What information should you start with?

The first meeting is most useful when you know which decision it should help you make. For one person, that may be choosing a town; for another, checking a bay layout on their own site. Start by identifying your stage.

Add who will make decisions and operate the site after opening. On-site management, remote management and working with a local person may require different organisational arrangements. Consider them from the first proposal.

What should a location brief contain?

Prepare one folder and a short note. Name each file so its plot and date are clear. Take photos from a driver's perspective and from within the site; listing photos alone often fail to show access properly.

How should you describe the planned car wash?

First describe customers and functions: the vehicles you want to serve, whether you plan a vacuuming area, available payment methods and who will carry out daily tasks. Then choose the direction for technology and appearance.

Divide the list into “needed for opening” and “to consider later”. For later equipment, ask about installation preparation, space and compatibility with the chosen configuration. A budget reserve does not automatically make expansion possible.

You can show a photo of a project you like and identify what appeals to you: proportions, colour, bay layout or additional equipment. That inspiration needs to be translated into a scope description. Our guide can help on combining technology and appearance.

What if you are still looking for a site?

Prepare two or three locations and describe them using the same questions. This ensures an attractive price does not overshadow difficult access, unknown connections or an impractical site shape.

The comparison helps select locations for more detailed analysis. Specific development potential and technical conditions are checked for the chosen site. Find a further checklist in the site selection guide.

What questions should complete your preparation?

Instead of ending the discussion with a general “please send a quotation”, agree the next step and the information needed to complete it. Every unknown should have a person responsible for resolving it and an expected response date.

Why define the site's function first?

Before choosing a fascia colour, describe how customers will use the car wash. A small site serving local residents has different needs from a location with large fluctuations in traffic. Bay availability, convenient payments, clear programmes and space to finish the visit comfortably all matter.

For each choice, mark whether it is needed at launch, requires preparation for later installation or is still under consideration. This helps select equipment without unintentionally expanding the scope.

What do the names Rapid and Express describe?

These are TIXE's two technology and technical container lines. The choice concerns space for technology, operating scale and equipment layout options. It does not replace an equipment list or the design of the whole site.

If the site is intended to accommodate a larger car wash in the future, communicate this before technology selection. Spare space beside the bays alone does not confirm that additional bays can be connected.

What does the selected canopy style determine?

The canopy system gives the car wash its form: proportions, roofing, divisions and visual identity. Names such as SIMPLE PREMIUM, QUADRA and MODERNA help define a style direction. Appearance must be coordinated with the bay layout and agreed equipment.

Also assess how easy the site is to understand from the approach and how comfortable it is to move around. A detail that looks good close up should also work from the perspective of a driver entering the site.

How do programmes and equipment fit into the site plan?

A programme is a service selected by the driver. Technology enables it to work, while equipment affects bay operation. Map out these relationships before approving the panel and instructions.

A vacuum cleaner, mat washer or fluid dispenser needs space both for the equipment and the vehicle using it. Check that the additional services area does not block exits from the bays. Plan service access to the technical container in the same way.

Useful resources include wash programme descriptions and the guide to the site layout concept.

How can you maintain one coherent design version?

Most misunderstandings arise when the rendering shows one version, the quotation another and the site drawing a third. Apply every significant change across all materials.

Before approval, ask for the supply scope to be separated from work arranged by the investor. Assign an owner and a deadline to every “to be confirmed” item. In the car wash planner you can organise your preferences for discussion; compatibility of the selected set is confirmed through technical selection.

Where should an upgrade begin?

Instead of saying “the car wash needs changes”, record an observation: the terminal interrupts transactions, a bay repeatedly needs servicing, customers do not understand the instructions or water consumption is growing faster than usage. Each problem calls for a different scope of work.

Choose the goal for the first stage. It may be eliminating a recurring fault or introducing a particular payment method. This makes it easier to establish what must be included and what can wait.

What information should you prepare for assessment?

An exterior photo shows appearance but does not explain how the installation is built. For an initial discussion, you need a view of the bays, technical container and equipment, together with the problem history. Record symptoms without guessing their cause.

If documentation is missing, state this in your request. An on-site installation assessment may be the first task. Data prepared using this list enables the TIXE team to ask more relevant questions before the visit.

What should be kept, repaired or replaced?

Equipment age alone should not determine replacement. Its condition, serviceability and compatibility with the planned solution matter. Payment changes require checking the connection to the controls; new technology requires checking its space and installation needs.

