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What happens when I drive into an automatic car wash?
Home » Car Maintenance » Automatic Car Washes » What happens when I drive into an automatic car wash?The operations of a stationary and conveyor belt automatic car wash are very similar, so we can make generalizations regarding the ways in which automatic car washes work. In addition, as mentioned earlier, touchless car washes are also very similar and simply replace the brushes with high-pressure sprayers.
When you enter the bay of a conveyor belt automatic car wash, you are told to stop and put your car in neutral. At that point, a correlator aligns the car with the conveyor and small rollers behind either the front or rear left wheel of your car begin to move you forward. As you move, the car interrupts an infrared beam that measures the length of your car; this interruption alerts the digital control system that adjusts the car wash timing to the length of your car and then begins and controls the washing sequence.
In the first section of the car wash, sprayers presoak your car with water and chemicals to loosen dirt. A mitter curtain (the long cloth strips that hang from the car wash frame) may also rub your hood, roof, and trunk at this point. Then, a foam applicator sprays your car with another mixture of chemicals and water and your windows become dark with the foam.
After the foam comes the scrubbing brushes—nylon or newer felt brushes that contain quickly rotating strips that remove dirt. At this point, a high-pressure car wash would spray additional liquids at incredibly high pressures to even more effectively rid your car of dirt.
Finally, the care moves forward to the rinse arch where nozzles spray the entire car with clean water. After the rinse, some car washes have a wax arch, which applies low-level wax using foam applicators or nozzles; otherwise, the car takes its turn under the powerful dryer and then drives away.
The above describes the basic operation of an automatic car wash, but there are many different levels of car washes. Some car washes have extra features such as tire applicators, wrap-around washers, underbody wash, and drying agents. Sometimes these and other features will be included with the price of the car wash; other times, these kinds of features are the difference between a Basic and Premium wash.
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- What happens when I drive into an automatic car wash?
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