Hot Stuff Chemical Case Study:
Background:
For the past 4 years, we utilized a two step presoak application in our automatic bays. With the goal of decreasing the overall chemical cost per wash, we enlisted a team of chemists to create a new line of chemicals for our own internal usage. After countless hours in the lab and dozens of testing sessions at our washes, we perfected our presoak formulation and Hot Stuff Chemicals was born.
Due to our overwhelming success with presoak, we repeated this process on the remainder of the chemicals used in our washes with similar results across the board.
As a result of our efforts, our chemical cost per clean car decreased almost 50% increasing net profit dramatically.
About Hot Stuff Presoak:
The original HotStuff Presoak and the HotStuff Presoak Plus are super concentrated, highly viscous products. Because of their extremely concentrated nature, they are best utilized when first diluted with 4 gallons of fresh water. This mixture is ready for use.
Cost Analysis Study:
After analyzing our usage and unit cost across multiple locations, we concluded that presoak was our largest single chemical expenditure. This two step product accounted for approximately 30% of all chemicals used in our wash cycles.
Our cost per car of using this combo application was 22 to 24 cents per car, in line with the reported industry averages.
To obtain the optimal on-car concentration, we experimented with several metering tips to control the flow of the product from the pail to the hydrominder and into the product tank for delivery to the car. The colors and sizes of the metering tips that were used were:
Tip Color Orafice Size: Ratio per Eductor Flow at 1 GPM:
Purple .014 32 to 1
Aqua .018 38 to 1
Yellow .020 64 to 1
The amount of cars cleaned per 5 gallon pail varied slightly depending upon which metering tip was used. The best application in regards to appearance, cleaning power, and positive customer perception was the Aqua (.018) tip. The results obtained with this tip exceeded the results we obtained with our previous combination product.
Using Hot Stuff Presoak Plus and the Aqua tip, we yielded an average of 680 cars. The original, non corrosive, Hotstuff Presoak yielded similar results cleaning 680 cars. For reference, the Purple Tip yielded 850 cars but did not meet the car coverage specifications at our facilities. The Yellow Tip had an average yield of 500 cars.
The metering tips that we used may or may not be specific to the wash system that you are currently using. Please consult with your wash system distributor for questions regarding the size that corresponds to the metering tips used in this study.
Materials
Equipment: Jim Coleman Company Wash Touch Free Wash Systems
Locations: Multiple locations across the south and midwest, each location consisted of at least 2 automatic wash bays.
Metering Tips: Tip Color Orafice Size: Ratio per Eductor Flow at 1 GPM:
Purple .014 32 to 1
Aqua .018 38 to 1
Yellow .020 64 to 1
Conclusion
Switching our washes to Hot Stuff super concentrated Presoak cut our presoak chemical expenditure in half. In addition, customer satisfaction and objective cleaning measures were superior to the two step process utilized before.
Disclaimer
While the techniques and approaches presented here were proven effective during our test, we cannot guarantee that these techniques and approaches will work for you. We hope that the information presented here will assist you in developing a strong and profitable car wash business.