How to use a car wash at a gas station
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Your car will inevitably need to be washed, and this is convenient to do when you are driving to a gas station to fill up. Many gas stations have car washes on site, whether they are:
- Coin operated hand wash
- Travel car wash
- Prepaid self-service car wash
- Contactless automatic car wash
Each car wash method has its own advantages, ranging from the quality of the wash to the time constraints.
Method 1 of 4: Using a Coin Car Wash
Some gas stations have coin-operated car washes where you wash your car using their equipment and tools. This is a practical procedure, for which you need to prepare suitable clothes and shoes, as well as have a pocket full of change for the car.
Step 1. Get the right change. Check with the cashier at the gas station for the correct form of payment for car wash. Some coin-operated car washes require coins, while others may accept other types of coins and bills.
Ask the cashier to exchange your cash for a suitable form of payment for the car at the car wash.
Step 2: Park your car at the car wash. Coin-operated car washes are usually covered car washes with a top door. Roll into the compartment and close the top door.
Close the windows completely and turn off the ignition.
- A warning: If you leave your car running indoors, you could get carbon monoxide poisoning, which could potentially kill you.
Get out of the car and make sure all doors are closed.
Step 3. Insert a payment. Start the car wash by inserting the payment into the car. As soon as you deposit money, the car wash is activated and your time begins.
Be aware of how long the car wash has been running for the amount you paid and have extra money ready as soon as the car wash shuts down.
Step 4: Wet the car completely and wash off the dirt.. If necessary, select the high pressure washer hose setting and spray the entire machine.
Focus on heavily polluted areas with heavy dirt. Get as much rest as possible with a pressure washer.
Step 5: Choose A Soapy Brush Setting. While your car is wet, thoroughly scrub it with a soapy brush, starting at the top and working your way down. Clean wheels and heavily soiled parts last.
Step 6: Rinse the soap off the car. While the soap is still wet on your car, re-select the pressure washer tube and completely wash the soap off your car, starting at the top and working your way down.
Rinse with a pressure washer until the foam stops dripping off your car.
Step 7: Apply any additional processes (optional). If additional processes are available, such as wax spraying, apply according to car wash instructions.
Step 8: Get your car out of the bay. Be as fast and efficient as possible to save time and money, and let the next person enter the car wash as soon as possible.
Method 2 of 4: Use a prepaid self-service car wash
Some gas station car washes charge by the hour, although there are fewer now than they used to be. It is essentially a self service car wash where you use their equipment and supplies similar to coin operated car washes but with less strict time limits. Often you can expect to be paid in 15-minute blocks, after which services are cut off and you need to pay for extra time at the desk.
Step 1: Pay the attendant for the foreseeable time at the car wash.. If you make a quick external soap and rinse, you can do it in as little as 15 minutes. If you have a larger car or want to do a more thorough cleaning, you will be charged for 30 minutes or more.
Step 2: Drive the car into the car wash. As in step 2 of method 1, close the windows completely and turn off the ignition before getting out of the car. Make sure all your doors are closed.
Step 3: Wet the car completely and wash off the dirt.. If necessary, select the high pressure washer hose setting and spray the entire machine.
Focus on heavily polluted areas with heavy dirt. Get as much rest as possible with a pressure washer.
Step 4: Choose A Soapy Brush Setting. While your car is wet, scrub it completely with the soapy brush, starting at the top and working your way down. Clean wheels and heavily soiled parts last.
Step 5: Rinse the soap off the car. While the soap is still wet on your car, re-select the pressure washer tube and completely wash the soap off your car, starting at the top and working your way down.
Rinse with a pressure washer until the foam stops dripping off your car.
Step 6: Apply any additional processes (optional). If additional processes are available, such as wax spraying, apply according to car wash instructions.
Step 7: Get your car out of the bay. Be as fast and efficient as possible to save time and money, and let the next person enter the car wash as soon as possible.
With this method, you can focus less on making sure your car is full of coins and more on cleaning your car thoroughly. This method is also great if you plan to dry your car in the washer after washing.
It is generally cheaper to use a prepaid car wash than a coin-operated car wash for the same period of time.
Method 3 of 4: Using a car wash
A car wash is a handy option when you're not dressed up to wash your car yourself, or when you don't have much time to wash your car. A drive-through car wash lets you sit in your car while the machines do all the work, including dragging your car through the car wash.
The downside to car washes is that they tend to be more aggressive to your car than self-service and touchless car washes. The brushes can damage the paintwork or break the windshield wipers or radio antennas due to their rotating motion.
Step 1: Pay for the car wash at the gas station counter. Often you can opt for a higher wash level that also includes a spray wax or undercarriage wash.
In most cases, you will be given a code to activate the car wash.
Step 2. Drive up to the car wash and enter your code.. Enter your code into the machine near the entrance to the car wash.
While you wait to enter the car wash, roll up the windows, put down the power antenna, and turn off the automatic wipers (if any).
Step 3: Get your car ready for the car wash. You will need to properly align the car wash lane so that the moving parts of the car wash do not damage your vehicle.
The car wash will indicate if you will be pulled. If the car wash is designed to get you out, put the car in neutral. The floor track will lift the mechanism and drag your car by the wheel.
If the car wash moves around your stationary vehicle, drive to the location indicated by the car wash and park the car.
Step 4: Let the car wash do the work. It will thoroughly wash and dry your car body and select any additional wash options you may have selected from the cashier.
Step 5: Take it out of the car wash. After the wash is complete, start the car and drive away in a clean car.
Method 4 of 4: Using a touchless automatic car wash
Touchless automatic car washes work in exactly the same way as car washes. The main difference is that touchless car washes use soap and water pressure to clean your car, rather than rotating brushes attached to cars.
Touchless car washes are safer to finish your car because there is no contact with your car, eliminating the possibility of abrasive scratches or damage to the wipers or antenna from the brushes.
The disadvantage of touchless car washes is that for heavily soiled vehicles, even at abnormally high or low temperatures, a touchless car wash will not do the job of removing the dirt from your car.
Step 1: Follow method 3, steps 1-5.. To use a touchless automatic car wash, follow the same steps as in method 3 for a car wash with brushes.
In general, each of these four types of car washes has its own advantages. Choosing what's right for you and your car depends on the amount of time you have to spend washing, the amount of work you want to do, and how dirty your car is. There are also cost and potential damage factors to consider. But knowing the methods, advantages and disadvantages of each of these types of car wash, you will be able to make the right decision with confidence.
