Fleet Pressure Washing

On your daily commute to work, do you ever look around you? Do you notice just how many company vehicles are on the road? They are on the way to sales calls, maintenance calls, marketing events and more. Do you really think the salesperson is going to wash off his company vehicle after making a day of calls in a snowstorm? I didn't either.

This is why the pressure washing and the car wash industries have started to serve those who have fleets of vehicles. Some companies purchase their own equipment and have their maintenance or janitorial staff do the pressure washing in house. And, others outsource the job to a pressure washing company. But no matter who does it, managers have realized the benefits of the fleet pressure washing cleaning method.

Six reasons to look into fleet pressure washing:

Reason 1 — The first reason should be obvious. These car, trucks and vans are not all done up with the company logo because it looks pretty. The logos are on these vehicles for visibility. When I pass by an accident, I know what news station is there. When a power line is down, I know what company is fixing it. When someone is getting lunch delivered, I know what he or she is having. That is because these logos are advertising messages. First off, if they are so caked up with dirt, mud, and soot, I may not see the logo. Secondly, a company's image should be cleaned and polished. When I see it a dirty vehicle, it sends the impression that the company doesn't care. And if they don't care about maintaining a professional image, what must their service be like? Chances are, I won't want to find out! (Okay- major snowstorm aside, but it better get washed off later!) A clean vehicle = a clean image. A clean image = a louder image.

Reason 2 — Another reason for fleet pressure washing is that it is quicker. Rather than filling a bucket with soap and water, getting sponges and rags, finding ladders, and all the other equipment- well, that just killed about a half hour. Then, hand washing each vehicle is a chore in itself. Pressure washing simply gets the job done faster, and when you save time, you save money.

Reason 3 — A clean car is more aerodynamic, and thus gets better gas mileage. This may sound like a negligible difference, but it is larger than you think. The popular TV show MythBusters tested this in 2009. The myth was that a dirty car would get better gas mileage because it disturbed the air around it, like a golf ball, affording it a smaller wake, and thus reducing drag. They did 2 separate tests and found that a clean car actually got better gas mileage. How much? The first test showed an improvement of 2 miles per gallon, while the second test showed an improvement of 3 miles to the gallon.¹ With today's gas prices, this seems like a good enough reason to me.

Reason 4 — A fourth reason also has to do with time, but not so much in the time it takes to wash each vehicle, but the frequency it is washed. If a company leaves the washing up to the representative who drives it, it may never get done. Perhaps setting aside one day a month/week for everyone to come in to have his or her vehicle washed would be more efficient. If the company is outsourcing the job, this is the way it will have to be done.

Reason 5 — A fifth reason is that when done in-house, fleet pressure washing could pay for itself. Imagine a fleet of sales people. They turn in hundreds of dollars of receipts from car washes per year. Having a resource in house eliminates the need to cut reimbursement checks for car washing expenses.

Reason 6 — Lastly, pressure washing just works better. Whether you do it yourself, or hire a professional, your fleet will always look better and appealing. When you have more than one car to maintain, and invest in a pressure washer. It will end up saving you time, labor and money.

Here is a list of potential clients for contractors looking to get into fleet pressure washing:

• Utility companies
• Wireless telephone companies
• Caterers
• Radio stations- promotional vehicles
• Televisions stations- satellite trucks, news vehicles
• Newspaper- carriers, sales people
• Beverage wholesalers
• Waste companies
• Hauling companies
• Towing companies
• Plumbing companies
• Construction companies
• Landscaping companies
• School buses
• City buses
• Taxi companies
• Pizza shops
• Engineering firms
• Municipalities- cops, maintenance. (Fireman prefer to wash their own fleets)

Many contractors have also started using water recovery systems for their fleet pressure washing. Water usage depends on the size of the fleet, but you can imagine how many gallons of water are used to wash a fleet of 15 school buses. Coupled with wash water filtration systems, a water recovery system will allow you to reuse water so there is less waste. It is not just about eliminating waste, however, but protecting groundwater from waste materials. Protecting our water source is so important that many local governments and municipalities have began to mandate water recovery.²

Whether you decide to do your fleet pressure washing in house or by hiring a contractor you will need to use a recognized pressure washer cleaning solution such as super film remover. Using a pressure washer reduces the time it takes to clean your vehicles. Again, saving time and labor saves money. I recommend a machine with up to 2000 PSI and 3-4 GPM. For more experienced pressure washer users, a unit with 2500 PSI will be an excellent fit. As a business owner, a pressure washer will be one of your smartest investments.