before the client will be able to test a fashionable auto detail steam cleaner, he needs to be interested to visit you. If you decide to start your own business in this area, remember – a rare driver will choose a place to wash a car having studied current promotions at your car wash, especially while driving fast. He will probably pay more attention to the luminous canopy.

 

Statistical Data

In practice, of course, no one has done scientific research on this issue but there is still some information. The company Aquarama has had a network of its own self-service car washes, not the largest in Europe, but not the smallest. In March 2017, the Hypromat Italia network of 19 car washes was purchased by it. The company quickly changed the equipment including the auto detailing steamers but left the canopy as it was. It turned out that, on average, car washes with a conventional design bring in 20% less revenue than those with a bright designer canopy. 

 

Characteristics of an Ideal Canopy

As we have already explained before the client wants to try your new car detailing steamer by Fortador, they will notice a bright canopy. To make it look stylish and functional, you should consider the below info:

  • You can make a nice canopy of painted steel, but in conditions of constant humidity and exposure to reagents, they begin to rust.
  • Rather beautiful stainless steel canopies have one significant drawback – in the autumn-winter period their gray color almost completely merges with the gray natural landscape, so drivers often do not notice them.
  • A good option is galvanized steel, but it has the same disadvantage as stainless steel (it is gray), but there is also a plus (it is significantly cheaper).
  • You need not just a beautiful canopy, it must be bright.

Make the right choice and enjoy the smooth running of your business. If you are not sure that you can choose the right materials for the canopy or a steam machine for car detailing, just contact the professionals who will be happy to help you both with the steam cleaner for cars and other equipment to run your business smoothly. Good luck!

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Turnkey Self-Service

Top 7 Tips for Choosing the Right Hand Steam Car Wash

Almost all car owners try to keep their vehicles clean. Someone washes the car on one’s own, using a bucket of water, and someone visits car washes where the specialists remove dirt from the surface with the help of washing equipment. Each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages. Carrying out a car wash on your own saves money, but at the same time, it is not always possible to clean an auto with high quality.

However, another way to clean the auto has recently appeared – with the help of a steam machine for car detailing. Hot steam penetrates into the structure of dirt much better and destroys it from the inside, so it is simply removed from the surface. Also, the auto detail steam cleaner easily reaches all cracks, washing away all impurities. The high temperature removes all fat deposits, so complete degreasing of the surface is performed. How to choose the appropriate mobile car wash equipment for domestic usage? Useful tips are already given below.

 

Seven Tips for Choosing a Steam Cleaner for Cars

There are a large number of models on the market that can be used to clean the car. When purchasing a car detailing steamer, pay particular attention to the following parameters:

  1. Power: the efficiency of the work depends on the heating element installed in it. The higher the power indicator, the faster steam will be generated, the larger its volume will be.
  2. Humidity level: the presence of such an adjustment will allow you to set the desired operating mode for cleaning the interior or trunk, body, or hard-to-reach places.
  3. Operating pressure: for high-quality cleaning, you need to purchase a device that creates a pressure of 6-8 bar. Devices with lower values will be less efficient. For example, you can check the Fortador Volt Mini model.
  4. Number and types of attachments: the presence of attachments of various shapes will help the car enthusiast to get into hard-to-reach places, and facilitate the cleaning process.
  5. Device case material: the steam cleaner heats up during operation. A rugged heat-resistant case will prevent damage, and ensure long service life.
  6. You must also pay attention to the volume of the water container, the presence of an adjustment for the type of steam.
  7. Preference should be given to well-known, proven companies. Auto detailing steamers by one-day firms, which are especially numerous in the Asian region, may not last long. The low cost of such a product will not save you money.

 

In Conclusion

Steam washing is a unique technology for removing complex contaminants (grease, oil products, rust) from equipment surfaces. Steam cleaning reduces water consumption tenfold compared to a high-pressure washer. An important advantage is that steam cleaning takes place without the use of chemical cleaning agents. Using steam will not damage the electrical systems of the car engine. The application possibilities of this device are truly endless. Now you know how to select the appropriate equipment for home use. 

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You Need

A Complete Set of Self-Service Car Wash Equipment: What Do You Need?

Nowadays, many novice businessmen consider the opening of the self-service car wash station. To calculate how much it costs, you need to decide on the optimal number of posts and secondary equipment as a steam machine for car detailing. The more washing posts, the more expensive it will be to start a business. However, more posts will increase the profitability of the station, shorten the payback time and increase income.

