Cleaning Chemicals and Supplies for
Car Washes
No matter what type of car wash you operate, automatic, tunnel, self-serve, or full-service, the core business needs remain the same. You need reliable chemicals, dependable equipment, and a partner who supports you every step of the way. At Americhem, we deliver all three.
Effective car wash chemicals are essential for running a successful wash, and we offer everything from foundational detergents and presoaks to premium chemical options designed to enhance wash quality and boost your upsell revenue. Whether you’re looking to improve cleaning performance or expand your service menu, we have the solutions ready when you need them.
Our support doesn’t end with chemicals. Our equipment experts are always at your service, providing repair, servicing, and planned maintenance programs to keep your wash operating at peak performance. Worried about the cost of upgrading equipment? We also offer flexible rental and leasing options, making it easier to get the tools you need without straining your budget.
Ready to learn more about how Americhem can support your car wash? You can explore our solutions below or contact our team directly. We’d be happy to discuss your options and help you find the right fit for your business.
CAR WASH Cleaning Products
We stock a range of Spartan Xtreme vehicle care products, along with cleaning solutions for every part of your car wash operation. Whether you need laundry care, personal hygiene items, odor control, or specialized maintenance chemicals, Americhem has a chemical solution for every task.
- Car Wash Chemicals
Presoak, Detergent, Drying Agents, Weather Protection, Tire Shine
Car wash chemicals cover a broad spectrum of cleaning needs, and we carry them all. From basic detergents to industrial-grade concentrates, Americhem provides all the chemicals your operation needs in one place.
- Bay and Tunnel Cleaners
Degreasers, Deodorizers, Enzyme Cleaners
As vehicles move through your wash bays and tunnels, grease, grime, and chemical buildup are inevitable. Our selection of powerful degreasers helps you maintain these high-traffic, hard-to-clean areas and keep your equipment functioning at peak performance.
- Laundry Care
For rags, drying cloths, and uniforms
Whether your team is maintaining conveyor systems or handling interior detailing, dirty rags and microfiber cloths quickly accumulate. Americhem supplies effective laundry solutions designed to cut through heavy soils, grease, and residues common in car wash environments.
- Odor Control
Control odors from Drains & reclaim tanks
Our drain-cleaning and deodorizing products are formulated to break down organic buildup in drains and reclaim tanks naturally. These solutions enhance operational efficiency, reduce odors, and lower sludge disposal costs.
Janitorial Solutions for
Car Washes
From pressure washer attachments to bulk car wash chemicals and restroom essentials, our team can help you select the right products for every area of your facility. Explore the key areas of your car wash that we can help you maintain below.
Wash Bays
While cleaning a car wash may seem counterintuitive, it remains an important aspect of maintaining this type of business. Whether you have an automatic in-bay car wash system, a tunnel wash system, or a self-serve car wash, you will need to keep bulk car wash chemical solutions on hand. Americhem has you covered with end-to-end janitorial and chemical solutions for your car wash business.Â
Chemicals
Without routine cleaning and maintenance, key components of your wash can fail, forcing downtime and revenue loss. Because car washes often operate at high volume, you’ll want to keep a full range of chemicals on hand to match every level of service your business offers, from basic to premium packages.
Basic Package Chemicals:
- Presoaks
- Detergents
- Foam Washes
Advanced Packages (include all basic chemicals +):
- Weather protection
- Concentrated detergents
- Pressure washing agents
- Tire shine products
Premium Packages (include all basic & advanced chemicals +):
- Wax applications
- High-gloss finishes
- Drying agents
- Bug pre-treatment products
Due to the high volume of vehicles that come through your car wash, these chemicals deplete quickly, especially the essentials. Americhem supplies bulk chemical options and reliable delivery schedules, ensuring you never run out of your core products.
Terminals
If your car wash uses self-service terminal screens, kiosks, or digital selection panels, these high-touch surfaces should be sanitized frequently. Even beyond sanitization, you never know whether you will have unruly customers or unexpected system failures. Continuously monitoring these spaces ensures your business runs smoothly and customers can complete their car wash as expected.Â
Routine cleaning helps:
- Prevent the spread of illness
- Extend the lifespan of electronic equipment
- Ensure customers can complete their wash selections without interruption
For drive-through systems or washes operated by attendants using handheld electronic payment devices, the same cleaning principles apply. Clean tools work better, last longer, and reduce the spread of germs across entire shifts.
