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How cold is too cold?

Etowah

Exia69

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When is it too cold?

Greetings! Dutiful car wash manager here, six employees under my careful eyes. Management has betrayed the original set temperature of 25° in favor of a scaling, why don't we just open the wash now? It's only fourteen degrees after all! And I am looking for thoughts and experience from the wise minds of car wash forum. I have declared that operating below our original set of 25° is not in line with keeping myself, my employees, and my customers safe. To me, chilly operation posses a distinct safety issue and I will not endanger the people I love and have been charged to protect and nurture. The pit grates collect ice and I am seriously considering an Ice clause, allowing any employee, at any time, to declare unsafe working conditions due to pit grate ice.

The wash has an overhead heater, radiant heating system below, and roll-up doors that do not function. Those directing me have sited these safeguards as sufficient evidence that my beloved wash shall fear no cold. My staff preforms prep work in a prep bay before traversing the wash tunnel. Prep bay 25ft wash tunnel 75ft. Prep work typically performed with both pole brushes and high pressure hose, brushes recinded when the cold brings the crowds. On Saturday, we opened at 25°, 1100 and there was not even a single pause in volume until we closed at 1900.

Please consider both temps for when the airlift doors are functioning, and temps for when they are not. I greatly appreciate your experience being lent to a lad as myself.
 

Earl Weiss

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With a 75 foot tunnel and no functioning doors in that climate prep elimination would be tough. Without prep you could wash down to zero degrees. We use a "Toll Booth" system so we just need to make certain the booth is a reasonable temperature for the Cashier / loader and that the tunnel is above freezing.
 
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