As you can see, the final price of a self-service car wash depends on different factors. For example, if there is a cafe on the territory, it is possible to wash the vehicle with pink foam or take a break when using a car detailing steamer. Nevertheless, the purchase of the equipment should occupy the most attention of the owner. Below, you will find a list of the necessary tools.

 

Basic and Additional Equipment

The price of a self-service car wash depends on the choice of basic and additional equipment It is influenced by the quality, functionality, productivity, materials of the main equipment of the complex:

  • control panels (boxes) for posts with various functions and payment methods;
  • high-pressure pumps;
  • reverse osmosis plants, filters, and systems for high-quality purification of wastewater;
  • electric motors providing a stable supply of water and detergents;
  • sensors for controlling door opening, lighting, remote access systems, monitoring, water purification, and equipment protection;
  • hoses, guns, holders, auto detailing steamers, etc.

The final price of a turnkey self-service car wash is also calculated based on the cost of building facilities and installing equipment to provide additional services:

  • Building a cafe – allows visitors to have a snack, drink a cup of coffee, which significantly increases the prestige, and profitability of the complex;
  • Equipment for blackening wheels, effective car wash with pink foam, waxing of vehicle bodies, and using the auto detail steam cleaner by Fortador are quite popular services among auto owners that bring stable additional income.

 

The Typical Price of a Turnkey Self-service Car Wash 

You will have to spend a certain amount on the construction, organization, and equipment of the complex. These costs do not depend on the number of vehicle service points. On average, the price of a turnkey self-service car wash can vary:

  • From about $5,200  – a budget option with one post. Equipment: stainless steel station post, bill acceptor, 1,000L tank, 1 high-pressure pump, tube, pantograph, high-pressure valve, hose. 
  • From about $7,400  – this is a standard option of self-service car wash with one post. The above set is complemented by 2 tubes, box heating, light sensors, 3 tanks for chemicals, a steam cleaner for cars.
  • From about $12,700  – a VIP version with one post. It is complemented by PayPass, 2 high-pressure pumps with bypass protection, foam injector protection, GPSM access control systems, personnel identification, control, and accounting.

The final price of a turnkey self-service car wash depends on many factors and is calculated in each case individually. So, don’t hesitate to contact the professionals and find out the exact price.

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Washing Quality

Is It True That the Main Criterion for a Good Car Wash Is the Washing Quality?

The contactless car wash process usually looks very simple. However, these elementary actions hide many chemical and physical processes that affect the final result of washing a car. Many factors affect the result of the cleaning. Let’s discuss them in detail.

 

Chemicals

A car is made up of many parts. You need to wash not only the paintwork but also glass, plastic, rubber, chrome, and other materials. The cleaning solutions for each of the surfaces must be different. At the same time, they should not damage the other parts of the car, which is not so simple. Dirt is also comprehensive in composition. Depending on where we drove, where the car was parked, different types of mud can be detected (organic, inorganic).

The most common in the car wash industry are alkaline types of auto chemicals, which are mostly safe for use by people. However, they are still less safe than washing with the auto detail steam cleaner. The concentration of the solution directly influences the efficiency of auto chemicals. The dosage is indicated by the manufacturer on the package.

 

The Water Quality

Not even all car wash manufacturers understand the importance of water quality. Automotive chemicals are applied to a car in a diluted form. If the water is hard, i.e. contains a high amount of hardness salts, they prevent chemicals from dissolving in water, which means poor effectiveness. If the water has a high content of iron or manganese, then immediately after dilution, the process of interaction of the detergent with metals, or rather their oxidation, begins. Meanwhile, the auto detailing steamers do not require any chemical reactions. This distinguishes any steam machine for car detailing from other alternative methods.

 

Temperature

If you remember the school chemistry course, the chemical reactions accelerate with increasing temperature. So, the higher the temperature, the better chemicals work, removing dirt from the surface. In practice, when the water temperature is higher than +16, the correct chemistry is used, and the water is of good quality, then the water can be left unheated. Ideally, high-pressure water should be heated for flushing, but this is not cheap, especially if there is no central heating. In such a case, one can use the steam cleaner for cars by Fortador, which automatically heats the water.

 

Time

For any chemical reaction to proceed successfully, it takes a certain amount of time. The time required for the reaction depends on the type of chemicals, the current program, the amount of dirt, and the temperature. For the “high-pressure shampoo” program at +20, 2 minutes is enough for action. For the foam, a longer time is needed for a quality impact – 3-4 minutes. If you use a car detailing steamer, it may take a bit longer to remove the dirt.

