Gleam Car Wash Opening

Gleam knew there was a need for opening a car wash on the south side of Denver. Some had referred to it as a “car wash desert”, referring to the lack of quality options. After deciding on its location, Gleam management turned its attention to the facility itself. Knowing they had limited space to work with, they decided to team with General Steel to produce a one-of-a-kind building. General Manager Casey Lemieux described his experience working with General Steel:

“We’re on three-quarters of an acre, and to put a car wash in that can run about 140-150 cars an hour, is difficult. General Steel came in, was able to devise an amazing building that let us take care of our people better. We worked with General Steel. They were very receptive to our needs and were able to take care of every facet that we wanted. It was very, very easy.”

While its facility, including a 135-foot tunnel capable of washing your car in about three minutes, is impressive, perhaps more striking is Gleam’s dedication to conservation and efficiency. Not everyone is aware just how wasteful standard car wash facilities and home washing can be. Gleam has invested significant resources into making its car wash business as efficient as possible. That starts with Gleam’s water reclaim system – a 6,000-gallon holding tank that reclaims and treats nearly all of the water used on each car. This system allows Gleam to use less than 15 gallons of fresh water per car. For comparison, when cleaning your car at home, you use about 80-140 gallons of fresh water. Treating the reclaimed water also reduces the amount of toxic chemicals that escape into local waters, where fish and other wildlife can be harmed.