Out West after large wildfires many carwashes have long lines for weeks. Many think it is a boon for the industry. Indeed, a lot of revenue is generated during fire seasons and the ask must be cleaned off the mini-vans, cars, light trucks and SUVs or it could contribute to the early decay of the clear-coat finish. Fire Season comes every year in the Western States, started by lightning, carelessness and arson. These fires burn thousands if not hundreds of thousands of acres annually. Special soaps and sometimes even in the best and most efficient carwash tunnels a double pass is needed to truly clean the vehicle. This of course equates to more hassle, higher operational costs and therefore adverse effects on return on investment. A carwash near a fire area could expect double or triple the volume and therefore double or triple the revenue, although not double or triple the profits. The full service carwashes must spend more time and effort in pre-soak and scrubbing prior to the tunnel allowing for proper soap dwell time. Automatic rollover carwashes experience dirty brushes, which move sooty streaky muck onto the next car and this causes issues. Those in the mobile car wash business absolutely hate it, because it means a lot of hand scrubbing, extra soap and therefore more rinsing which depletes their on board water supplies. Additionally the extra water usage causes more runoff, which is not allowed into a storm drain and must be collected and removed to a POTW Publicly Owned Treatment Works. The car wash industry therefore asks the public to be careful this fire season, do not throw cigarettes out the window and report any suspicious potential arson activity you see. Think on this. |
