Car Wash Vacuums

[eurekaprince]

I have always found it frustrating to use the coin-operated vacuums provided at car washes and gas stations. The hoses are always too bulky and sometimes broken. The nozzles are useless and sometimes you don't even get a nozzle - just a "julienne" sliced end of the plastic hose. And then there is the problem of weak suction due to a bin or filters not being cleaned properly.

It's fine if you live in a private home where you can plug in your favourite canister vac and clean the car in your garage or driveway. But what about all us apartment renters and those living in high-rise condos?

Here's a challenge for Bissell or Miele or Dyson (Jack...are you reading this?):

Create a really innovative coin-operated car vacuum system that can properly clean all surfaces in a car: a nice deep scratch-proof dusting brush for the dashboard and airvents, a nice flexible crevice tool for those hard-to-get-at nooks and crannies, and a mini power nozzle to brush up the carpets and clean the upholstery. The tools should be easily washed or maintained or frequently replaced by the vac company offering the service, and they should be secured so that they are not stolen (maybe they must be returned to an automated cleansing bin before your credit card can be removed). The hose should be easy to manoeuver and use, and should retract so that it does not get damaged by being run over.

Maybe you get a subscription to the service and as part of the subscription, the subscriber actually owns the attachments including the mini turbo nozzle. Your subscription includes a replacement plan so that any really dirty or broken tools are replaced. You keep the tools in your car trunk in a special bag!!

And how about this for a challenge: add another unit that will allow you to steam clean and wash your carpets and mats! Kind of like a very long-hosed version of the Bissell Green Machine!

If Dyson does this, they can use their "Air Blade" technology at the end of the hosting car wash to dry off the cars!

What do you think guys? We put a man on the moon, so can't we offer a good self-serve automated vacuum for car washes and gas stations? I'd pay $5 for 10 minutes of the use of such a machine.....

 

[vinvac]

I think you need to get right to work on that!

Morgan

 

[brandon_w_t]

You would think that the attachments would get stolen really easily. Around here its a big problem that people steel the air hoses and vacuum hoses at gas stations. Some stations have the vacuum hoses locked in a box.

 

[eurekaprince]

You know Brandon, that is exactly what I was thinking - but what if the Bissel Car vac or Dyson Car Vac had a hose handle that did not have a tool always connected to it, and you could attach your very own purchased turbo nozzle or dusting brush or crevice tool? Your local gas station could sell the compatible tools in the store and you would always have them on hand in your trunk whenever you needed to clean the car interior.

Ideally the hose handle profile would be a "universal" size so that you could even use a Kenmore dusting brush or a Eureka turbo nozzle connected to it.

 

[eurekaprince]

Hey Morgan! Getting right on it with some sketches..... LOL!!!

You know, I would not mind getting a contract from Electrolux or Bissell to design this system!!!

 

[twocvbloke]

Easier option, don't use a car wash vacuum, just use one of your own vacs at home...

Or if you really must vac-on-the-go, take a vac and a 12v inverter with you so you can vacuum your car wherever you like, be it in a car park or in the middle of Route 66...

 

[tolivac]

As the man says he lives in an apartment-would suggest one of those very small "Shop Vacs" that can run from the car cigarette lighter-and or the Royal DD type vacuum that ran from the cigarette lighter plug in the car.He could keep the vacuums in his car so they can be used at any time.also DeWalt makes a portable vacuum that runs from 18V rechargeable battery packs-same as their other cordless tools.And the little DeWalt or Shop Vac could pick up liquid spills in the car.BUT NOT GAS!!!!

 

[twocvbloke]

Or like I said, using a 12v Inverter, to gain Mains power from a 12v supply to power a proper vac. Clip it to the battery under the bonnet, fire up the engine, plug your vac in, do the cleaning, unplug, shut off the engine, unclip the inverter, job done...

Given how most of the vacs owned here are less than 1200 Watts, you don't need a big inverter either, just one rated for the vac you wish to use...

So there you have it, a simple solution, no need to design something that will be vandalised, misused and neglected, aswell as overcharged for using. Buy an inverter and you have a permanent "subscription" to the use of a vacuum you know, love and care for, you can use whatever tools you have, and can chop & change between different vacs for different jobs, heck, you could even plug in a steam cleaner too for those floormats if you really wanted...

 

[tolivac]

The inverter system can quickly drain your battery-you would have to be careful there.the 12V vacuums are somewhat less powerful-but won't drain the battery as easily as an inverter.

 

[eurekaprince]

I have yet to see a portable car vac that plugs into the lighter that can do the job properly, and that won't spew dirty exhaust air back into the car.

Perhaps some of you guys could show me some links to "lighter-powered" car vacs that are top performers, that would be great. At minimum, they would need to be powerful enough to power a mini turbo nozzle, and the hose would have to be at least 5 feet long.

I still think that the self-serve vacs at car washes need to have a serious redesign......and the company that designs this new innovative system would have great advertising exposure.

