Keth

I haven't been here in awhile but need help finding a stain. There used to be a guy from the south who used a stainvthatcwasntvavailable in the big box stores. It had a high concentration of solids and I am trying to remember the brand that it was. Can anyone remember the name of this high solid oil based stain that is only available through certain shops?

If you live near Charleston, SC and want a nice paying housewash job that I can't get to please PM me. Job is at Headquarters Plantation near Johns Island. Cheers, Keth

Carbon doesn't deionize the water. The resin cartridges do. Sounds like that guy isn't telling you the full story.

You guys need to look at a Shindaiwa backpack sprayer for this. They don't have seals at the bottom that can leak all over your legs. This is the one I have.....

Try Acetone.

You have a Univar Chemical Distributor in Geismar which is just outside of Baton Rouge. Here is their info... Geismar Distribution Facility Location Name: Geismar Location Phone: (225) 473-1921 Location Fax: (225) 473-4442 Location C of A Fax: (225) 473-3917 Physical Address: Univar USA 34200 Distribution Ln Geismar, LA 70734 US Mailing Address: Univar USA 34200 Distribution Ln Geismar, LA 70734 Primary Contact Information: Ken C Guilbeau (225) 473-1921 Local Contact Information: Dennis D Warner (225) 473-1921 Time Zone: Central

Here is a pic. Chem tank with 3 way ball valve. Hose off the ball valve to the right goes under the deck and is plumbed to the DS injector. The other hose is the fresh water one and you can see where it goes under the deck and then up to the top of the big fresh water tank in the background.

Very similar to Ken my path to DSing has taken slight improvements over time and I feel I have a good system. There is a place for an X-jet in the toolbelt of the DSer. It is the best rinsing tool going if you don't want to go back to the trailer. Here is how I wash a typical house without a screened in porch. I use a short 12" gun that works for everything except a chimmey on a three story house. I have a toolbelt on that contains the following tips. 2540 for low soaping. 0040 for high soaping. 6540 for deck and railing soaping. X-jet for rinsing. Yes, there are a few other tips in there but I rarely use em. 2510 for cleaning dirty decks etc. I have a chem tank on the trailer that is full of housewash mix and is plumbed to my downstreamer. It has a three way ball valve that can pull mix or turn it the other way to pull fresh water from the big tank to rinse out the downstream injector. I start with the X-jet on my gun and walk around two sides of the house wetting plants, windows and hot siding to cool it down for a longer dwell time. I then put on the 2540 tip and start working back along the two sides just wetted soaping everything liberally. The 2540 will get me up to the gables on a typical one story home no problem. If I need to go higher I pop on the 0040. Now that two sides are already soaped I pop back on the X-jet but my hose is now full of soap. Instead of just dumping the soap against the foundation waiting for fresh water I prefer to put that soap to work and with the X-jet set to fan I walk back down the two side quickly misting the already soaped area with the remaining soap that is in the hose. You get used to how long it will last and time your walk to hopefully get back to where you started soaping just when the fresh water has started to flow again. I now have two sides of the house soaped and a decent dwell time so I could start rinsing them right away or, if it is a small house I may do some gutters. Rinsing with the X-jet is a piece of cake. Open it all the way up for a straight stream and then close it just slightly to knock the core out of the stream. The X-jet has about a 1.3 orifice and wont draw soap. Start rinsing up high and as the move down the wall you turn the X-jet to fan. This is where the 12 inch lance comes in handy. It is easy to tweak the pattern from the X-jet continuously since it is a short wand. It is a pain to do this with even a 36 inch wand unless you have arms like a monkey. The overspray that many complain about with the X-jet is just a bonus here as it is fresh water and, as far as I am concerned, the more fresh water you have going all over the place the better. Completely rinse siding, windows and plants and in about 20 minutes you have finished half the house. Repeat the steps above to soap and rinse the two remaining sides. The last 20-30 minutes is spent on gutters, cleaning the front walk from the door to the driveway (included in every wash). For really high chimmeys or the elevated houses around here I have a 79 inch aluminum wand with an 0030 tip that gets me all the height I need. Yes, this takes a little more time as do screened in porches. With this method I use about 5-7 gallons of housewash mix on the typical house.

Just give them the MSDS for 6% Clorox and some bleach safe laundry soap and go to sleep knowing that nothing is ever going to come of it.

The X-jet site has had a picture of a guy with a backpack tank for quite some time. Xterior - X-Jet Its the small pic where he is shooting the chimmney.

That is the best laugh I have had all day. I think those are OSHA approved flip flops! Too bad Craigslist doesn't have a grammar checker!

I did a small driveway the other day here for .14 sf and that included an oxalic rinse. $120. Typically we are 10-12 cents a sf for resi and go a couple of cents lower for bigger projects. Never less than .08. If it is a really flat driveway that I have to squeegee or use recovery pumps for puddles than I am heading into the 12-14 cents range.

As they said in the 60s. It's time for the acid!

I find that if I mix a 55 gallon drum of housewash mix that it tends to separate over time. I use one of those paint stirrers that is made for 5 gallon buckets and goes in an electric drill and it mixes the 55 gallon barrel very well, you can see it really working. This makes my housewash mix consistent from batch to batch. From there I just pump it and SH into my chem tank and drive away.

Dustin, Just checked your site out again and love the new focus on the roof work. That video really puts the homeowner at ease with the demostration of true low pressure cleaning. The before and afters are great as well. That Delavan really seems to put out some great flow. Well done. I am so close to getting a Bleach Bandit but the wife is fighting me on the garage space. Since I love her I will wait a bit longer. :lgbow: Keth