When choosing new programmes, keep the correct relationships in mind: TOP GUN relates to the main wash, while DOUBLE POWER relates to the brush system. Compatibility is confirmed individually.

How should car wash operation be planned during changes?

Phasing is agreed after shared installations have been checked. Work on one bay may affect others if they use the same supply or control system. Site availability during the upgrade should follow the work plan.

Prepare a clear notice for customers. After changing panels or programmes, give operators updated instructions. Update the documentation with installed equipment and changed settings; it will be needed at future inspections.

How can the effect of an upgrade be checked?

Set the criterion before work starts. For faults, use the number of similar incidents and downtime. For payments, check the agreed operating scenarios. For water management, compare readings against comparable car wash activity.

Keep pre-change readings, the commissioning date and data from the following period. Add weather, downtime, utility prices and programme changes. If several factors changed, do not attribute the entire result to one device.

A practical method for preparing the comparison is provided in the operating costs guide. Upgrade options are presented by TIXE's upgrade department.

How can costs be compared between periods?

Choose a common start and end date for the comparison. Gather water and electricity readings, chemical consumption, operating costs and bay activity data. An invoice issued in March may cover a different period from the March payment report — note this difference before calculating.

A payment does not always mean one customer or one wash. A driver may top up several times. If you do not have a reliable visit count, use available active wash minutes and label the indicator clearly.

Why separate consumption from price?

A bill is affected by both the amount consumed and the rate. Fixed charges need a separate entry. First examine consumption changes, then price changes, and only then compare total values.

If the main meter also covers cleaning, water preparation or installation protection, the result describes whole-site consumption relative to operating minutes. It is not the flow rate from a single lance. Keep the same measurement boundary in both periods.

What simple records should you keep?

A clear spreadsheet updated on a consistent schedule is enough. Record each entry's source: meter, invoice, controller report or stock count. Distinguish actual readings from estimates.

For chemicals, start with a stock balance: opening stock plus deliveries minus closing stock. Separate spills, returns and transfers to other sites. A large purchase at the end of the month may increase expenditure without increasing consumption in the period analysed.

What context makes a comparison meaningful?

A change log is as important as a meter reading. Different weather can affect traffic and heating demand, while downtime reduces bay use. Adding a programme changes the mix of services used. This context needs to appear alongside the result.

Unusual water use is worth investigating. A moving meter when no customers are present does not prove a leak: first account for scheduled automatic processes. Report the symptoms and when they occur to the service team.

How can the effect of a change be assessed?

Record the hypothesis before implementation: what should improve, how it will be measured and what the result will be compared against. After the change, use the same indicator definition. Also assess service quality and reliability so reducing consumption does not become the only goal.

If conditions differ substantially, treat the result as a reason for further observation. Linking an upgrade to an outcome requires more than comparing two amounts. The data collected will help when planning an upgrade and discussing water management.

Establish a common baseline

Prepare a short project brief: location, number of bays, anticipated expansion, selected programmes, payment methods and additional services. Also record what you do not yet know. Missing utility connection data should appear in the comparison as an issue to resolve.

Rapid is a line for up to 3 bays, with no subsequent increase in their number. Discuss Express for a larger scale or planned expansion. Choose the canopy style separately, such as SIMPLE PREMIUM or MODERNA. These names describe different parts of the project.

Compare eight scope categories

The matrix below shows what to ask about. It does not define TIXE's standard supply scope. For each item, record the agreement in the specific quotation, quantity, amount and contractor. An empty field means a question remains to be answered.

Separate the supply price from the project budget

Adding up equipment costs does not complete the budget. Include the site or access to it, studies, ground preparation, utility connections, works, transport and business start-up. Count items already included in the supply only once. Contractors' scopes should meet at clearly defined boundaries.

Compare amounts in the same currency and on the same net or gross basis. Record the exchange rate used for foreign-currency items. Check payment dates, price validity and events that determine the schedule. Set the contingency according to unresolved matters, such as ground conditions or utility connection routes.

Explore the scope of the economic analysis ↗

Ask about what the rendering does not show

Assess claimed savings in the same way: ask which process they concern, which configuration was used for comparison and under what conditions. A single percentage without a baseline does not explain your car wash's future bills.

Consolidate agreements into one version

For example, adding a vacuum cleaner also requires space for the car, a power supply and installation arrangements. Adding a bay requires technology and site layout to be checked again. Update all related documents after such changes.

