When the snow flurries arrive and the salt starts getting laid down, just a short trip up the motorway will leave most cars looking as if they've just completed Tank manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain. 

 

But of course, as soon as the temperatures hover in the low 5s all the conventional automatic car washes close down and who wants to do a session with a hand-held pressure washer in nasty weather ?

 

The exam question is, has anybody come across an automatic car wash that doesn't stop operating in near freezing temperatures, such as an automatic jet/pressure wash ?

 

And if so, why are there not more of them ?

 

Nick

To start with, where are they to be commonly found?.

The last time I was over, I found it impossible to clean the car before leaving at LHR.

I don't know the answer but I'd guess the Scandinavians have it.

 

I'm lucky since my garage is effectively underground it's always at about 10C so the power washer is always good to go.

However I'm not so keen to use it when it's freezing.

Anything that uses water is going to be in trouble at low temperatures. Even if you heat the machine before use, there's a strong risk of it freezing once it hits the car or the air.

 

If you go for additives to reduce the freezing point of water, or just go for a waterless system altogether, you have to find solvents that are safe for people to be around and that can be dumped down the drain safely.

 

Your best option to keep a car clean in winter is to invest in a good paintwork treatment. A good hydrophobic coating will let most of the dirt fall off when it's wet and prolong the intervals between washes.

A wee Google showed that the colder states in the USA simply have heated indoor hand car washes.

 

I suspect the reality is that we in the UK are in an odd position where it's cold enough to be a problem sometimes but not for long enough to do anything about it.

 

Where it's really cold, it's probably so cold that the snow is dry and isn't melting at all. And no mud or salt on the roads. The cars probably stay quite clean.

I dont ever recall (beyond all the water being turned off or frozen solid like 2010 for example of any local car washes shutting down.. i saw a guy in one today while temp hovered at 0 this morning..

I have seen and helped by attempting to polishing out some cars that have really being messed up when taken through washes with brushes that were icing up.

It is a brave operator or a stupid one that allows customers to use automatic washers as the air or ground temp gets near 0*oC.

Edited 8 February, 20179 yr by Offski

Lol yeah I've been caught out in the past washing the car with a bucket and mitt only to realise it's colder than I thought and the soapy water was freezing on the car.

 

Give up and get a bucket of warm water to rinse off then drive round with a clean spot until the net opportunity to clean comes along.

11 hours ago, mac11irl said:

I dont ever recall (beyond all the water being turned off or frozen solid like 2010 for example of any local car washes shutting down.. i saw a guy in one today while temp hovered at 0 this morning..

Same here, the washes are never closed for temp. In difference to most of GB we have within a 90 min drive of here 1 auto wash (been broken for last 2 years at an Asda), the rest are manual ones and NO DIY manual ones.... I tend to just wash my own at home, like 2 days ago after the forecast assured me it wouldn't freeze that night (WHOOPS!) 

 

 

This auto wash in the Netherlands was epic and never closed even when they had snow banks leading to the entrance in winter. Bloody expensive though at €20 odd for the top cycle (discounted if you held an account like I did, still €13 though). 

 

Edited 9 February, 20179 yr by FUBAR

1 hour ago, Aspman said:

Snip

 

drive round with a clean spot until the net opportunity to clean comes along.

My uncle did something like that to his brother in law once. Yhe BIL arrived while he washing hus own car and joked "you can do that too when youre finished" pointing back at his Pajero.

so the uncle being a smart arse power hosed the whole thing down but only washed and waxed the passenger door  it was gleaming like new and the rest looked filthy still. So for weeks it looked like the BIL had been a tool and had to have the passenger door replaced

The operators round here close down their CWs at the slightest indication of weather condition which would lead  to them being sued for damage.

 

I would have thought, in just above zero conditions, that anything with brushes is a no-no.

 

I was thinking along the lines of just banks of  "Drench" pressure washers, on rails, doing multiple passes (x 3?) over each side, roof, front and back with the vehicle at rest, followed by an air blast dry ?

 

During the worst of the "Winter" that we get in London, just manually pressure washing does it for me and then come, mid to late Spring, I start using the CWs that employ brushes/mop heads and the full wax. But you clearly can't do that if you are booted and suited for the office.

 

I am surprised that the Motor way service stations haven't had the "Drench" type pressure washer systems only  deployed. 

 

Nick

We have very few, if any auto washes now (for cars) they're all hand car washes which are still open. 

 

Our wash at work however wont turn on once it gets down to near 0 degrees, which means all the buses are filthy.