How to choose a touchless car wash in London, Ontario
Here is what a touchless wash can and cannot do, what to look for in any of them, and how Fast Lane on Dundas St is set up, so you can judge for yourself.
What touchless washing does well
In a touchless wash, nothing touches the car except shampoo and water. There are no brushes or cloth strips. The appeal is simple: nothing drags grit across the paint, so there is less risk of the fine swirl marks that show up on dark cars in the sun. It also suits cars with roof rails, wide mirrors and odd shapes, and cars with ceramic coatings or wraps whose owners would rather avoid contact washing.
Touchless washing is also good at the underside, where no brush reaches anyway. In a London winter that is the part of the car that matters most.
What it does not do
Without contact, a touchless wash relies on the shampoo loosening dirt and the pressure carrying it away. On a car that is lightly or moderately dirty, which is most cars washed regularly, that works well. On a car with weeks of baked-on road film, hardened tree sap or dried bug splatter, some can stay behind, often as a thin haze on the lower doors or the rear hatch of an SUV.
The fix is mostly frequency. A car washed every week or two never builds up that layer. For anything stubborn, like sap or old bugs, a bit of hand work before or after is normal with any touchless wash.
What to look for in any touchless wash
These hold for any wash you are considering, in London or anywhere else.
- An under-car spray available, for salt season
- A clear menu that lists what each package includes, with prices
- A drying stage at the end
- Height and vehicle restrictions posted clearly at the entrance
- A clear signal for when to enter and when the wash is done
- Hours that fit when you can actually go
How Fast Lane is set up
Fast Lane is an automatic touchless in-bay wash at 2263 Dundas St, London, ON N5V 0B5, near Dundas St and Veterans Memorial Pkwy. It is a grey building with the Fast Lane sign over the front windows and customer parking in front. The bay entrance is on the side, under a red CARWASH ENTER sign, with the vehicle restrictions posted there and a signal that tells you when to drive in and when you are done. It cleans the outside of the car only, and it is open 24 hours, 7 days a week.
There are three packages. Quick Wash ($12.99, or $10.99 with a qualifying fuel purchase) is a shampoo wash, high-pressure rinse and dry. Full Wash ($14.99, or $12.99 with fuel) adds the under-car spray. Luxury Wash ($16.99, or $14.99 with fuel) adds a rust inhibitor, Tri Foam conditioner, a second high-pressure rinse and Shine Guard Plus protectant. Any wash can also be redeemed for 10,000 PC Optimum points; ask when you pay.
How to judge the result
After any wash, pull into a parking spot and look at the places that get the least attention: the bottom of the doors, behind the wheels, the rear bumper and, on SUVs and wagons, the tailgate, which collects road film from the air swirling behind the car. If those are clean, the wash did its job. If they are not, check whether the package you chose matched how dirty the car was.
In short: Judge any touchless wash by the lower doors and the tailgate after you pull out, and wash every week or two so stubborn film never builds up.
