HowStuffWorks "How Car Washes Work"
[http://www.howstuffworks.com/] SUBSCRIBE Adventure Animals Auto Culture Entertainment Health Home & Garden Lifestyle Money Science Tech Video Shows Quizzes Auto Basics Tech and Transport Auto Parts & Systems Auto Racing Buying & Selling Car Models Driving & Safety Fuel Efficiency Motorcycles Trucks Under the Hood Home / Auto / Auto Basics How Car Washes Work by Jeff Tyson Page 1 Introduction to How Car Washes Work 2 Drive In 3 Soap Up 4 Scrub A look inside a typical automated car wash. Let's face it. Most of us have a car or truck and we enjoy driving it, especially when it's shiny and clean. For this reason, car washes have remained popular ever since two Detroit men opened the first one, the Automated Laundry , in 1914. A lot of people wash their own cars at home, but the convenience of an automated car wash and relatively low cost can be hard to beat. Car washes fall into five categories: Self service - An open bay (the area that the car sits inside) is typically used in these systems. Self-service systems have a pressure sprayer, and sometimes a foaming brush, that is connected to a large central pump. The sprayer has a coin-operated dial system to select the option you want, such as " soap ," "rinse" and "wax." A timer shuts the water off after a certain period of time, at which point you must put in more coins if you want more water. Exterior rollover - A system that is growing in popularity, exterior rollover car washes are automated systems where you drive your car inside the bay. Once your car is in the correct position, a signal informs you to stop. At that point, the car-wash equipment moves over your car on a track, performing a specific function, such as applying soap or rinsing, with each pass. Exterior rollover systems are very common at gas stations, where the price is often discounted in conjunction with buying a tank of gas . Exterior only - This automated system is popular in the northeastern part of the United States , but can be found all over the world . You drive your car into the entrance of a long, tunnel -like bay. The front tire , usually on the driver's side, is positioned on a special conveyor belt , and you put the car in neutral. The conveyor belt guides the car through the bay, where the car goes past several pieces of equipment, each with a specific purpose. Full service - A modification of the exterior-only system, full service uses the same conveyor-belt-based automated system. The difference is that the interior is manually cleaned by attendants, and some exterior services, such as hand-drying and wheel-cleaning, are available. Detail shop - A detail shop may hand wash or use an automated system to wash the car. Then, attendants completely clean and polish the car, normally applying wax and using a tool called a buffer to remove the wax and polish the car. Detail shops are often able to remove dull paint and small scratches, steam clean carpets and seats, brighten chrome, remove tar and perform a variety of other services. In this article, we will focus on the conveyor-driven systems used in exterior-only and full-service systems. You will learn about each step of the process and see the machinery that makes it happen. So sit back, make sure that your windows are closed and that your antenna is down. Let's enter the tunnel. Print Cite This! Close Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks article: Tyson, Jeff. "How Car Washes Work" 30 June 2011. HowStuffWorks.com.
06 October 2014. Citation & Date Feedback Page 1 Introduction to How Car Washes Work 2 Drive In 3 Soap Up 4 Scrub 5 Blast 6 Rinse 7 Wax 8 Dry More To Explore More Great Links Top 10 Green Driving Tips 5 Scariest Stunt Car Feats The Ultimate CarStuff Fan Quiz 5 Warning Signs You Need New Tires 10 Most Expensive Classic Cars Watch American Chopper videos >> You Might Also Like The Ultimate Hot Bulb Engine Quiz Hot bulb engines helped usher in the Industrial Age and served as a missing link of sorts between primitive and modern engines. The machines are quirky, temperamental and irascible. But they're also well-loved by users and collectors, a deserving fate for what has been described as a workhorse for early technology. Ferrari Dino 206 S The Ferrari Dino 206 S refined the midengine formula. Learn how a few tweaks turned the underperforming Ferrari Dino 166 P into the curvaceous race-winning Ferrari Dino 206 S and 206 SP. Popular Articles Jaguar Sports Cars 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova SS 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Hemi Most Popular Most Watched Most Popular Top 5 Reasons Your Car Is Vibrating How Stirling Engines Work 5 Signs That You Need Your Brakes Checked Car Smarts: Camshafts Auto Puzzles: Charging an Electric Car Most Watched Understanding Cars Auto Parts & Systems Deconstructed Wrecks to Riches: Rebuilding Classic Cars Car Accident Videos Bikes, Hacks, Trikes and Choppers Don't Miss Stuff You Should Know: Demystifying Your World Stuff Mom Never Told You: All Things Women and Gender Stuff You Missed in History Class: Fact or Fiction? CHECK OUT OUR PODCASTS HOWSTUFFWORKS NEWSLETTER THE LATEST AND GREATEST SUBSCRIBE HOWSTUFFWORKS Adventure Animals Auto Culture Entertainment Health Home & Garden Lifestyle Money Science Tech MORE STUFF Store Blogs HSW Tools RSS Maps Podcasts Quizzes Newsletters Video HSW Brazil HSW China STUFF WEBSITES BrainStuff CarStuff Fw:Thinking Stuff Mom Never Told You Stuff of Genius Stuff They Don't Want You to Know Stuff to Blow Your Mind Stuff You Missed in History Class Stuff You Should Know CUSTOMER SERVICE Advertising Contact Us Help CORPORATE About Us Careers @ HSW Privacy Policy Visitor Agreement TAKE US WITH YOU FOLLOW US Copyright © 1998-2014 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace LLC