2010, as young as it is, has brought some rewards and challenges to those in the car wash industry. The snow in early January and the subsequent salt and gravel on the roads boosted incomes at most of the washes in our area. But, about the same time, we experienced a prolonged period of below freezing temperatures. Our neighbors to the North may laugh that we cannot handle the cold, but, truth is, we are not near as prepared for it as they may be. We do not have doors on our automatics or floor heat, nor do we have sophisticated blow down systems. Instead, our moderate temperatures allow us to operate without such systems. We are able to handle intermittent subfreezing temperatures quite well with Weepmizers and track heaters. The problem with the recent weather pattern was that the temperature remained below freezing for about a week.
Most of our customers handled the challenge very well. I know of only two automatics that were down for the duration and some hand bays that were closed. The problem proved to be that if something froze, there was not much hope of thawing it out until the weather broke. Charlie and I spent a lot of time each morning digging the automatics out of the ice each morning. The oscillators on the Vortex would have so much ice around them that they could not operate and the floor switches would be under about a four inch layer. It was hard work, but we kept them running the entire time and generated the best income we have seen in a while.
I periodically try to give our website visitors a helpful tip to assist in their everyday car wash operations. This tip may be too little too late, but proper maintenance of the weep system and other freeze protection systems is paramount. The biggest problem that I saw was inadequate flow from the weep. If a Weepmizer is not utilized, then the amount of weep must be regulated according to temperature. A little weep is good for the normal cold nights and warmer days, but more weep is needed for temperatures in the lower 20’s and below. The amount of weep we set when we are adjusting them is just not enough for frigid weather. Also on a graduated scale is the amount of recirculating required for the automatic soaps. Again, it should be heavier than normal when temperatures drop.
Aside from the excitement the cold weather brought, the revenue generated by the snow was outstanding. Our wash had the best week we have seen since 2007! I hope this is indicative of times to come. Sometimes the weather works for us, but for the last year it has been very discouraging to have rain on what seems like every weekend. I like to think that the car wash industry is somewhat recession proof since there are lots of people who will not drive a dirty car. I just wish we could make it weatherproof!
Good washing.
Mitch
