Rick2

Hate: Mouthful of bleach Love: Mouthful of beer

Yup, we bought the 6 cylinder. We tried the 4 but it just didn't have the power I expected. Merging onto the highway was a little scarry in an underpowered SUV. It should be broken in by now with 8 thousand miles on it. What do you think?

Just bought a new Santa Fe for the wife. It only gets about 20 mpg. I really thought it would do better than that.

My wife is from a former communist country (Bulgaria) and once in a while has to remind me how well we have it here. No lines for food, buying any type of shoes you want, the ability to leave and enter the country at will, etc. Things we take for granted here are not the same in other places. I remember some years back I was watching the movie Moscow on the Hudson when she came in from shopping. She watched it for a few minutes then shut off the TV asking me never to watch that again. Too many bad memories I guess. I have lived in Asia for years and traveled to many other countries. While we have our share of problems here I feel it's one of the best places to live.

If you really are new at this type of work do yourself a favor and throw that zero degree tip (the red one) in the trash. I cringed when I read you were using it to wash with. Any experienced power washer will tell you that you can get into a lot of trouble with that red tip.

Let's see... Teenager out drinking with his friends and goes swimming in a known gator infested lake. Gets his arm ripped off. Now he says the state should do something about the gator population. Next thing you know he'll be wanting to sue the state of Florida. Idiot.

I've got two Wells Cargo trailers and have been very happy with them. Not the cheapest on the market but very well built.

Reminds me of a funny story. We (my friends and I) had just got done building my house. I didn't bother screwing in the AC unit into the window because everything was new and I didn't want to start putting screw holes in the windows. Of course I forgot anout this when it came time to remove the AC unit. I lifted the window up a little and... Zoom. That AC flew out the window so fast from the second floor window and landed right on the hood of my girlfriend's new Sabb. "What's was that noise?" she yelled. I yelled back "Jackie, I just put air in the Sabb." It wasn't too funny then but now I think it's a riot. After Six Flags accepted my powerwash bid I had centeral air put in. Never married that girl either.

The day after using my X-Jet for the frist time I came home and used a chainsaw on my telescoping wand so it would fit in the trash can. That's no joke. I only x-jet and ds now.

Look at this month's Cleaner Times. They reviewed some of the top brands.

You might think about getting an x-jet. You'll never use the 24' telecoping wand again.

Maybe I can help here. I spent almost 10 years in the glass field, many of them making double pane windows (or units as we called them). There are two types: The ones I made use two pieces of glass with a metal frame seperating them. The frame is hollow and filled with little tiny beeds called desiccant that absorbe moisture. The two pieces of glass are sealed with a hot substance called butyl. In about 10 minutes it cools. Presto, a sealed unit. The desiccant doesn't last forever, about 15 years or so. When it cannot absorbe moisture any longer the window begins to fog. The other method to make a "unit" is to make a fully enclosed double pane without the metal frame. It may have the air vacuumed out or a gas pumped in (or both). If the glass is broken, even a slight crack, it will fog over time. If it's a newer window the H.O. can get a replacement from the factory. Older windows can be custom made with the desiccant and metal interior frame at a reasonable cost. Well, I hope this helps. Rick

Shipping is a cost everyone has to pay. Doesn't matter if you get it from a dealer a mile away from your house or mail order it 1000 miles from your house. With the price of fuel lately you have to expect it to be a little higher than several years back. Just charge each customer a few bucks extra to make up for it. Enjoy the x-jet. It will make your jobs go much faster and a whole lot easier. Rick

Here's a few pictures or my trailer. I just took them a few minutes ago.

I'm selling mine. It has a drop door (ramp door). Nothing wrong with it. I had to buy a bigger one this year. Let me know if your intrested.

That picture up there just cracks me up. I laugh each time I see it.

That's a pretty cool looking thing. It picks peanuts?

Artillery fungus is a spore (mushroom family) that shoots out of rotting wood and mulch. It can shoot up to the second floor of a house. When its fired out from the spore it is "aimed" at the brightest area, usually white siding or a glass window. You may be able to scrape off the top but it will leave a red stain behind. Never tell a customer you can remove artillery fungus, chances are you can't. Advise them to get rid of the mulch around the house. Replace it with fake mulch (shredded car tires dyed red) or brick chips. I have been to jobs where the siding had to be replaced because of artillery fungus. When I built my home I lined the front with brick chips just for this reason. I also bought very dark brown gutters so I don't see the black streaks that show up on white gutters.

Aluminum is very difficult, especially the old flat type. Find a hidden spot that gets its share of sunlight then rub your finger along it to see how bad it's fading. Tell the customer you are not responsible for fading. Finally tell them that aluminum siding can be painted.

This might work out in your favor. Trur, you should have that side of the house painted but think about what the home owner is going to tell his friends about you. Sounds loke a good shot at advertising to me.

This might sound like a stupid question but I swear it isn't. What do you wash for agriculteral washing? Do you clean tractors and things? You don't wash the animals do you?

I've had Walters for years, never had any problems or extra fees that I'm aware of. (my wife does all the book work and I'm 2000 percent sure she would catch a 2 cent increase). Any price increases for anything gets past along to the customer. I'm not too proud to admit that but that's the way it goes.

I run three different machines. One of them is one I bought 15 years ago when I started this business. A direct drive Cat with a 13hp Honda. A few years ago I had to replace the unloader. Very happy with my equiptment.

Looking for the tip was a hoot. I know we've all done that before.

Snowplowing here in Massachusetts. Don't like the jb so much but the money is very good. Early this morning (1:30am) I was sanding / salting the sidewalks when the police pulled in the parkinglot to talk to me. They wanted to know how long I was working in that lot, where I was before, etc. Seems somebody with a newer white chevy truck with a plow hit a person in the street about a mile down the road. Description fit my truck almost 100 percent. As they were questioning my a call came in on their radio. They caught the right guy. Whew.