Mobile Car Washing and Fleet Cleaning Cost Cutting Considerations

The other day, I received a question from a mobile car washing, detailing, and fleet washing entrepreneur in the South. He was happy to be busy and still in business even with our slow economy. He has been steadily expanding his company, and has trained a new crew and bought a new unit to help keep up with his new accounts.

Still, there are always cash flow issues to watch in service businesses, especially during times of expansion, with large corporate customer contract accounts that often pay slow. Okay so, lets' talk about some of the real life challenges out there shall we - the entrepreneur and mobile service operator asks:

"Dear Mobile Car Wash Man, I have some good accounts, but they are a good distance from home. I am spending a good amount on supplies as well as fuel. I am also paying employees. So the money I make is basically going out the door. What kind of advice do you have for me?"

Well, there are several things you can do to streamline your operation in this case. You see, what you need to do first, is to find some nearby "extra accounts" near those large fleets that you travel too, just a couple of smaller accounts nearby or along the way on the same schedule will help a lot, plus attempt to find some cash accounts along the way, where you can clean vehicles and be paid on the spot.

If you end up adding a lot of "billed customers" then you need to also add in some pay-in-cash customers to offset the costs until you finally receive the checks in the mail. Also, consider only taking one other employee on the jobs far away, until your cash flow improves, yes more work, but less money to pay out too.

Also, try to pull your trailer empty to and from and fill up water when you get there and dump any extra water before you return, this way you can drive on cruise control. Also make your workers bring a lunch to save additional money.

You might also find a worker who lives near those accounts to pick up and help you, thus, not have to pay them all that traveling time. Indeed, I think if you will do these things you can tighten up your outlays and costs, and increase revenue at the same time without putting you in the poor house waiting for those big checks to come in. Please consider implementing these strategies as soon as possible. Okay, next questions!

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 24,222 articles by July 22, 2011 at 2:22 PM is going to be difficult because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off now..

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Why Cars Need the Right Carpet Cleaning Equipment

When it comes to getting cars and trucks clean, the average person does not think of using carpet cleaning equipment. This is because they usually concentrate on cleaning the vehicle's exterior. From choosing the right kind of wash to getting the vehicle waxed, a lot of attention is paid to ensuring that the exterior looks as good as possible. This isn't simply about aesthetics. Vehicle exteriors that are cleaned and maintained regularly will last much longer and are less prone to developing rust and problems related to corrosion. However, it is equally important to pay attention to cleaning vehicle interiors. The truth is that the inside of a car often ends up being much dirtier than the outside, even though it is cared for less.

Taken For Granted

To really understand why the right kind of carpet cleaning equipment is so necessary, we need to understand how dirty the average vehicle interior can get. A number of factors need to be considered here. Unlike vehicle exteriors, the interior gets very little aeration. When aerated, this goes a long way in preventing germs and bacteria from settling into dark and damp corners. However, particularly in cold weather, vehicle interiors may get next to no aeration at all.

Apart from this, vehicle carpets and upholstery are simply not cared for in the way that household upholstery or carpeting is cared for. A soda spill on the carpet at home is usually soaked up and cleaned right away. The situation is very difficult in a car. If you get a soda spill on the seat while you're on the road, it is usually just wiped up and forgotten. In many cases, water won't even be used to wipe the spill up.

The truth is that only carpet cleaning equipment can take care of spills like this. Forgotten soda spills, food stains, and even muddy tracks all form the perfect environment for germs and bacteria to grow. Without effective and regular cleaning, these stains won't only become rough and unsightly; they will also weaken the upholstery and carpeting material, often resulting in frayed areas and even forming holes. It is clear that carpet cleaning machines are necessary to keep vehicle interiors really clean. However, it's also important to invest in the right kind of units.

Time to Dry

When it comes to conventional carpet cleaning equipment, a major problem users often face after cleaning is slow drying times. Many upholstery cleaning machines and carpet cleaners use a lot of water to remove soaked in sedimentation and debris. As a result, these carpet upholstery cleaners leave the cleaned interiors very damp and it can take a very long time to dry out. This is why it's important to invest in upholstery cleaning machines that use less water for cleaning.

Carpet cleaners and carpet upholstery cleaners that use less water for cleaning will rely more on suction and extraction powers to loosen and remove dirt. This does not compromise their cleaning power in any way. In fact, these carpet cleaners can be very effective in removing the toughest kinds of stains and spills.