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Market Overview

Market Overview of Contactless Robotic Washes: Pros and Cons

Automatic car wash is a rather popular service among many car enthusiasts. All operations to remove dirt from the outer parts of the machine are performed automatically. Automatic machine washes are divided into contact and non-contact. In the first case, the vehicle passes through brushes, rollers, and fabric strips, in the second, cleaning is performed with water and high-pressure detergents. However, this is not all the varieties of automatic car washes. There are also tunnel and portal types. Read more about the contactless robotic wash.

 

The Operation Principle

The principle of operation of an automatic wash is that the vehicle is placed on a special conveyor. Further, the auto passes through special rollers, brushes, and fabric strips, which, together with the effect of cleaning agents, clean the vehicle from dirt. In the right washing station, powerful special detergents are used. They remove dirt, including bauxite residues from the body and wheels of a vehicle. Further, the auto is exposed to high water pressure. In this way, detergents are rinsed away together with the dirt. Then the vehicle is covered with wax protection and dried with the help of special devices.

Despite the abundance of actions performed, the auto is cleaned much faster than with manual washing or using the auto detail steam cleaner. Automation cleans the vehicle in 5-10 minutes, depending on the cleaning mode selected by the driver.

 

Advantages and Disadvantages

If you follow the rules for removing dirt from the body surface, you can avoid mechanical damage to the paintwork of the vehicle. Automatic contactless car washes with or without auto detailing steamers are popular with those drivers for whom the external condition of the auto is important. Contact cleaning, rollers, or cloth may leave small scratches on the surface, which will damage the paintwork of the auto. It is also not recommended to use contact cleaning after painting the vehicle. In such cases, a car detailing steamer by Fortador may help.

The advantages of contact washing include high efficiency in the fight against pollution. Besides, full waxing and blackening are performed, which subsequently protects the vehicle from corrosion and minor defects. Non-contact washing does not allow you to get rid of all the dirt, however, such washes are popular too, due to the fact that cleaning is much faster, unlike when using a steam cleaner for cars.

Significant disadvantages include the low availability of such services in remote areas. To open an automatic car wash requires serious financial investments, so, sometimes it is better to purchase additional equipment such as a steam machine for car detailing, and install it on the existing station.

The automatic car wash is a popular type of service that allows you to quickly clean the vehicle. However, you need to carefully study all the information about the chosen car wash, and read the reviews. This will subsequently save you from unnecessary proceedings associated with defects to the coating of the vehicle body.

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Turnkey Self-Service

How Much Does It Cost to Open a Turnkey Self-Service Car Wash?

Many people mistakenly believe that the most expensive thing when opening a turnkey self-service car wash is technological equipment. In the case of the most budget equipment, it will account for about 15-20% of the total costs. The main expenses will be incurred for the land: this is not only in the sense of buying it or long-term lease rights but also other investments, such as communications, construction itself, landscaping, etc. The majority of these costs are non-refundable. So, how much does it really cost to open the car wash station?  Let’s find out.

 

Building a Car Wash from Scratch

So, if you want to build a normal car wash that will work for many years, there are two options: optimal and uncompromising.

 

Optimal option

In this case, the cost of a car wash will amount to $25-33 thousand. The price depends on the completeness of the equipment (for example, a car detailing steamer by Karcher or Fortador), the successful location, investments in attractiveness, and advertising. It will turn out to be a typical washing, but with reliable equipment, a low cost of washing programs, and with a sufficient set of competitive advantages, so that it will not only work for many years but also bring profits. If necessary, it could be sold without financial losses.

 

The best option

The most expensive project costs can fluctuate from $35-45 thousand. However, you will get not only the most appealing car wash in the city but also the widest possible set of competitive advantages for the future, when the competition becomes much more intense. 

 

What Should Be Avoided?

Many cheap car wash stations have one thing in common: they are often created in violation of a number of construction rules. Although there has already been accumulated vast experience in creating the right objects. As a result, in attempts to save money, all such objects have a short service life. Such stations can be significantly cheaper, especially if they are built bypassing the law and in violation of construction standards. On the contrary, those who approach the selection of the equipment such as auto detailing steamers responsibly, and observe safety standards, will be able to save on electricity, water, cleaning chemicals in the long term.

As for the low-cost equipment, it has the highest cost of washing programs. Let’s consider the purchase of washing equipment. With a steam machine for car detailing, cheap washing equipment will often require minor repairs. As soon as competitors appear, it turns out that such washes have no competitive advantages over those with an auto detail steam cleanerAs you can see, this business has lots of pitfalls. So, when choosing between cheap equipment and a reliable steam cleaner for cars, or the dubious construction plan violating the laws or the optimal solution, consider it as a long-term investment. This will help you to save more in the long run.

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