The comparison should produce a short list: what you are buying, what you are responsible for, what still needs pricing and which decisions remain open. With this summary, discussing price becomes a discussion about a specific project.

First identify the water you want to use.

“Water recovery” can refer to different installations. Before selecting equipment, draw a simple map: source, tank, treatment and point of use. This makes it easier to assess what actually returns to use and what is only stored temporarily.

Treatment prepares water for a specific task.

In the TIXE range, WATER PERFECT CLEAN combines filtration, softening and reverse osmosis. These stages address different water characteristics: preparing it for the system, compatibility with chemicals and final rinsing to reduce mineral marks.

The diagram shows the role of each stage, not the hydraulic design of a specific car wash. Do not determine osmosis operating ratios solely from tank capacity. Prepare water test results, equipment model and production and reject readings, where available, for your discussion with a technician.

AQUARIUS and CYCLO-BOOSTER have different roles.

AQUARIUS enables use of a specific water stream generated by reverse osmosis. CYCLO-BOOSTER concerns a different water cycle and is presented by TIXE as a completed project being prepared for implementation. Suitability and the scope of integration are agreed for each site.

When comparing solutions, ask about outlet water quality, permitted uses, maintenance, consumables and space requirements. The number of litres recovered by a device alone does not describe the car wash's full water balance.

Calculate savings at the boundary of the whole site.

Establish which result you want to improve: fresh water intake, wastewater discharge volume, cost or installation availability. Each indicator answers a different question. Operational assessment also requires data on car wash activity.

If the system does not reliably count visits, do not treat every payment as a separate vehicle. You can compare consumption with programme operating time, stating how the indicator is constructed. Add cleaning, winter protection, equipment flushing and unusual events.

Include the energy, servicing and materials needed to operate the additional system in the costs. A method for comparing periods is provided in the operating costs guide.

Prepare the data before choosing a solution.

The EPA WaterSense guide emphasises leak control and matching treatment to the intended use. It also does not recommend routinely retrofitting self-service car washes with wastewater recovery, citing risks including contaminants introduced into the bays. This is an important reason to design such a solution individually and check its operating conditions.

With this information prepared, the discussion can focus on your site: water quantity and quality, available space, maintenance and expected results. The scope of further measurements and the sequence of works can then be agreed.

Start the walk-through from the driver's perspective

Follow the customer's route from entrance to exit. Check that they can select a programme, pay and use the equipment comfortably. Then inspect maintenance areas. Adapt inspection frequency to traffic, weather and equipment instructions; the checklist below organises the walk-through.

Record a fault immediately: bay, component and observed symptom. If equipment is damaged or its use raises concerns, restrict access according to the site's procedure and contact the service team.

A reading needs context

Record water and electricity meter readings with the date and time. Add information on traffic, operational bays, weather and work carried out on site. A reading covering a busy weekend is difficult to compare with a short, quiet period.

EPA WaterSense identifies whole-site and selected-process measurement as tools for detecting changes and assessing improvements. Plan additional measurement where it can answer a specific question, such as water preparation's share of consumption.

If consumption rises without explanation, record times, messages and visible signs of leaks. EPA recommends combining installation observation with consumption monitoring. Share the data with the service team; do not randomly change process settings to “adjust” the result.

Preparing for winter covers two areas

In TIXE solutions, ANTI-FREEZE supports wash system protection, while IHS controls floor heating based on readings from sensors in the slab. These are different tasks. Having one solution does not replace a pre-season assessment of the whole site.

The TIXE inspection checklist covers the winter system, freezing point of the heating circuit fluid, water temperature and leaks downstream of the boiler, among other items. Measurements, burner maintenance and installation work are carried out by appropriately trained operators or service personnel. Timing and scope depend on the documentation and equipment condition.

A service request that enables diagnosis to begin

Instead of simply saying “it does not work”, provide five brief pieces of information. You do not need to identify the cause. A precise symptom description helps determine the next steps.

Before taking a photo, do not remove covers that require authorised access or operate damaged equipment for demonstration purposes. For an out-of-warranty service request, also provide your service agreement number if you have one.

An inspection leaves useful knowledge for the months ahead

Keep inspection sheets, operating-hour readings, a list of replaced parts and recommendations. A single log helps link a customer report to a change in consumption, a chemical delivery or an earlier repair.

After an inspection, establish what was done, what needs monitoring and what comes next. A recurring symptom may indicate a need for a wider assessment of the system. The site's history also helps define the scope of an upgrade.

