Getting clean away
Page 49
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Keeping your fleet clean, says Peter Watt, need not be a problem if you use a purpose-built washer. Here are some of the options
• Everyone likes a clean vehicle. Joe Public can see the reflection of his face in the paintwork, the operator is proud of his row of shiny vehicles, shop owners are pleased to take delivery from a smartlooking van and the marketeers are satisfied that the all-important company image is being enhanced.
Keeping your fleet clean (be it one car-derived van or a brace of 38-tonners) in a time and cost-effective way is a difficult problem, however. Solutions range from a simple hose and a brush, through cold and hot hand-held pressure washers, to the large gantry-mounted systems in their various forms.
With the British mixture of rain and roadworks covering vehicles with grime ever more quickly, it is essential that operators choose the system which is best suited to their needs.
The following factors must be considered when looking at the systems currently on offer.
• The range of vehicles to be cleaned; • Amount of space available; • Kind of civil works needed; • Time taken to clean a vehicle; • Initial purchase price; and • Cost of operation and maintenance.
Starting with such parameters in mind, it should then be possible to draw up a short-list of washing equipment manufacturers from which to choose.
One further consideration which is not immediately obvious to those unfamiliar with vehicle washing is the need to deal efficiently with the waste products from the cleaning process. Water authorities are rightly concerned with reducing polution levels, and care should be taken that detergents and cleaning agents are treated as necessary.
For large operations, users should think seriously about incorporating one of the purpose-built water recycling systems.
There are four basic types of gantry (or arch) commercial vehicle washers. There are two ways of removing the dirt: brush cleaning systems, or the brushless spray systems. These are both available as static "drive-through" types, or moving "rollover" types. Not to be forgotten are the chassis washers, which are generally