During the winter months, achieving a perfectly clean and dry car can be quite challenging. At Valet Car Wash, we recognize these difficulties and are committed to providing the best service despite harsh conditions. Here’s a deeper look into the unique challenges of winter washing and drying:
- Dirt and Salt Build-Up: For a car to dry effectively, it’s essential that the surface be clean and free of salt, dirt, grime, snow & ice. Winter conditions make this challenging as dirt and salt tend to cling to vehicles, and lodge into every nook and cranny making it harder to clean and dry efficiently, especially within a short car wash cycle.
- Snow and Ice: It’s imperative that snow and ice be removed from your vehicle’s surfaces before washing to avoid damage and achieve the best washing and drying results. Contrary to what many believe a car wash is not designed to remove snow and ice and in fact can cause severe scratches and poor wash quality. Affect on Wash Quality: Snow and ice greatly inhibit the chemical process of cleaning and drying a vehicle. The detergents needed to remove the dirt from the paint surface cannot penetrant through snow and ice in order to loosen and lift the dirt from the paint surface. Cause of Scratches: The snow and ice can slide off the surface taking the dirt with it, acting like sandpaper being dragged over the paint. Also, when your vehicle reaches our dryers, the air moving at over 150MPH can cause ice chunks to hit the vehicle directly behind you which can cause nicks and chips to the paint. It can also severely hurt an employee should they be working in the area.
- Drying Agents and Waxes in Cold Weather: Our drying agents and waxes are applied just before your vehicle reaches the dryers and are designed to make the water and soap super slippery to help it dissipate quickly and dry the vehicle. However, in freezing temperatures, the paint on your vehicle is very cold its temperature can even be below freezing, reducing efficiency and making it very difficult for the water to easily run off; as compared to when the surface is warm and the temperature is hot, a certain amount of natural evaporation takes place, greatly helping in the drying process.
- Rear of the Vehicle: Airflow patterns while driving in the winter often leave the rear of the vehicle more susceptible to dirt and grime buildup making if very difficult to clean in a quick ride through the car wash. Similar to a dishwasher cycle that may not remove all residues in one go, this can result in less-than-perfect cleaning and drying for the back of the vehicle, especially Vans and SUVs
- Run Off from Side Mirror Housings: During the winter months, a large amount of salt, grime, and dirt collects in the side mirror housings, which is very difficult to clean and rinse as the wash process cannot get into the mirror housing to adequately clean and rinse in the short time it takes to go through the wash. This mixture of salt dirt, soap and water then tends to run out of the housing and down the side of your doors as you drive away. You may also notice this running out of crevasses and trim areas of your vehicle due to extremely high concentrations of salt and dirt in those areas.
Our Guarantee:
For all the reasons above, at Valet Car Wash we have a free rewash guarantee. If your car doesn’t come out clean and dry to your satisfaction we will wash it again for free. Just speak to one of our team members at the front desk or on the lot, regarding a rewash. No questions asked. Your complete satisfaction is important to us!
Helpful Tips for Better Results: What To Do Before Your Wash?
Leave a little extra time. When it’s below freezing temperature, our water freezes at the same temperature yours does (0 degrees C), especially as the car wash has large doors open. No amount of heat can prevent water from freezing in these conditions, so to prevent freeze-ups we have to shut the entrance and exit doors between each vehicle. These few extra seconds of keeping the heat in and the cold out can make the difference between the exterior car wash staying open and having to close. This is also why lineups tend to be longer in the winter as we just can’t wash as many vehicles per hour as we do in the warmer months.
Remove Snow and Ice: Clear any snow or ice from your car before entering the wash. This ensures better cleaning and drying results and avoids potential hazards, such as ice sliding off and damaging vehicles behind you. For safety and quality reasons vehicles with snow and ice on them will be prohibited from entering our washes.
Frequency of Washes: In winter time when salt and sand are being applied to roads it’s important you wash your vehicle more than normal to prevent a large build-up of dirt, salt and grime, which is much harder to clean. Washing often is the best defence against winter’s sloppy conditions. In addition, regular washing and waxing help prevent rusting and add years to your paint’s finish, helping to maintain its value come trade-in time.
With 30+ experince cleaning cars, Valet Car Wash prides in offering a diverse range of car cleaning and appearance services that cater to every need and budget. Starting with just one location in Cambridge, Ontario in 1991, Valet has grown to become the largest independent tunnel car wash chain with 10 locations in Ontario & growing.
To know more about Valet Car Wash’s unlimited car wash memberships, click here. For more information, please feel to to reach out to your nearest location here.