What Is a Touch-Free Car Wash?

Touch-free car washes don’t use brushes or cloths to clean the vehicle’s surface. The process typically involves parking the vehicle and having mechanical cleaning apparatuses move around your vehicle. However, touch-free car washes can sometimes involve attaching the vehicle to a conveyor that carries the vehicle through various stations where it’s sprayed with water and detergents. The detergent consists of a high-alkaline soap solution, which is left on the exterior for some time. After this, a low-pH acid is applied and allowed to sit. The combination of these two chemicals flips the polarity of the electro-molecular bond the dirt has made to the surface of the car, which loosens the contaminants. Afterward, the car wash utilizes high-pressure water to blast away the loosened dirt and grime.

Touch-free car washes have sensors that make sure that the water and chemicals are being applied evenly to your vehicle. Finally, the vehicle is air-dried using blowers. Touch-free car washes can also be called hands-free, brushless, or touchless car washes.

Benefits of Touch-Free Car Washes

Other car wash methods like soft-touch car washes typically use swirling brushes to clean the vehicle’s surface. However, this method is known to create swirl marks on a vehicle’s clear coat because abrasive compounds can stick to the brushes and get dragged across the vehicle’s coat, creating thin scratches. Touchless car washes have become popular because they don’t use brushes that can drag dirt and damage your vehicle’s coat. Touch-free car washes won’t dull a vehicle’s shine or worsen defects like paint chips, scratches, or loose trim since they don’t rely on friction to clean a vehicle.

Touch-free car washes are also generally quicker than a car wash that utilizes brushes, making touchless car washes good for people who want to get back on the road quickly. In addition, touchless car washes are also quite affordable.

Disadvantages of Touch-Free Car Washes

The main disadvantage of touch-free car washes is that the entire process relies entirely on water and chemicals. As a result, touchless car washes aren’t effective when removing debris that sticks to paint. This can be concerning since contaminants like bird droppings and acid rain are known to damage a vehicle’s coat if they aren’t cleaned immediately.

Touch-free car washes also don’t clean crevices like the spots behind your license plate and in between your grilles. In contrast, soft touch car washes cover these spots since their felt brushes can reach your vehicle’s crevices. The chemicals used by touch-free car washes are also known to remove wax and sealants that prevent dirt and grime from sticking to a vehicle’s paint. Vehicle owners who frequent touchless car washes might need to wash their vehicles more frequently.

The choice between soft touch and touchless car washes comes down to your vehicle’s needs and your own personal preference. A touchless car wash might be the best option if your car has a delicate paint finish or requires a gentle touch. On the other hand, a soft-touch car wash could be the best choice if your car has built-up grime or if you want a more thorough wash.

Both soft-touch and touch-free car washes have advantages and disadvantages. Understanding these distinctions as a car owner enables you to make an informed decision as to what kind of wash to go for to keep your vehicle looking its best.