Used with the right kind of eco-friendly carpet cleaning detergents as a pre-spray, these carpet cleaning machines will ensure your vehicle interiors are not just clean, but completely dry after cleaning. After all, top machines boast drying times as low as 1 hour and carpet drying times as low as 2 hours. For auto detailing companies, this means that productivity will be increased and turnover will be more rapid. For car owners, this means that your car will be ready for use much sooner.

Daimer Industries is a leading supplier of carpet cleaning equipment. Daimer provides a complete range of carpet cleaning machines for auto detailing including carpet upholstery cleaners, low flow carpet cleaners and many more.

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Why Car Wash Machines Are Best for Cleaning Car Interiors

A car wash machine is used for auto detailing on a commercial basis. All maintenance contractors and car wash businesses look for a car wash machine that is powerful, long-lasting, and productive. The car wash machine should be affordable and have proper warranties.

To clean car interiors, both a carpet cleaner and a steam cleaner can be used.

Carpet Cleaners

While there are many types of carpet cleaners available on the market, you can narrow down the search for the perfect car washer machine using the following criteria:

Temperature: You can choose between a heated or non-heated carpet cleaner. A heated car wash machine clears away grease, wax, and stains while also removing odors and molds. A commercial carpet cleaning machine often attains temperature as high as 210 degrees Fahrenheit. For lightly soiled carpets, seat covers, and car rugs, you can use a non-heated car wash machine. Non-heated machines are less expensive and consume less power than hot water carpet cleaners. You also must keep in mind the type of carpet or fabric to be cleaned as expensive or handcrafted carpets cannot withstand very high temperatures. This is usually not an issue when cleaning vehicle interiors.Water Efficiency: Low flow carpet cleaners use minimal water for cleaning. Most car washing businesses have turned to low flow machines because of their many advantages. Besides reducing water bills, these machines also reduce costs and labor associated with collection and disposal of dirty water. These machines are particularly useful if you need to clean cars in areas experiencing drought conditions.Portability: This is an important criteria if you run a mobile car wash business or need to clean a large fleet. Portable car washer machines are wheeled units, while these are lightweight.Drying Time: One of the drawbacks of using traditional carpet cleaning machines has been the extended time needed to dry the carpet. New models have certain mechanisms like low water consumption and high suction pressure to remove moisture almost completely from the carpet, reducing drying time to 2-6 hours.Wand: Aside from walk-behind carpet cleaners, all carpet cleaning machines are equipped with wands for cleaning carpets and upholstery. A carpet cleaner used for auto detailing should have a smaller wand than regular carpet cleaning wands. This helps the user clean all corners of the car, including seat edges, backrest, and under the seats. It should preferably be of stainless steel As this makes the wand durable and corrosion resistant.Storage Capacity: Large solution and recovery tanks facilitate longer work time.

Steam Cleaners

Steam cleaners use dry steam for dissolving dirt. After the application of steam, the dirt is scrubbed off with a detailing brush, squeegee, or microfiber towel. A portable steam cleaner offers additional car interior detailing by removing spots of grime, mold, and tiny food particles, among other residues, from dashboards, windshields, doorjambs, and more. High end mobile car wash equipment also removes pollen, bugs, pests, dust mites, dander, hair, and other allergens from the car interiors. Some steam cleaners are equipped with a special mechanism to kill bacteria. These machines are so effective that more than 99.9 percent germs are removed from the surface.

Daimer Industries is a leading supplier of car wash machines. Daimer provides a complete range of auto detailing detailing products including car pressure washer, mobile car wash equipment and many more.

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10 Car Cleaning Tips

Keeping one's car clean is often viewed as a chore or something that is time-consuming and laborious. For people out there who do not enjoy washing and taking care of the vehicle, there are ten car cleaning tips that will help to make this process go easier, make the car look fantastic, and will help to keep it cleaner between regular cleanings.

1. The first step in keeping the car clean would be to unsure that trash and items get taken out of the car regularly. Trash should not be left in the back seat for days at a time. If there is a bag from a fast food restaurant, it should be thrown out that day. This will cut down on the cleaning time where a thorough job is done.

2. Car mats in the car will help to collect water, mud and debris. In between regular cleanings, these mats can be quickly and easily shaken out to keep the dirt out of the car.

3. The trunk and back seat of the car is often a collection place for books, jackets and more. Keeping a small box or bag in the back where a few items can be stores can keep things organized and in one place.