The starting point is a problem encountered in daily operation.

A car wash owner sees bills, wash quality and the time spent on maintenance. A designer turns those observations into questions: where is water consumed, how does the drive operate, what happens to heat and how does the system behave in winter? A well-defined question sets the scope of the work.

These are also useful questions for an investor. When discussing technology, ask how each piece of equipment addresses a specific need. This makes it easier to assess whether the proposed configuration suits the planned site and the resources available to maintain it.

The project that brought a university and a manufacturer together.

In November 2020, NCBR described a self-service car wash project with a compact system for saving and recovering water and energy. The named partners were Lublin University of Technology and Tixewash Polska Danuta Alchimowicz Spółka Jawna.

The project record POIR.04.01.04-00-0057/20 describes work on wastewater treatment, drive control and frost protection for floors, pipes and lances. This reflects a broad view of the car wash as a set of interacting systems.

Interesting insight: the shape of an orifice changes how the phenomenon develops.

In 2022, Konrad Pietrykowski and Paweł Karpiński described a computational analysis of hydrodynamic cavitation. In this phenomenon, local flow conditions cause gas-phase regions to form. The authors studied water flow through orifices with different geometries using a two-dimensional CFD model.

The university's publication database states that the work was funded by project POIR.04.01.04-00-0057/20. The study shows why component shape and flow conditions are analysed during equipment development. It concerns a specific model; it is neither a measurement of an entire car wash nor an operating report on CYCLO-BOOSTER.

From a model to equipment that can be operated and maintained.

Putting an idea into practice at a site involves further decisions: component selection, connection layout, service access, controls and installation requirements. The operator should know how to monitor the system and which tasks to perform at agreed intervals.

The TIXE website presents our in-house design, production and service facilities. This is where modules are prepared and their workmanship is checked. For investors, key outcomes of this work are a clear scope of supply and the documentation needed for the next stages of the project.

These questions help connect research insights with comparing the scope of proposals. For an upgrade, the documentation and condition of the current equipment provide an additional reference point.

Trade shows showcase the equipment. The site determines its application.

TIXE materials show the presentation of CYCLO-BOOSTER at the Motortec trade show in Madrid. Seeing the equipment makes it easier to discuss its design and future application. Event photos document the presentation; technical documentation specifies operating parameters.

CYCLO-BOOSTER is currently presented on our website as a completed project being prepared for implementation. Before including the solution in a specific investment, we establish availability, scope of supply, integration conditions and subsequent maintenance arrangements.

Research, product documentation and site observations complement one another. This approach makes technology decisions easier and provides specific data to refer back to during operation. Read more about the water circuits in the car wash water guide.

Where should I start when assessing a site?

Establish the full plot identifier, cadastral district and municipality. A plot number alone can recur in different locations. Geoportal shows the location and available land register data, while images show the surroundings. Record the map source and download date.

Next, establish the exact area included in the proposed purchase or lease. Mark existing buildings, ditches, trees, slopes and areas needed for access. If use of part of the land requires a separate agreement, show this on the map from the outset.

How do I check planning and access?

Check the current planning documents for the site with the municipality. The designer should assess the proposed use against those provisions and identify further documents and approvals. Where no local development plan exists, establish the appropriate route for this location. Proximity to other services does not establish that a car wash can be built.

Drive the route from both directions. Note central reservations, turning restrictions, nearby junctions and traffic queues. Record observations separately from formal findings: a convenient existing access route does not automatically confirm the conditions for serving the completed project.

Utilities: what needs confirming?

A utility network beside the site is only the start. Selecting a solution requires supply parameters, connection conditions and a defined scope of work. Gather these for the chosen car wash option and pass them to the people coordinating the project.

For each item, add the contractor, confirmation status, estimated scope and timing. Alternative solutions require separate checks. The absence of one utility network alone does not provide a complete answer on feasibility. Read more about water circuits in the technical guide.

How much space does a car wash really need?

The area in a property listing is not enough to determine the number of bays. Put the car wash footprint, technical container, queuing areas, manoeuvres, additional equipment and maintenance access on one base plan. Site shape and entrance position can give two plots of similar size very different potential.

Also consider a practical scenario: a wash queue, a customer at a vacuum and a materials delivery all arrive at the same time. Can vehicles still pass through and leave the bays, and can staff reach the technical container? It is worth running this check before approving the site development concept.

What should I prepare before speaking to TIXE?