 

[twocvbloke]

"The inverter system can quickly drain your battery"

I guess you missed the "Fire up your engine" bit then? Engine powers Alternator, alternator provides power, power goes to battery and Inverter, inverter powers vac, basic mechanics really... :&#92

(and yes, I do understand the principle of power from batteries, I'm into the British institution of "Narrowboats" (British canal boats), and most of said boats use inverters, Deep Cycle batteries, wind & solar generation, diesel engines and mains hookups, so, applying said things to a degree to a car isn't that hard, infact, it's pretty easy, if your hand can squeeze an alligator clip, then you can do it)

 

[tolivac]

Do you want to have the cars engine running while vacuuming the car?I don't.For me I can use one of my conventional canister vacuums.Yes,I know about the clips for inverters-prefer not to use them.If the vehicle has one built in-thats different-there may be a separate battery system to supply the primary power to the inverter.Some years ago met an electrical contractor who had a very large inverter in his truck.A separate battery and alternator powered it.He could run just about of his tools on it-the inverter could provide something up to 3Kw at 120V.Depending on the load the unit could power something for several hours.I really don't want to pop the hood and hook up an inverter just to vacuum the car.Just easier ways to do it.I would use one of the carwash ones instead.

 

[twocvbloke]

I'm just pointing out the fact that there is very little reason to find a difficult solution to a simple problem, a car wash vac is not suitable, so use a vac at home, if you haven't access to a mains outlet, use an inverter powered by the car, so you have your car cleaned by your own hardware and not something that may or may not actually be doing a decent job, may or may not have tools, may or may not give you enough time to do a complete job, may or may not have a clean filter thus reducing airflow, and may or may not even have a proper nozzle on the end of the hose...

Personally, I'd be happy to leave the "May or may nots" at the service station and run an idling engine for 15 to 20 minutes while I give the car a clean with a decent vacuum cleaner, with tools suited to the job in hand and with filters & bags I can replace if they get too full.

Simple problem solved, Simple solution found, it's just convincing the difficult people that's left...

 

[tolivac]

I think the cigarette lighter vacs are a simpler solution-for me the vacuum at home.Most of the carwash vacs I have used have been no problem.and the suction of these is even greater than most home vacuums.The one at the Adams carwash here in my area has a 5Hp motor!and several fans-its like a small organ blower connected to pull in air rather than blow.Its very powerful and does well.And quiet for the power it has.the hose on it has an ulpholstery type nozzle.Does well for the one time I used it.And it was free if you had your car washed there.the unit was clean and the hose and nozzle were in excellent condition-had no fears using it.Took only a few minutes to vacuum my car.That carwash vacuum would certainly be more powerful than ANY inverter powered vacuum cleaner.

 

[eurekaprince]

Okay then....can anyone post a link to a description of a powerful car vac that plugs into the car lighter and that at minimum has a hose which can take my Kenmore dusting brush? Or could take an air-driven turbo nozzle?

I am not allowed to plug in any vacuum in the electrical outlets of the public areas of my apartment building (garage or parking lot).

 

[gmerkt]

Eurekaprince: Just out of curiosity, what are those electrical outlets in the common areas intended for? You'd think that vacuuming a car interior in a common area in the garage would be a legitimate use.

I'll deviate a bit here. When I think of car wash vacuums, I think back on times when the car wash included that service in the price of a wash. The full-service car washes that I was familiar with had very large, cylindrical vacuums for doing the job. Definitely something of commercial manufacture.

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi Gary!

Well, in my rental building, each tenant pays extra for their electricity in their apartments. Because Toronto Hydro is such a corrupt organization, electricity prices here are very high. So our building owner restricts the use of those electrical outlets in public spaces to the maintenance people and cleaning staff and any contractors who need it for their power tools and such.

I guess I have two options (since Dyson has not come to my rescue with a newfangled self serve car wash vac!): I think I am going to buy one of those cordless hand vacs that has a revolving brush attachment, just so I can brush and clean the upholstered seats in the car. I can always bring up the carpeted floor mats to my apartment and run my Hoover Tempo over them.

I will have to ask a friend who has a home in the suburbs if they don't mind me coming over one sunny Sunday afternoon to clean the interior properly with my Electrolux! (By the way, can anyone recommend the best turbo nozzle that would fit on a universal canister vac's hose handle?)

 

[gmerkt]

More curiosity. If the outlets in the common areas are restricted to building maintenance use, are they covered and secured? That can be done. Or does the landlord rely on "catching" people, then following up with some kind of enforcement? I suppose there aren't enough tenant users wanting to use electricity in the garage to warrant installation of a coin-op outlet (like I've seen done in Germany).

I think the idea of asking a friend to allow you to come over to their home and vacuum the interior is a good choice. The small amount of time you use the vacuum isn't going to impact anyone's electric bill very heavily.

 

[floor-a-matic]

Adapter for tools

Great if U want to use a car wash vac & your own tools

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM187939068P?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3