Drains & Grates
Your grates, drains, and surrounding areas should all be cleaned and emptied regularly to prevent clogs and noticeable odors. Larger debris and stagnant water can harbor bacteria, gathering grime all around rinsing areas. This can even create a smell, and if it becomes strong enough for customers to notice, it can damage your reputation and make them pause before returning.Â
We provide a variety of cleaning solutions for specific tasks like this, including:Â
Not Sure What You Need?
When you partner with Americhem, you gain access to industry experts who can assess your facility and recommend the ideal chemical regimen, equipment, and maintenance schedule for your specific car wash operation. Contact us today to get started!Â
Common Types of Debris Cars Encounter
Why the Right Chemicals Matter
Vehicles are exposed to a wide range of contaminants every day. Understanding what your customers’ cars come in contact with helps you choose the right cleaning chemicals for your car wash.
Dust & Dirt
Tiny airborne particles, such as road dust, pollen, and general environmental debris, cling to vehicle surfaces and quickly dull their appearance. As this buildup accumulates, it becomes a powerful motivator for customers to seek a car wash. To remove dust and dirt effectively, make sure your car wash is equipped with foaming detergents, presoak chemicals, and adequate water pressure to lift and rinse away these particles thoroughly.
Mud & Heavy Soil
Many customers arrive with vehicles covered in mud or heavy soil, especially in rural areas or after poor weather conditions. Regardless of how caked-on the debris is, your wash should be prepared to handle it. Stocking effective presoaks, industrial-grade pressure-washing concentrates, and a reliable undercarriage cleaning system ensures your equipment can break down and remove even the toughest caked-on mud.
Salt Residue
Road salt and de-icer buildup is an unavoidable frustration for drivers during the winter months. When these products mix with melting snow, they create a corrosive residue that clings to vehicles, especially the undercarriage, where components lack protective coatings. Customers are motivated to remove this material, so it’s critical to offer salt-neutralizing detergents and an underbody wash system that can flush away these corrosive contaminants.
Bugs
Drivers who take frequent highway trips or live in rural areas often face buildup of bug guts on their bumpers, grilles, and windshields. These protein-based contaminants bond to surfaces and can be challenging to remove with standard detergents, which cannot fully break them down. At a minimum, your wash should include presoak and foaming detergents. For superior results, offer customers enzymatic treatments or specialty protein-targeting bug removers as a premium upsell opportunity.
Bird Droppings
Last but not least are bird droppings. Bird droppings are acidic and can quickly damage and erode clear coats if left untreated. To safely remove them, ensure your wash includes a combination of presoak, pH-balanced cleaners, and mechanical agitation within your tunnel or wash bay. This combination helps break down the organic material without harming the vehicle’s finish.
Training & Certifications
We’re committed to keeping your team safe and compliant. If you need to train employees to meet OSHA requirements or want to reinforce best health and safety practices at your wash, we provide complimentary training to all Americhem partners. Your success is our success, and that’s why we prioritize genuine, long-term relationships with the operators we serve.
Health & Wellness
Your staff will learn about the chain of infection, adjusting to community threat levels, the difference between cleaning and disinfecting, and ATP testing to measure cleanliness levels. Helping you maintain a safe car wash for your staff and customers is our top priority.
Recommended Supplies for Car Dealerships
Safe, Multi-Purpose Cleaning Solutions
Spartan Xtreme Custom
Car Wash Detergent
Concentrated detergent, designed for the needs of the car wash industry, formulated to remove soils such as road film, grease, and road salts.Â
Spartan Xtreme
Low pH Presoak
Low pH Presoak can be applied through an arch or a spray wand. Recommended for use in conveyor or in-bay automatic wash systems.
Spartan Xtreme
Rapid Transit
A highly concentrated, detergent formulated to remove road film, grease, road salts, and other hard-to-remove soils from all types of vehicle surfaces.
Spartan Xtreme
Tire Shine
A water-borne, high-solids, silicone emulsion to provide long-lasting shine and protection for tires. Clean through an online applications or manually.Â
Spartan Xtreme
Wash & Wax
Perfect for vehicle wash applications, Xtreme Wash & Wax delivers a hand-polished softness for your customers. Reduces labor and time.Â
Spartan Xtreme
Weather Shield
Provides long-lasting shine, gloss, weather resistance, and water repellency. This product is a premium upgrade option for your car wash menu.
Spartan Xtreme®
High pH Presoak
High pH Presoak can be applied through an arch or a spray wand. Recommended for use in conveyor or in-bay automatic wash systems.
