Cleaning solutions

[Earl Weiss]

If you don't need the rep, see if you can buy direct.

For years bought tunnel spap thru Big Co. Reps. AT todays prices cost 6-8 cents a car or more. Then on this forum learned that some were happy with KR soap pre soak, sealer and triple foam wax Cut my cost by a 2/3.

Still use some reps for drying agent, and wheel soap since Ihave not yet found a KR product that seems to work as well.

Big Co rep, basicaly said that I was experienced enough not to need his service and help. Those that do are willing to pay the xtra cost.

Heck, the $ falls right to the bottom line if you wash 100K cars and you save 6 cents a car on soap and a couple scents a car on pre soak plus a few cents a car on Xtra services like triple polish and sealer wax.

 

[MEP001]

Speaking of saving money on soap, we use only one product from Kleen-Rite. I buy enough each time they have a free shipping special to last a year, along with lots of vending supplies stacked on top. I figure we're saving about $1,000 a year on shipping.

A quick note, if UPS tries to deliver a pallet to the wrong address, don't redirect it by calling UPS. Call Kleen-Rite, or you'll be responsible for the $65 redirect fee.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Aside from the top off the pallet with vending supplies each April they have the buy 3 get one free sale so I load up then. It's a 25% price reduction equivelent.

 

[bigleo48]

Earl,

I too have reduced my chem costs buy buying in bulk from Kleenrite. I take advantage of the spring "buy 3 get one free" to stock up for the year. Free shipping on pallets with top ups of vending and parts cuts out shipping costs. And, I now buy chems & parts for the petwash, detailing, SS, IBA, vacs, etc from one vendor!

Around here, a 5 gallon pail of presoak from a big chem company rep is about $80 a pail, a good presoak from KR is between 30 and $35. That's a huge savings!

Every now and then I get a chem vendor drop buy...none have ever been able to get close to those prices. Heck, their distributor prices are higher than my retail costs!

BigLeo

 

[Waxman]

Is that $30 per pail price part of the special or a regular price? KR soaps clean as well in your IBA?

 

[bigleo48]

Is that $30 per pail price part of the special or a regular price? KR soaps clean as well in your IBA?

Waxman,

For presoaks in my touchless, I like both the KR "InBay" Alkaline presoak that if you buy in 30gal drums comes out to be about $30 per 5 gallons. I also like the Transmate 'Flim-Away' alkaline presoak and I think it sells for $37 for 5 gallons. Both are current regular prices.

I also use the KR 'inbay' presoak for my SS presoak. I use the KR Kleen-Track 2A (Simoniz) as my HP soap, good foam, scent and cleans well. It's about $33 per 5 gallon pail, regular price. So I much prefer an Alkaline presoak and an acidic HP soap instead of a middle pH HP soap. They work together better in my area, is environmently friendly and gets cars cleaner.

All in all, my chem prices are down 60% from when I use to buy from the reps for the big chem companies and the performance is better IMHO.

BigLeo

 

[rph9168]

Everyone' situation is a little different when considering chemical purchases. There are pro's and con's that you should take into consideration to meet your needs and abilities. With annual purchasing you are not subject to any price increase that may occur during the year. Freight is usually included in the price. If you have done your homework you don't have to worry about running out. You don't have to listen to every chemical salesman that knocks on your door.

If you purchase chemicals annually you will need adequate storage and if in cold weather climates you will it to be heated. If you can't store it on site you will need to transport the chemicals to the wash on your own. You must be willing to tie up the money up front instead of paying as you need it. In most cases you will need to be your own chemical troubleshooter. If you don't have the time or ability to do this you could lose all you save by wasting chemical or not correcting performance issues. Most chemical companies will include some marketing aids like signage, banners,etc.

You might be able to negotiate a rebate program with your local distributor based on how much chemical you purchase in a twelve month period. What percentage you are able to recover depends on how well you negotiate but I have seen it as much as 10-15%.

In either case you need to be aware of your cost per car. As has been pointed out many times in this forum, the cheapest chemical may cost more per car than a more expensive one. It all depends on how much you need to use to get the best performance.