BOISE, Idaho -- In the car-wash industry, the “rubber meets the road” at the point where the cloth touches the vehicle. Taking shortcuts on quality or choosing the wrong type of material can quickly drive a business into the ground. You might save money initially, but the cloth will clean poorly, fray and fall apart quickly. Quality cloth pays for itself in durability and repeat customers.
“While cleaning is really a combination of cloths and soap, it’s a lot easier and cheaper to change soap than cloth if something isn’t working, so you have to make the right choices in cloth in the first place,” said Tim Biagi, manager of Boise, Idaho-based Mister Carwash—the largest full-service car-wash chain in the United States.
While a whole book could be written on the subtleties of various cloths and fabrics, a few quick pointers can serve to remind car-wash operators of the basic but important elements to consider when replacing their cloths.
1. Cleaning ability. In the carwash business, this is “job one.”
For general surface cleaning, nonwoven fabrics like polyester, nylon or polypropylene strike a balance of absorbing sufficient water/soap solution to clean the vehicle without getting too heavy. For example, the inherent stiffness of polypropylene sometimes prevents access to small nooks and crannies such as those found around trim pieces.
For reaching into tight quarters, plush materials, like “cashmere-type” cloth, work better. These take advantage of their tufted surface (like the nap on a rug) to squeeze into tight spots. These “tufts” range anywhere from one-quarter inch to 1 inch; the longer ones reach deeper, of course.
Car-wash owners still have to be careful with plush materials, cautions Dan Pecora, an expert on cloth materials and founder of Chicago-based Erie Cloth Manufacturing—a cloth and detailing supplier to the car-wash industry since 1948.
Spoken in famed Yankee catcher Yogi Berra-fashion, “Too many is too much,” said Pecora. “For example, some owners go overboard and use 100 pieces of cashmere, but should only put on about 50 on any one piece of equipment. Otherwise the nap absorbs a lot of water and gets too heavy.”
An oversaturated overhead cloth like cashmere could put too much weight on vehicles and risk damaging the vehicle.
2. Softness. Car-wash operators know that customers want their vehicles pampered like a spoiled cat. No scratching allowed.
Cashmere-type material makes for an ideal choice as its “fleeciness” washes “cleaner” over metal, glass, plastic, fiberglass and composites making it ideal for curtains and other applications.
“When it comes to softness, it’s hard to beat gentle foam,” said Todd Christopher, whose Classic Auto Wash in Allen Park, Mich., handles as many as 20,000 cars a month. “It doesn’t retain water, and it never gets too heavy. The washing dynamics stay consistent and no swirls are left.”
3. Durability. Operators understandably want their chosen materials to last a long time. But they have to strike a fine balance between getting their money’s worth and jeopardizing the finish on their customers’ cars.
“Some car-wash operators want the toughest cloths they can get their hands on so they don’t have to order new ones for a long time,” said Pecora. “For example, wide-slit hangdowns last longer, but they don’t clean as well as the thin-slit.”
Not only does “cleanliness” suffer, but tacky, threadbare, cloths reflect poorly upon the car-wash establishment.
“One guy had a cloth that lasted 20 years,” said Pecora. “I’m sure he was happy about stretching his dollar, but I’m not so sure about his customers.”
4. Color. Owners interested in branding opportunities can take advantage of cloths that match their logo. While it doesn’t have to be exact, maintaining the same hue helps. Quality counts here, as you want to make sure that the color will not fade through use.
“We use blue [cloths] at three of the Mister Car Washes here in Boise,” said Biagi. “It’s not necessarily a major branding thing for us, but we do want to keep some consistency throughout the entire chain.”
Christopher takes a contrasting, but equally valid viewpoint, at his wash.
“Anytime I upgrade the cloth, I change the color to make sure people notice,” he said. “It tells them that I’m constantly improving and keeping my materials fresh.”
5. Quietness. Customer perception is everything in marketing any service, and in the car-wash business, customers equate “quiet” with “gentle.” A fast-moving, heavy-laden cloth loaded with solution will hit the vehicle’s surface louder. If the customer is in his or her vehicle while being drawn through the tunnel, this can be quite disconcerting.
“Quietness is a big factor,” said Christopher. “Even when the customer is not in the car, you don’t want anything loud on the car; it makes people nervous.”
Here, polyester cloths are considered the best option.
6. Cost. “Some owners just want the lowest price and they don’t care about quality,” said Pecora. “Instead, viewing cloths not so much as a consumable, but as a capital asset, gives you a better perspective on getting a good return on your investment.”
“I also factor service into the cost equation,” said Biagi. “All other things being equal, I want someone who can answer my cloth questions at 6 in morning. … I also expect quick turnaround on an order, but not at the expense of quality.”
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