Spartan Glass
Cleaner
Clear blue, non-streaking, non-filming. Retards soiling. Dries quickly. Use on windows, windshields, mirrors, or any glass surface.
Spartan Extreme Clean Pressure Washer Conc.
Formulated to remove road film, grease, and other hard to remove soils from all metal surfaces. Remove heavy soils without manual agitation.Â
Consumables
Tork® PeakServe® Continuous™ Hand Towel
Avoid paper towel run-outs with 250% more hand towels and lower consumption thanks to one-at-a-time dispensing.
Berry Rhino-X® Coreless Roll Liner-38x60, 16 mic, Nat.
Extremely strong, even at low gauges. Superior moisture barrier properties. Star bottom seal to eliminate leakage and odors.
WypAll® Power Clean X80 Heavy Duty Cloths
Heavy duty cleaning wipes that absorb more water and oil then textile shop rags and stay strong for cleaning performance.
Tork® Advanced 2 Ply Mini Jumbo Roll Toilet Paper
High capacity roll delivers simple maintenance, refilling and use. Suitable for mid to high-traffic restrooms.Â
Transcend® by Marcal® Roll Towel
Absorbent, high-capacity paper towels. Controlled-use roll towel maximizes towel use. Green Seal[TM] Certified.Â
SemperForce® Black Nitrile Examination Glove
Highly resilient nitrile gloves due to increased wall thickness. Fully textured for optimized grip in damp and wet applications
GOJO® Clear and Mild Foam Handwash
Clear and mild handwash for gentle cleansing. Fragrance-free to prevent irritation. Contains moisturizers.
Marcal® Moisture-Lux® Antibacterial Foam Soap
Enriched with natural extracts and skin conditioners to gently wash away impurities. Reduces and fights against bacteria.Â
Spartan Grub Scrub® Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner
A pumpable, heavy-duty hand cleaner for stubborn soils, formulated with d-limonene, pumice, and moisturizers.Â
Cleaning & Deoderizing
Spartan Consume Micro-Muscle® Degreaser
Industrial-strength degreaser that quickly digests petroleum-based soils like motor oil, hydraulic fluid, stamping oils, and lubricants.
Impact® Z-Mat™ Urinal Mat - Gray/Orchard Zing
Protect floors from stains and uric acid damage for up to 6 weeks. Fights germs & combats odors in your restrooms.Â
Betco® pH7
Floor Cleaner
This mild cleaner will emulsify and suspend dirt and grime from tabletops to floors, from spray bottles to auto scrubbers.
Microfiber & More Microfiber Cloth - Blue
Perfect for cleaning and dusting. Removes more soil than cotton. Pre-conditioned material, ready to use wet or dry.Â
Everwipe® By Tork® Disinfectant Wipe
Simplify surface hygiene tasks with these multipurpose disinfecting and cleaning wipes. Kills 99.9% of germs & bacteria.
Betco® Pull® Heavy Duty Toilet Cleaner
Removes even the most stubborn rust, scale, and mineral deposits. Formulated for restorative cleaning.
Equipment Service & Maintenance
SERVICE. PLANNED MAINTENANCE. RENTALS.
No one has a team like ours!
From factory-trained technicians and shop coordinators to installation teams, a committed parts manager, and knowledgeable equipment specialists.
- Extend Equipment Life
- Maximize Performance
- Trust Americhem Maintenance
Specialty Equipment for Car Dealerships
Give your team the tools they deserve
Perfect for cars, trucks, and other vehicles, the Kärcher 21″ undercarriage cleaner attachment cleans the underside of cars with ease.Â
- Specs
- GPM: 1 to 2.5 GPM
- PSI: maximum PSI of 4,000
- Special Features
- The kit includes a 20″ 2-piece extension wand with a swivel caster
- Offers easy and quick connection to compatible pressure washers with a 1/4″ plug inlet
Want to purchase new equipment but don't have the capital?
Just like financing a car, you can apply for financing or lease-to-own options on cleaning equipment and bundle your planned maintenance into one predictable monthly payment, built to fit your operational budget. Request a customized leasing quote from Americhem today!
Complimentary Facility Evaluation
Free, In-depth Analysis on Your Facility
- Facility Walkthrough
A detailed tour of your facility to understand your current equipment, layout, and cleaning processes.
- Equipment Assessment
A review of your existing machines to identify inefficiencies and opportunities for upgrades.
- Operational Improvement Plan
A strategic plan to enhance cleaning performance, efficiency, and ROI.
- Customized Recommendations
Expert suggestions tailored to your facility’s unique needs and goals.
