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Adding hand dry

carnut2

carnut2

Express Exterior
Besides the obvious (towels and a prep cart) what else do I need to have to add a hand dry to my EE. Is it better to get a commercail washer and dryer or can I test the waters with a home model? Or maybe an extractor rather than a washer like some of the detail shops I've toured? Microfiber or terry? Any other suggestions?
 
You will definetly need an extractor/washer.
I would start out with a regular dryer. So if you decide not to continue towel service your not out a lot of money.
This is what I have and it works great.
http://unimac.com/
 
carnut2 said:
Besides the obvious (towels and a prep cart) what else do I need to have to add a hand dry to my EE. Is it better to get a commercail washer and dryer or can I test the waters with a home model? Or maybe an extractor rather than a washer like some of the detail shops I've toured? Microfiber or terry? Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Carnut2 & others,

It will be interesting if some of the more experienced hand dryer operators from way back ... will respond as to the optimum G-force for extraction of towels to be used for drying. It seems like I read somewhere that it is better not to use completely bone dry towels. We have three dedicated VFD extractors (not for sale & modified for fail safe safety) in our laundromat that vary between 902 G-force & 1092 G-force. Hopefully, some older full service &/or detail person catches this post & kind of clarifies & elaborates a bit on the "optimum G-force" for best drying.

mike walsh www.kingkoin.com
 
I've got 2 of the Continental washers with the dema laundry masters that Ira Feinberg sells. They dry the towels well enough for drying off cars. If the towel is dry it doesn't seem to absorb the water near as well. You can adjust the time that it extracts so we have a shorter extraction cycle for summer when it's 95 degrees everyday and in the winter we extract them a little longer. If you can find a good used unimac I wouldn't hesitate to have that either.

Also, if you are using microfiber towels make sure you don't dry them with the heat to high. If just drying cars you shouldn't need a dryer if you have a good extractor.
 
“Besides the obvious (towels and a prep cart) what else do I need to have to add a hand dry to my EE.”

Most obvious is two people side-drying cars inside exit end of tunnel. 2 people fully burdened $36,000 per year, fixed cost.

You need towels and capacity to clean and spin them damp.

Average use is 2 towels/person/car or 60 cars/hour * 4 = 240 towels/hour divided by 12 = 20 dozen * $15 = $300 for towels plus laundry soap

Dozen China soaker towel dry weigh 3 lbs. * 20 = 60 lbs an hour

Domestic 20 lbs or 60 / 20 = 3 loads an hour = domestic $1,000 cost

At churn rate of 240 towels an hour prep cart is too small for folding and stacking towels. So, you need a big flat table on each side of tunnel. Also, two hampers for dirty towels.

Inside a wind tunnel and wiping water off moving vehicles all day is noisy and monotonous work. So, you need disposable hearing protection and breaks on higher volume days.

Increase in average fixed cost per month to side dry cars as above = $3,200

$3,200 / $8 price = 400 more cars a month to pay for it
 
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Carnut are you talking about you supplying the man power to dry or having the customers dry their own cars?
Based on volume:
If customers dry the car you can expect to lose $100-$300 per month intowels.
I use micro fiber towel for body and interior, red shop towels for wheels. The customers love the micro fiber towels so much some take them home.
Detergent cost between $40-$80 -per month. Sam's New Era $13.00.
I do dry mine because customers like to clean their inside windows.
 
We hand dry on the top two wash's only $15/$19 the customers pull back around to the front of the tunnel were we apply tire shine by hand and hand dry the car. I have only two employees no extra labor. We use black 16/16 micro fiber towels and wash them with a every day washing machine. We also let the customers use the black towels. My ticket average for my EE is now over $11.
 
“We hand dry on the top two wash's only $15/$19”

“Nice prices” but most express have no $15 or $19 wash. Why?

“the customers pull back around to the front of the tunnel were we apply tire shine by hand and hand dry the car. I have only two employees no extra labor.”

You created offline profit center and centralized labor (existing attendants) which increased labor efficiency, like flex-serve does.

“My ticket average for my EE is now over $11.”

This is how you make money in carwash business, benchmark is $8.50.

Generating $2.50 additional in extra sales per car sounds a lot better than incurring the cost of free towel drying or giving away wiping towels and window cleaner.
 
Hands-On $$$

[]
You created offline profit center and centralized labor (existing attendants) which increased labor efficiency, like flex-serve does.- Bob Roman


Riding on the coattails of Bob's comment, I've found the absolute best way (and most fun, too) to generate optimum net profit is to combine vehicle washing & drying with a myriad of "hands-on" services. When designing the flex-serve paradigm, I drew from numerous commercial and manufacturing best-practices to create a format that provides infinite adaptability that enables any operator to tailor and scale its operational process to fit any marketplace, any site, and any environment with 2 fundamental components (washing and detailing)... and generating robust customer retention that yields year-round profitability. And while it sounds like a monumental task, it's quite easy to achieve and maintain. Originally applied to automatic conveyorized operations as a sensible replacement for traditional full-service, it has been successfully applied to literally all forms of vehicle washing and detailing... in production volumes that run the gamut from quite tiny to obscenely large, worldwide. The plan is timeless... and works just about everywhere. Being scalable means it can be easily tailored to individual needs and requirements... and it's a universal paradigm.

My point: If you aren't utilizing the flex-serve concept and applying its well-established, highly successful principles, it's time to rethink how you operate... and how much money is being needlessly left on-the-table for others. I urge you to think about it.

Being retired affords me plenty of time to answer any questions. I truly want you to succeed!



Thanks for the opportunity, Bob. All the Best...



— Steve Okun
 
You are welcome Steve and a wholehearted congratulation on your retirement.

What are you planning to do now? Start a dental floss farm in Montana? LOL

I go semi-retirement next month.

I’m looking for investors to develop dirty old men’s club. Business model includes golf course, driving range, fishing hole, shooting range, sports bar/restaurant (Hooter style waitress), card room, swimming pool, spa and massage, exercise room, cigar and wine shop, rooms and suites, dry cleaner, shoe shine, valet, carwash and more.

Interested?
 
carnut2 said:
Besides the obvious (towels and a prep cart) what else do I need to have to add a hand dry to my EE. Is it better to get a commercail washer and dryer or can I test the waters with a home model? Or maybe an extractor rather than a washer like some of the detail shops I've toured? Microfiber or terry? Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Why do you want to add the cost of labor with the looming increase in minimum wage?

You will drive more business into your wash with a high-quality, lower cost price.

This was proven in Portland basically a express-exterior market for years (since we have so much rain).

Some washes were $1.00 higher and offering hand dry while others were a dollar lower and NO HAND DRY.

The lower priced wash facilities were outwashing the hand dry facilities by double and triple the number of washes per month.

Today, no one hand dries and that is also true in Seattle another city with lots of rain.

Just some well intentioned thoughts on the topic.

KISS - that is the philosophy here

Bud Abraham
 
I guess some clarity is needed in response to the "wholehearted congratulation on retirement" comment. Maybe the appropriate term is semi-retired. given that I still function as a consultant but am no longer actively hop-scotching the planet or confining my activities to the carwashing industry. After years of relentlessly refining the flex-serve paradigm to its meridian, my operational carwash challenges seemed consummated. Hence, a sense of retirement. Or simply a quest for a fresh new fulfilling challenge.

Sincere Thanks for the good wishes... and past collaborations. Please reach out if ever I can be of any help!

— Steve


 
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