AlanandLiz

Hi, having read many threads on this site it appears that everyone uses chemicals of some description to achieve a quality end result. Here in Auckland, homes tend to get a lot of mold, mildew, lichen and blackspot particularly on the southern faces. As we don't like using chemicals - we have found that we can achieve an excellent result using a citrus detergent only but we do have to do a lot of scrubbing in heavily affected areas. Research has shown us that using Sodium Hyperchloride as a housewash actually removes a microscopic layer of paint thereby weakening the paint. This seems to be counterproductive because the purpose behind washing exterior surfaces is generally to prolong the longevity of the paint. Have we got it wrong? I would be really interested in your feedback on this topic and perhaps you could share your methods on how you can safely use bleach products. Looking forward to hearing from you. warm regards Alanand Liz AWL Professional Housewashing

I keep reading a lot about this X-Jet - for us dumb kiwi's could someone please explain or better still, show us what an X-Jet is? many thanks.

The product we use is called "Good As Gold" which we purchase in 200 litre containers. I've attached a the technical data sheet for you to see. Let us know how this compares with youre product. regards AlanandLiz goodasgoldes_techdata.pdf

Thanks for the info folks. So if I understand you correctly the key is the level of dilution. We purchase the SH @ 12.5% and dilute it down 1Part SH to 10parts water. We have tried to mix it in a separate container with our Citrus detergent but this created a heat build-up and resulted in the container bulging out at the seams. Any ideas on why this happens? It's great to be able to discuss these issues as there is no such forum available here in NZ. regards AlanandLiz

Hi everyone, Thanks for the feedback. Please accept that this thread was not meant as a criticism of those who use SH. We were simply trying to utilise the collective wisdom of this group to establish whether there is a viable alternative to SH. The general persception of SH, from the customers perspective is that SH is a highly corrosive and dangerous chemical. This has come about largely due to the fact that the local cowboys (Splash and Dash Brigade) have created this perception by misusing the product. We have seen the result of this misuse by way of things like; a) Expensive fish dying in a homeowners garden pond. b) Plants and shrubbery killed off. c) Animals having to be taken to the vet for expensive treatments due to having drunk from water puddles with SH residue in them. We have a number of clients who will NOT allow the use of any chemicals on their properties. We do in fact utilise SH on extreme cases but we do not put it through our machines. When we do have to use it we brush it on in a heavily diluted form with a soft brush, rinse it off thoroughly and then rewash using our citrus detergent. The other reason we don't use it more often is that we work with a number of house painters who chose us because of the fact that we use a biodegradeable detergent. They tell us that SH tends to leave a powdery residue on the surface which they then have to remove prior to painting. Have any of you heard this from painters before? PS. When we say we scrub, perhaps scrubbing is a harsh description. We use a very soft housewash brush to brush the affected areas - leave for five minutes or so and then rinse off thoroughly. AlanandLiz

We have found the best way to keep track of your customers etc is good old Access database. We created our own customised database which also merges with word to enable us to post out reminders to all our clients one month before the anniversary of their initial wash. Access is a very versatile tool and you dont have to be a computer wizard to operate it. AlanandLiz AWL Professional Housewashing

For what it is worth - here in Auckland we use a slightly different approach. We do not address our fliers - we simply pop them in the letterbox. We walk down a street and view each and every home. Our flier introduces who we are - what we do and then at the bottom of the flier we have the following; "From the street, the estimated investment to wash your home is $_______" and then we put in a price Close to what we think it would be. Our rough estimates are based on how many hours we think it will take to complete the job based on a rate of NZ$125.00 per hour. This system has worked very well for us over the past 4 years. Would be keen to know if anyone uses this method over your way. Cheers Alan & Liz AWL Professional Housewashing

Hi to everyone. Our names are Alan and Liz and we own and operate our own Pressure washing company (AWL Professional Housewashing Services)AWL Professional Housewashing Services Ltd here in Auckland, New Zealand. We have very much enjoyed reading through the various threads and discovering that many of you are interested in and share many of the same issues we face here in our local area. We inherited/purchased the business from our best friends 5 years ago when they decided to migrate to Australia. Since taking over the business we have completely transformed it into what we have today. Our friends were busily washing two - three houses a day ranging in price from NZ$120 for single story dwellings - NZ$150 - $175 for Split-Level up to NZ$190 - $250 for two story and larger dwellings. We initially continued with their pricing strategy for the first six months until we realised we were getting nowhere fast. The first thing we learned was that there was no way we could complete three jobs in one day. So we contacted our freinds in Australia to ask why it was taking us twice as long to do what they had done with ease. To our horror we learned that they were no better than your typical 'Splash and Dash' brigade. Fly in throw chemicals at the house - rinse it off collect the money and run. Boy did we change things - We are very happy to say that we have a growing client base even though we are almost three times more expensive than the average housewashing companies in Auckland. To give you an idea our pricing is now based on: Single level - NZ$250 to $400 depending on size. Split-Level -NZ$450 - $550 and Two Storey - NZ$500 upwards depending on size and degree of complexity. We tend now to only do one job per day and our average daily income has risen to between NZ$850 - $1000. We have achieved this by specialising in High Quality - Low Pressure washing using only a biodegradeable CITRUS detergent and giving away a free 'Roof Treatment' with every housewash booked. This strategy has worked extremely well for us and most of our work now comes by way of referral. We look forward to hearing from anyone from this group who may be interested in chatting with us and we will continue to scan the threads for any information that can benefit us in our business. Warmest Regards Alan & Liz AWL Professional Housewashing Services