Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is Conserve Car Wash part of a major chain or franchise of car washes?

A. No, the Car Wash is owned by the Gillis family of Madison, NH.

Q. Who is that guy I see there all the time?

A. Randy is the manager of the car wash and has been here for many years. He’s the guy who keeps everything running smoothly and your car coming out clean.

Q. Who are the other people I see working there sometimes?

A. We have had many employees over the course of 24 years and some of them are family members as well. We have 7 children and they have all worked at the car wash in some capacity. You might even see Keegan who is only 3 pushing the buttons in the automatic cloth car wash.

Q. Do you recycle the water in the car wash?

A. Yes and No. We are able to recycle a portion of the water in the automatic Cloth Car Wash. Due to the fact that the cloth wash process uses so much water this is the best use for the system. The recycled water is constantly recharged with the high pressure fresh water from the prep wash guns at a rate of 7 gallons per minute. The water is filtered through a series of sediment tanks to remove dirt particles, then soap is added to the water and it is pumped back by a large centrifugal pump. This process allows us to save more than half the water that would be used in a home car wash application. The final process of the wash uses 100% fresh water for wax applications and final rinsing. It’s very much like washing dishes in a sink with the faucet always running and always rinsing with fresh water. The Touchless wash uses such high pressure that it reduces the amount of water used, the process is referred to as HPLV (High Pressure Low Volume) in this application a car may be washed with as little as 34 gallons of water so 100% fresh water is used. The electricity required to recycle this small amount of water would not be environmentally friendly or cost effective. The same holds true for the Self Service wash, by using high pressure water the gallons per minute (GPM) used are reduced from 8 GPM to only 3.5 GPM and the efficiency of the spray becomes more than double that of a standard garden hose. In short, you get a better wash with less water.

Q. Will my doors freeze up if I wash my car below 32 degrees?

A. Most cars now have been designed to be aerodynamically quiet, this means that the channels that used to hold water around doors and windows have been eliminated. If you have a problem with the weatherstrip of the door freezing simply wipe the rubber portion with a protectant like ArmorAll and the ice won’t stick.

Q. Will the car wash scratch my car?

A. No, scratching is eliminated by washing the grit off with high pressure prior to applying any friction to the surface. You are more likely to scratch your car with a garden hose and a sponge. Without high pressure all the damaging grit is still there waiting to be rubbed around by the sponge. We also use flagged bristle brushes to prep your car instead of sponges. Using these type of brushes means That any remaining particles on the painted surface will float up into the space Between the bristles and pressure is not applied to the abrasive particles, so they are not rubbed into the finish. During the cloth wash process water is constantly Being applied to float away dirt particles as they are removed. Low Ph soap is also applied to act as a cleaning agent as well as a lubricant. On dark colored cars it is necessary to maintain a good coat of paste wax to avoid hazing which may occur over time from any type of wash process . A layer of paste wax will keep contaminates from coming in contact with the painted surface. It is the removal of these abrasive contaminates that will cause the finish to become dull. If you don’t have a good coat of wax on your dark colored car and would like to retain that factory shine the Touchless car wash is your best bet.

Q. Will the wax in the car wash cause streaks on my windows?

A. No, the old days of car wash waxes being oil or kerosene based are gone. The waxes used in the wash now will actually allow you to see better because they contain polymers, much like RainX or Vision Clear which allow your windshield wipers to work better, they make water bead and blow off and they actually reduce the glare from pitting on your windshield.

Q. Do I really get the extra services when I pay for them.

A. Absolutely, in fact if you know what you are looking for you can actually see it being applied. Things like triple foam polish are obvious, but if you look out your window while going through the automatic cloth wash you can see the wheel cleaners being sprayed online. You might see the undercarriage wash or the rust inhibitor spraying up from the floor just before your car passes over it or the spray coming out from underneath. The undercarriage wash in the Touchless wash is so strong you can hear it spraying under your car. The waxes will show by the beading water just before the dryer cycle and they each have a unique scent to them. There are always at least 18 separate containers of cleaners, polishes or waxes online between the 3 washes.