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Drying Agents for a Perfect Car Wash

Although a great car wash can make any vehicle look amazing, not properly drying it afterwards can completely ruin the effect!

The drying stage is an essential element of a successful wash. The drier the car, the less likely it is to experience water spots or streaks. A drying agent is a unique product that makes water evaporate and wick away quickly, providing you with a streak-free car. Today, we'll be discussing what a drying agent is, how they are best used, and how to choose the right one for your car wash.

To start off, What is the Drying Process?

In a car wash, the drying process is crucial in order to prevent spots or streaks on the car. This can be done with a few different methods, but the most effective is to use a drying agent. Choosing the right one and using it properly can be instrumental in leaving your customer's vehicles dry and clean! Most car washes also use high-powered dryers to speed up the evaporation process.

Wet sports car

A Wet Surface Can Spell Disaster For Your Wash

After your car wash cleans vehicles, a large amount of water will remain on the surface.

Leaving a car's surface wet is an easy way to ruin your finished product as once the water eventually evaporates, water spots and streaks will remain.

Customers will see this and won't be pleased with their car not looking the way they thought it would. Ensure your wash process includes a drying aid to make sure your vehicles leave as dry as possible.

What is a Car Wash Drying Agent?

A drying agent, also known as a drying compound, is a chemical solution that helps remove water from surfaces. It works by breaking the interfacial tension of water, which allows it to evaporate more quickly.

Water evaporates when it comes into contact with a surface that is hotter than the water itself. In order to speed up the drying process, car washes use high-powered dryers to blow hot air onto the surface of the car. This helps to quickly dry the water sheet and push it off the surface to avoid streaking and spotting.

How Does The Chemistry Work?

When it comes to drying aids, there are a few different types available on the market. Each one has its own unique set of ingredients that help it evaporate water quickly. Some of the most common ingredients in a drying agent include surfactants, solvents, and alcohols. Each of these ingredients helps to break down the water and evaporate it more quickly.

A drying agent usually contains a surfactant, which is a compound that lowers the surface tension of water. This allows it to spread out more easily and evaporate quickly. The surfactant also helps to break up any water droplets that may be clinging to the surface of the car. This prevents them from sitting on the paint or glass and drying slowly.

What are the Different Stages of Car Washing?

  1. The first stage of a wash is generally a high power rinse to remove debris or an immediate presoak bath to begin to work on tough dust, dirt and grime.
  2. After the rinse, a foam detergent is applied all over the car to break down any remaining dirt or grime.
  3. Once the foaming action has had time to work, another high-power rinse is used to remove all the residual detergent from the surface of the car.
  4. At this stage a ceramic, wax or sealant coat is applied to the car if requested by the customer for a high gloss shine and improved longevity of the paint. Say hello to scratch free paintwork.
  5. Finally, the drying process begins! This is where a drying agent comes in to lower the surface tension of the water on the vehicle.
  6. A final rinse with fresh water is applied to remove any drying agent residue and then the car is dried with high-powered dryers.

How to Dry a Vehicle After Washing?

Cars can be dried using multiple different methods. What is the best drying aid? Often these methods are used in combination, in the most effective way, to lower drying time and leave the customer with the most dry car.

Drying Agent

A drying agent is a type of product that helps water to evaporate and wick off quickly. They come in many different forms such as liquids, powders, or a simple spray.

Dryers/Blowers

Dryers are devices that use warm air to evaporate or push water from the surface of a vehicle. The dryers in a car wash are arranged in a way that allows them to quickly and efficiently dry the surface of a car. The dryers are placed in an arc that can blow hot air onto the vehicle from all angles, allowing for the water to be dried quickly. This is the most common and efficient drying technique.

Towels

Towels can be used to physically absorb water from the surface of a car. This method works well but is typically impractical for commercial businesses. Lately, car washes have been offering a station for a customer to collect a premium microfiber towel to dry their car while they vacuum or wash their floor mats (at a tunnel or self serve car wash. This is a great way to add value and increase customer satisfaction.

