page_title: Car wash
section_title: Categories
hierarchical_section_title: Car wash / Categories
caption_attribution_description: English: The Broadway's Car Wash at the Pacific Highway Shell Station in Tigard, Oregon
context_page_description: A car wash or auto wash is a facility used to clean the exterior and, in some cases, the interior of motor vehicles. Car washes can be self-serve, fully automated, or full-service with attendants who wash the vehicle. It may also be an event where people pay to have their cars washed by volunteers as a method to raise money for some purpose.
context_section_description: While there are many types of car washes, most fall into the following categories:
  Car wash lift, where cars are placed in a car wash lift where cars can then be washed by employees. 
  Hand car wash facilities, where the vehicle is washed by employees.
  Self-service facilities, which are generally coin-operated, where the customer does the washing, including pressurized "jet washing".
  In-bay automatics consist of an automatic washing machine and dryer that rolls back and forth over a stationary vehicle - often seen at filling stations and stand-alone wash sites.
  Tunnel washes, which use a conveyor to move the vehicle through a series of fixed cleaning mechanisms.
  Chemical car wash, also known as waterless car wash, uses chemicals to wash and polish car surface. Claims to be an eco-friendly car wash method. Recommended only for cars with light dirt accumulation to avoid paint damage.
  Steam car washes use a jet of steam and micro fiber towels, some include detergent injection. Known to have originated from South Korea, steam car washes have been especially popular as a low-investment, eco-friendly car wash solution in Asia, Middle East, and Europe thanks to its sanitizing features and mobility.
  Mobile car washes, often also serving as mobile detailing systems, which carry plastic water tanks and use pressure washers. Sometimes these systems are mounted on trailers, on trucks, or in vans. Generally these operators also have a generator to run a shop vac., buffers, and other tools as well.
  Mechanized car washes, especially those with brushes, were once avoided by some meticulous car owners because of the risk of damaging the finish. Paint finishes have improved as have car washing processes, and this perception of vehicle damage is much less prevalent today.  However, this perception was the motive behind the rise of facilities utilizing "brushless" (cloth) and "touch-free" (high-pressure water) equipment, as well as modern "foam" washing wheels made of closed cell foam.
  In today's modern car wash facilities, whether tunnel, in-bay automatic or self-serve, soaps and other cleaning solutions used are designed to loosen and eliminate dirt and grime. This is in contrast to earlier times, when hydrofluoric acid, a hazardous chemical, was commonly used as a cleaning agent in the industry by some operators.  There has been a strong move in the industry to shift to safer cleaning solutions. Most car wash facilities are required by law to treat and/or reuse their water and may be required to maintain waste-water discharge permits, in contrast to unregulated facilities or even driveway washing (at one's home), where waste-water can end up in the storm drain and, eventually, in streams, rivers, and lakes.
caption: An in-bay automatic car wash performing a friction wash pass
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