The checklist below organises information before a decision. Tick only the areas for which you have material to discuss. An unticked box identifies a task still to do; it does not automatically disqualify the site.

The assessment should lead to a clear direction: further analysis, a revised option or a search for another site. Use the same checklist when comparing locations. This reveals both their advantages and the cost of resolving the remaining unknowns.

What does a regional analysis cover?

Start with a simple question: who is expected to visit this car wash, and on what occasion? A local resident, someone returning from work and a driver visiting a nearby shop may follow different routes and have different expectations. Draw the realistic catchment area, allowing for junctions, road barriers and available routes.

Regional analysis organises the market case. In parallel, the site, utilities and development potential must be assessed. A location with strong demand may require costly works that change the option's viability.

What data is useful?

Statistics Poland's Local Data Bank helps describe population, housing and changes in the surrounding area for specified territorial units. For each figure, record the area, year and indicator definition. Compare data at the same territorial scale and check the available metadata.

Keep a source sheet. If some data is older, supplement it with observations of current conditions. Put an announced housing development or shop in a separate scenario; do not treat a future development as an existing source of visits.

How do I interpret traffic volumes?

GDDKiA's General Traffic Survey covers traffic parameters on surveyed road sections, including annual average daily traffic. It provides useful background for analysis, but does not measure entries onto the site. Record the year, road section identifier and definition of the measure alongside the figure.

Check the dominant direction of traffic relative to the entrance. Consider turning, making a U-turn and exiting when the road is busy. If most traffic is on the opposite side, verify the actual route to the site.

Do not convert all passing traffic into washes using a fixed, universal percentage. Describe any customer acquisition assumption as a scenario and identify the observations that support it. Only then link it to the financial analysis of the project.

What should I check in the local market?

Your own observations of operating sites help describe the services available: number of bays, equipment, payments, clarity of instructions and access convenience. Record facts visible to customers. Appearance and a queue observed once do not reveal revenue.

The times in the table suggest ways to vary observations. Adapt them to daily routes in your area. Record the date, weather, observation period and unusual events. This helps avoid drawing conclusions about the whole market from one visit.

What should the analysis produce?

Finish the analysis with a brief decision sheet: arguments for the location, limitations, unknowns and the next task. Present a baseline option and explain what would need to change to justify a larger or smaller site.

What should the concept show?

The concept should explain how the site will operate on the specified land. Show wash bays, the technical container, the additional services area and vehicle circulation. Include access to equipment, materials deliveries and space needed for servicing.

Start with the right base plan. Mark the boundaries of the area under consideration, known utility networks, existing features and restrictions to check. Record which data is confirmed and which is assumed for option comparisons. Anyone viewing the drawing should immediately understand its status.

Attach a short list of assumptions to the concept: vehicle types, number of bays, equipment at opening and any planned direction for expansion. This lets you compare complete solutions, rather than just the appeal of the drawings.

How should I plan the number of bays and traffic flow?

Consider the site's scale alongside local demand and the plot's shape. Every extra bay also needs vehicle access. Check the layout during a quiet period and when several activities happen at once.

This is a functional outline that must be adapted to the specific drive-through or non-drive-through layout. The designer assesses the manoeuvring space needed for the intended vehicles. Also analyse staff access and servicing while the rest of the site remains in use.

Technology and appearance: what do we choose separately?

These choices are connected, but serve different purposes. At TIXE, Rapid and Express describe the technology and technical-container solution. Enclosure names define the site's architectural form. Additional equipment and payments refine how the car wash is used.

The drawing should reflect the current equipment list. If equipment is planned for a second phase, mark the reserved space and agree how the installations will be prepared. The possibility of later installation is confirmed for the selected solution. A useful reference is the comparison of technology and enclosures.

Who is responsible for each stage of the work?

Before passing the concept to the next stage, establish who supplies the data, who checks it and who makes the decision. The role map below structures the discussion. Detailed responsibilities and scopes are set out in the contracts.

Describe the interfaces between scopes particularly carefully: equipment foundations, service penetrations, connections and site readiness for assembly. Assign one coordinator to each task. This prevents questions from falling between two contractors.

What can change the concept?

New connection conditions, more precise ground data, road approvals or equipment changes may require components to be moved. Check each change against the layout, specification, scope of work and budget together.

Commercial and design work can run in parallel. Before construction, however, the layout, scopes, schedules and required procedures must be agreed consistently. Once these are established, it is easier to plan assembly and acceptance of successive works.