4. When doing a full cleaning of the car, the use of a protecting spray that cleans and treats the dash is recommended. One recommendation would be to not use this on the steering wheel as it can make it slippery and potentially dangerous.

5. A crevice tool for the vacuum is necessary when it comes to getting into the areas between the seats and the console. Otherwise, dirt will be left behind.

6. If the car has leather seats, it is a good idea to use a liquid leather product that is designed to treat and maintain. This will aid in preventing cracked seats.

7. On the outside of the car, using a combination wash and wax product will save considerable time.

8. To avoid getting any water spots on the car, towel drying should be done with a soft and lint free towel.

9. Tires should receive an application of tire spray. These sprays usually should sit on the tire for a few minutes before being wiped off. This will give the tires a nice shine to them.

10. Finally, an air freshener should be placed in the car or one should be sprayed in the interior.

With these simple steps, car cleaning is quite easy to do and maintain.

Find more tips for car cleaning such as weather protection and paintwork protection on the official Mitsubishi website.

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Clean Your Used Interior Auto Parts With Homemade Cleaning Agents

A clean car interior looks great, and it does not matter if you have installed some used interior auto parts in your car, the mere fact that you try to maintain them clean and polished is what matters most.

It usually can take about an hour to clean the car interior. Be careful with water though when cleaning inside the car; if water gets into some of the electrical wiring, it could cause some problems.

It is also not good if water gets inside your car seats or under the carpet; it can leave stains, moldy smell and may cause corrosion. Make sure you have a clean drying cloth handy while using water in cleaning your car interior.

There are many commercially available cleaning agents that you can buy and most of them are really useful but can be quite expensive too. You can clean your car without cleaning out your wallet by using some homemade car cleaning recipes.

For the fabric seat and door upholstery stains, mix white vinegar with baking soda well until they form a paste.

Apply the paste into the stain with a scrub brush or a toothbrush, and then allow the application to dry. Use the vacuum to remove the dried vinegar/soda paste and the stain will be gone too. There are some stubborn stains that may need to be treated more than once.

Cleaning the windows is easy with the use of white vinegar; just put some in a spray bottle, spray full strength onto the windows, leave for few minutes, and then wipe dry with newspaper and your windows will have a professionally-done cleaning look.

White vinegar is indeed a great cleaning agent, mix it well with equals part of water, pour the mixture into a spray bottle, then use the solution on any plastic, wood, vinyl or leather surfaces in your car interior that need to be cleaned. Allow the solution to settle down, and then wipe dry with a clean cloth. If you are apprehensive about using such solution, you can always test it on a small area before using on the entire interior.

A clan interior is good, but a polished one is much better. Dashboards are great looking when they are shining with health. Polish your dashboard and other interior parts by combining olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl or a spray bottle. Use a clean rag to wipe a small amount of the solution into the places that need to be polished. Finish off by wiping the entire surface with a different cleaning cloth.

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Discover the Benefits of Low Flow Upholstery Cleaning Systems for Auto Detailing

After your car has undergone an intensive cleaning session at a car wash center, you might have wondered how car wash professionals manage to accomplish such impeccable interior detailing results. The answer is actually simple - car cleaning professionals use the best upholstery cleaners. In fact, using heated carpet cleaning machines is considered the most effective technique to deep clean carpets. Let us take a closer look at these versatile upholstery detailing systems and what makes low flow cleaning technique so effective.

Interior cleaning machines that generate heated water up to 210°F soften the most stubborn stains and dirt deposits on carpets and seats. The super-heated hot water ejected by these upholstery cleaners is necessary to rapidly dissolve challenging residues for complete removal, resulting in exceptionally clean, fresh-smelling carpets, upholstery, and footwells. Carpet cleaning machines with extraction functions help eliminate and reduce food particles, pet dander, dust mites and dirt deposits on carpets.

Top-selling upholstery cleaners now feature flexible temperature settings. This feature allows you to adjust the right temperature setting for different surfaces in vehicle interiors and different upholstery materials and thus cut down the risk of damage to carpets due to excess heat. This is particularly beneficial when cleaning upholstery fabrics that are sensitive to heat, like wool.

To enable detailing of different surfaces, these versatile carpet extractors are equipped with numerous attachments. A full length carpet wand is available for cleaning full carpeted areas, while an upholstery wand is available for reaching the hard-to-reach crevices within vehicle interiors and upholstered furniture.