Air Drying

This is the process of allowing water to naturally evaporate off the surface of a car. This method will not only be lengthy, it will likely leave water spots all over the vehicle. Spots are the result of water evaporating and leaving minerals or other contaminants, that were dissolved in the water, on the surface of a vehicle.

Car wash chemical

Benefits of Using A Drying Agent, Car Wash Success

Water Wicking

Drying agents help water to evaporate and wick off quickly, which is important for preventing water spots. This is known as giving a vehicle's surface hydrophobic properties.

What does being Hydrophobic mean?

The word hydrophobic literally means "water-fearing." In terms of car care, hydrophobic technology refers to a product or coating that repels water. This means that the water will bead up and run off the surface instead of sitting on top and creating water spots. Many drying aids produce a hydrophobic surface, which helps to wick as much water off the vehicle as possible, helping them become drier.

Streak-Free Finish

When used correctly in combination with fresh water or clean water, drying aids can leave your car with a streak and spot free finish.

Preventing Rust

By removing all the residual water from your car's surface, you can help prevent rust and corrosion. Even a small amount of water can cause these problems over time, so it's important to make sure your vehicle is totally dry.

Paint Protection

Some drying aids can offer adding extra protection to vehicles as well. It won't be as strong as a synthetic sealant or ceramic coating but it can still be extra protection for paint from light scuffs and marks.

Shine

Some drying aids may even help with giving vehicles a little brilliant shine. This is an advantage that many customers love as everyone likes their car with a high gloss finish.

Why are drying agents used?

Many people believe that a dryer or cloth is all they need to get the water off their car, but that's not always the case. Because they are not reusable between cars and require additional time, a large drying cloth is impractical in most cases (other than the home washer). A dryer, without additional help, can only remove so much water in the few seconds they will have before that car must exit.

A drying agent will give that additional help to ensure a completely dry car, instead of one with remaining water droplets, which will put a damper on your entire wash!

Can I just dry my car with a microfiber drying towel?

The home car washer may want to keep things simple and dry their car by wiping it with a clean microfiber towel. It is a good method for single cars as it is cost-effective and simple. But you still won't receive the numerous other benefits of drying aids. On a large scale, however, using a microfiber towel to dry cars becomes impossible.

Sidebar: What is a microfiber drying towel?

A premium microfiber towel is a cloth made out of a material that will be gentle on a vehicle's surface. They are also made to be heavily absorbent, picking up more water with ease.

Can I just let my cars air dry?

This is not an effective way to dry your car. The sun may evaporate the water on the surface, but it will leave streaks and spots, ruining the entire wash! It's always best practice to use a drying agent in conjunction with a high-powered dryer.

Turtle Wax Pro arch

How to choose a drying agent? Choosing a high-quality option like Turtle Wax Pro

Not all drying agents are created equal and there are a few things you'll want to consider before making your purchase.

Product Quality

You'll want to make sure you're using a high-quality drying agent on your customer's vehicles to ensure it is doing a great job. Cheap and ineffective products will only leave a poor wash after the final rinse.

Some may think the higher quality has to mean expensive, but that is not always the case. We at Turtle Wax Pro believe you can find great quality, for also a great price. We strive to help all of our customers and partners with this.

Compatibility

Your car wash chemistry is made up of different products: presoaks, shampoos, detergents, protectants, tire cleaners, etc. A big factor in achieving the perfect wash is having those products not only work together well but actually help each other work better! Turtle Wax Pro chemistry is expertly designed to work together, ensuring every process works to its highest ability.

The Supplier

You'll want to find a reliable supplier who can provide you with consistent quality and service. Look for someone who will be able to answer any questions or concerns you may have as well as offer helpful tips along the way.

The supplier you get your chemistry from is an aspect that cannot be understated. A good supplier will not only carry top-tier products but they will offer advice and experience in using and positioning those products. Whether that be in extensive product training or marketing support.

If you believe Turtle Wax Pro could be a good fit for your car wash and its needs, feel free to reach out anytime! We truly believe our chemistry is the best on the market. Turtle Wax Pro has everything you need to get started and we're always here to help. Contact us today to learn more about our products and how we can help your business grow!

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