Peak Mobile Wash

I am sure some of you have seen my other thread looking for a compact trailer rig. Well heres my new question. What is the real difference between 4 and 5 GPM? I mostly do residential work now but would like to get into more commercial work (flatwork, store fronts, construction cleanup). I have my machine choices narrowed down but wanted some advice from the vets around here as to how much more I will really get done with an extra gallon per minute. I am ok with cleaning things a little slower at this point, just as long as I can still do a quality job, will this be possible with 4GPM? Thanks, Happy new year

Hope I am not to late to get a copy....peak_mobile_wash@yahoo.com Thanks

Where is the best place to get low pressure nozzles? like 12.0-20.0. I don't see them on pressuretek and would like to find some to get my pressure way down for house and wood cleaning. Thanks

I was talking about QC nozzles, do they make those above 10?

thanks

John, are they still there? I cannot find a phone number or website online. Do you have a number or website for them?

I really like this idea. My girlfriend used to work at a local daycare and has a good relationship with the owner, I am going to see if she will let me clean hers for free (after the snow melt). Then I am going to work on writing up a letter to send to daycare centers in my area. I will let everyone know how it goes. My thoughts were to wash with a light bleach and warm rinse with very low pressure and not to high a temp, those plastic playgrounds may melt or warp so be careful.

Thank you for all the advice everyone. I am going down to Jordan Pressure Washers in Denver to look at a machine and trailer today. If I do not get the trailer I am ordering one just like it with a 200 gallon tank. He has one skid machine built and in stock now that is 6 GPM, if the price is right I am going to get that one. If not he said that he will build me a 5.4-5.6 GPM unit that will be ready in 6 weeks. Thank you all for the great advice and steering me towards a machine that will work much better for me. Now my only problem will be a smaller tank but hopefully after a good year this year I will be able to upgrade my truck.

Thanks for all the great advice everyone. I am going to go with at least 5GPM for now. I did see a machine that pumps 5.2 I think that is the front runner.

My biggest sticking point on a 5GPM+ machine is the amount of water i will have to carry. I do not have a big truck and can only pull arund 4500 pounds so I cannot have a big water tank. I won't want a machine that is pumping 5+GPM and is going to suck my tank dry in a matter of minutes. If I had a truck that could carry big water none of this will be an issue but I have to work with what I've got and this truck is all I have currently.

Truck fleets and car washes when the weather permits. Next year I am thinking about buying a sprinkler blowout trailer for the fall. And a snowblower for the winter.

I am upgrading my equipment next month. I am looking at a small hot water trailer unit. I would like 4-5 gpm, 225 gallon water tank, chem tanks, hoses and reels, and storage would be nice. I need to have a single axle trailer under 8 feet wide and 12 ft long total (storage issues). I am getting pricing from Jordan, Delco and have been looking at a magnaterminator MagnaTerminator Mobile Cleaning Unit | Hot High Pressure Washer The terminator looks like the nicest unit as far as options and ease of usage but the machine does not seem the greatest. Anyone use one of these machines? What other options are out there for a rig similar to this? I want to spend somewhere in the $10k range and it would be nice to find a dealer in the western states so that I could pick the unit up and avoid huge shipping costs.

I have thought about building my own and believe that I could do it but seeing as this is my first rig I think it would be better to buy complete. I am sure that in the future when I have more experience and am not limited by, a smaller truck and limited storage.

got a quote from ACR products and a colorado hydrotekdealer. Where else should I be looking?

Thanks everyone, I am going to call hydrotek today

I am going to start marketing house washing more this year, I did a few last year and they went very well. Most of the houses in my area have painted wood siding, some of the older housese have aluminum. I washed the hosues downstreaming simple cherry and they came out looking very nice. One problem I ran into was some streaking from rusted nails, I just put a sponge or brush on an extension pole and cleaned them up. What else do I need to be aware of doing this type of house washing? What would be a good chemical mix to use on painted wood? Warm or cold water? Northern Colorado is dry and warm most fo the year. We do not have problems with mold or mildew. We do have lots of dust, bug nests (dirt dauber) and some plant growth (not sure what they are but they look spidery and come off easily). Thanks for any advice.

oh, and house wash probably isn't the greatest for awnings. Delco sells a good canvas awning cleaner.

There is a product called 'Wink Rust Stain Remover'; I find it at Ace in Colorado. Use it as directed then clean and rinse the awning well. Brian Martin Peak Mobile Pressure Washing Inc

GOt a call this weekend from a HO who stained their deck with a latex deck stain last summer. She said that it rained shortly after they finished and now the stain is coming off in 'sheets'. From what I have read here I should just run away from this job. If I were to take the job how would I go about getting the stain off? What are the best strippers to use on latex? WHat do I need to watch out for? Also, if I choose not to take the job is there any other fixes that may work for the HO? Brian Martin Peak Mobile Pressure Washing Inc Fort Collins, CO

I'm gonna go for it. If she accepts the bid it will be a good learning experience, I told her it could go as high as $5 a square foot, so for a 182 sq ft deck it would be just under $1000, I will probably bid $900 to strip brighten and stain with RS.

"Run...run like the wind!!...them cracks are gonna be way too fun.." Problem is I am a new business and have a hard time running from any job. I am willing to work my butt off and get win over a happy client in a good neighborhood. I know that I can do very good work and have had great results with my wood refinishing. I have had a couple tough strip jobs that have come out looking great but nothing like this so far. I can understand not taking on jobs like this once established but now I want almost any job that comes my way. What if I went the prime and restain with solid method? I've read that it only lasts a couple years and that over time she will have quite a bit of layers over the years. WHen I went to the site today I was ready to run away but the deck is not that large, has no railings and no landscaping around it. The existing stain was so bad that I thought it may be something I could tackle. If I get it done well it's one to add to my portoflio and a client won. So I guess I just want to research and bid high and hope she goes with it, I will just need some advice.

Just went to the house and took pictures and spoke with HO. She is very nice and understood that she screwed up her deck. I warned her that stripping the latex would be costly, time consuming and use caustic strippers; and that even that may not take off all of the latex. I also gave her an alternative of cleaning, using cabot primer and restaining with solid but I also told her to be ready to do that every couple years. When her and her husband did the deck they did not wash it first (just swept it off) and then it rained a couple hours after they finished. She said that some of the deck started peeling within a couple months and now half the deck has mostly peeled off. The other half near the house is holding on pretty good and looks like a tough job to strip. I let her know that I wanted to do more research to find the best chemicals for the job and would get back to her with pricing and gameplan. Deck is 182 square feet, with a long bench and no railings. The bench is nearly bare wood, the underneath and posts are all thick with stain. Here is a picture of the bench and how easily the stain is peeling. I need to figure out how to resize other pictures before posting them.

I have a job with a deck that is covered by a large shade tree that drops all sorts of leaves, flowers and pollen on the deck. The stain on the deck is fairly new (HO just moved in, does not know how old) and does not need to be redone. I am looking for a good cleaner that will remove the stains from the tree droppings but not remove the seal from the deck. Any suggestions on how to approach this job?