Benefits of the Low Flow Feature

The low flow technology is an innovative feature present in the latest versions of upholstery cleaners. It simply means that these carpet cleaning systems utilize a lower amount of water than is generally used by traditional carpet cleaners during the detailing process. However, such low water flow is implemented alongside powerful extraction and enhanced pressure levels to ensure optimal cleaning power is achieved. Here are the amazing benefits of low flow cleaning technology:

Lower water usage helps deep clean carpets and upholstery without making them extremely wet. As a result, the vehicle interiors dry faster. A comparative analysis of drying periods can be summed up as follows:

Traditional carpet cleaning equipment without low flow technology will completely soak carpets. These carpets need up to 24 hours to dry completely.
Non-heated carpet shampooers with low flow technology will allow carpets to dry in six hours.
Heated versions of carpet cleaners that generate hot water will leave carpets clean and dry in as little as two hours, and upholstery dry in as little as one hour.
When an extremely wet carpet is not dried properly, the trapped moisture can lead to foul odors, mold, and mildew development that can affect the air quality in your car. Upholstery cleaning machines featuring low flow technology eliminates such risks.
After thoroughly detailing car interiors, it may not be possible to leave your windows open for a whole day to allow the interiors to dry well. Wet seats also prevent you or your clients from using the car. However, low flow carpet cleaning equipment offer clean and dry car interiors in just a couple of hours. No wonder these carpet cleaners are popular among auto detailing professionals.

As you can see, the benefits of the low flow upholstery cleaners are numerous. These advanced carpet shampooers help you maintain clean and deodorized car interiors with only minimum effort and time.

Daimer Industries is a leading supplier of upholstery cleaners. Daimer provides a complete range of carpet cleaners including upholstery cleaning machines, carpet cleaning equipment and many more.

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Spring Cleaning: Sprucing Up Your Sportscar for Summer

Spring: It's time for warmer temperatures, blooming flowers, and spring cleaning. Those last two dreaded words go for your luxury sports car, too. In wet Northwest cities such as Portland and Wilsonville, Audi and Porsche cars often end up with a winter's worth of dirt and grime from the region's mucky roads. Spring is the best time to get rid of those unwelcome deposits before the scorching summer sun bakes them into place. It's also a chance for the owners of Audi or Porsche cars to shine up their babies in time for summer.

Exterior Cleaning

There's a proper order for every activity, including thoroughly cleaning the exterior of Audi and Porsche cars. Begin by using the harshest cleaners on the nastiest parts of the car. Ensure the cleaners are completely rinsed off before moving onto the next step of the cleaning process.

Wheels: You can avoid spraying harsh wheel cleaner and brake grime onto your Audi or Porsche car by cleaning the wheels first. Also, remember to use an appropriate cleaner to clean the fender liners, since this is often the dirtiest part of any car.

Painted surfaces: Other than the wheel area, the dirtiest part of Audi and Porsche cars is typically the lower painted areas. Sometimes, the lower paint panels can even have small pieces of gravel embedded in them. Be very cautious while cleaning these areas, since your wash towel can easily pick up small rocks and scratch the rest of your paint job. Make sure you rinse out your mitt or towel before moving onto larger areas such as the fender and doors. Finish off the exterior with a protective coat of wax, which will make it easier to keep your car clean over time.

Interior Detailing

Winter's harsh weather makes it more likely you'll track all kinds of detritus into your car. Portland and Wilsonville Audi passengers often hurry into their cars to avoid the rain; in such circumstances, it's hard to be aware of the grime that's following you from the street to your car's interior.

Carpets: Begin cleaning your luxury car's interior by removing all loose items, including the floor mats. This will allow you to vacuum and dust thoroughly - don't miss any of those nooks and crannies!

Windows: Use glass cleaner and a lint-free cloth to clean the windows. To prevent solution from running down behind the glass and into electrical panels, use the glass cleaner solution sparingly. Put a little extra elbow grease into the job to eliminate all streaks, which will seem much more significant when the full sunlight hits them.

Dash and upholstery: Dust the vents and seams of the dash using a small brush. Next, use a specially-made interior cleaner to wipe down the rest of the interior.

Once everything on the interior is sparkling, you can reorganize the loose items in your car. While you're putting everything away, it's smart to check your winter preparedness kit, emergency/first aid supplies, and any important summer items you'll want on hand, such as sunscreen.

When in doubt about what cleaners are recommended for your car, check with your Wilsonville, OR Audi dealership, or another dealership closer to your location. Regular spring cleaning will help keep Audi or Porsche cars looking shiny and new for years to come.

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