dgold42

I just picked up some dawn to ad to my housewash mix and on the back of the bottle it says "Do not ad bleach". I've been using it for years with my 12.5% SH and have never had a problem. I could understand if it was a citrus (acidic) based product but it's not. I'm just curious as to why they would say this on the bottle. I know a lot of people here use dawn in their house wash mix. By the way I just ordered "Lemonator" from Steve Rowlett and can't wait to try it. He's a great guy and knows his chemicals. If shipping wasn't so high I'd probably buy all my chems from him. Dan

Situation awareness, how you caring yourself and the natural self presevation instinct are the most important tools in a situation like that. I started Tae kwon do at 13 then went on to Muay thai, brazilian Jiu Jitsu and some judo as I was in my 20s. I cought the UFC bug early on LOL. So I'm very comfortable with confrontational situations. But the most important thing is to stay alive! If you have to use violence don't hesitate. Street fighting isn't cool or noble but it can be necessary at times. Sometimes you can get pushed into doing things that aren't pretty. My father was a Narcotics detective in Newark NJ, South district, one of the most dangerous places in our country, and you wouldn't believe what some people will kill you for. If you have a gun pulled on you it isn't worth getting shot over material things. As far as carying a gun that's a choice everyone has to make for themselves. I remember the first time my dad had to shoot a guy and it changed him. You get a coldness about you. That thousand yard stare. But if it's you or some flea that can potanionally stop you from seeing your family again it's an easy choice. Remember, everyone gets that shaky feeling before a fight or confrontation. I'm sure you know what I mean. Weak in the knees, dry mouth, loss of strenght. I've trained with some of the best fighters in the country and no one is exempt from that. It's what you do about that state that makes you survive. Bottom line is you have to choose quickly what needs to be done. And once you choose don't hesitate or stop! Don't get me wrong. If you met me you would find a very laid back, kind person who would be the first to stop and help a someone who needed it. But we do live in a world where criminals and wannabe tough guys don't have the same consciense and compassion that most of us do. Daniel

Great post John! I've learned alot from the other pro's on this site. I started my business when I was 20 years old in 1989 and I wish there was a site like this back then. For all the new people getting into the PW business this site is a wealth of knowledge and information. It seems that most business owners who post on TGS are always ready to offer support, and sometimes humor, to the "up and comers". Thanks TGS Dan

HI Lyn, The TS2021 is a really good pump. I could be wrong but I think it's the most widely used pump in our industry. I had one for about 5 years and had great results. The machine I resently purchased was advertised as having a TS2021 but came with a TS1011. In the end I got the problem straightened out. The machine I bought is virtually the same as yours and so far I happy with it. Does your machine have a 2 gallon float tank? By the way, you got a really good price. Even if you had to replace the pump within a year it would still be worth the price. I recently purchased all new equiment e-250, pwer, weather guard shelving, shurflo setup etc. I'll be posting pics shortly and hopefully they can help you find the best layout for your needs. It's a van mounted setup. If you have any questions feel free to send me an email. Dan

If it is I can tell you alot about this machine. Check the pump and see if it's a ts2021 or a ts1011, ts1015. Dan

Great post Don:) I was going to chime in but your post said it all. It's nice to see people with different views express them with respect for each other. Here on the east coast it primarely liberal with most people I talk to have no clue as to what there talking about. Some actually think that 911 was the first time we were attacked by terrorist. I don't mind if someone has an opposing view but at least be informed about the topic. Great group of people here! Dan

Great post Don:) I was going to chime in but your post said it all. It's nice to see people with different views express them with respect for each other. Here on the east coast it primarely liberal with most people I talk to have no clue as to what there talking about. Some actually think that 911 was the first time we were attacked by terrorist. I don't mind if someone has an opposing view but at least be informed about the topic. Great group of people here! Dan

Does anyone connect the shurflo pump directly to there PWer battery? Is this going to be to much draw from the battery? I just purchased a shurflo setup, first one, to do roofs and am curious if this setup will hurt the battery. I would think everytime I run my PWer it would recharge the battery. I was planning on replacing the battery that came with the PWer with a 12v deep cycle marine battery. I did a search and couldn't find any info on the pro's running a shurflo this way. That in itself put up a red flag lol. My problem is sometimes I don't have access to an outlet to recharge the battery. My girlfriend lives on top of a 14 floor highrise about an hour away from my office and I really don't want to lug the battery up there to recharge. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Dan

I love that idea! If anyone hear uses solar panel charging please post. That would save me a lot of headaches. Dan

Does anyone add Dawn or any other foaming agent to GZ. It seems that when I mix it right before applying it foams better and cleans quicker. Plus I would think that something like dawn or any dish soap will help it cling better. I plan on trying this on my next house wash. Does anyone thinks this would be a benefit? I really like the idea of running a 1/4 hose through an extension pole from a shureflow setup. Just not sure how to do it. Never used a shurflow setup before but I will be buying one from EDI distributors soon. This would make spraying GZ alot easier and waste less chems. Has anyone done this? I'm looking for the easiest way to spray GZ to the second story. I don't mind brushing, it's just one of those things you have to do most of the time. But there has to be an easier way to spray it on. The x-jet is great but waste to much product when it comes to GZ. By the way, I've also added HD-80 to my GZ and it really helps. You just can't over do it. Dan

Ken My heart goes out to you! I recently went through the exact same thing. If I can be of any help let me know. I was able to get it resolved. Here my recent post. http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5789 Dan

I've bought concentrated scent addatives from espec in the past and they smell great. I love having a fresh lemon, cherry, citrus smell when I'm done. Also, some of my customers don't like the strong bleach smell. I think that anything that gives the impression of a strong chemical makes them nervious. Plus it's just not a pleasent smell. The problem with the espec concentrate is the price. I would have to add a quart to every 5 gallon mix to overpower the bleach smell. Does anyone else add scents to there mixes? If so, what do you use and where could I get it? Thanks Dan

Hey Scott Do you know anywhere I could buy extract in bulk? Like 5 Gallons at a time for a really good price. I did a search on Google and only found 1 gallon for $29.50. I'm looking for a pretty strong after smell. When ever I've used the scents from espec my customers have always made a positive comment about the smell. But you need alot of scent to overcome the love. Which puts an extra $3 onto what it cost's me for my five gallon mix. Doesn't sound like much money but when you consider how many 5 gallon housewash mixes I make in a season it really adds up. Also, isn't extract in oil form? Does it mix well with Love. I think it's extract oil, alcohol and water. By the way Scott, thanks for the extract idea. I never thought of using it before. Thanks Dan

By the way, thanks James I thought there would be plenty of people here with some great information. Dan

I'm going to try the lemon/orange extract first because I can get that localy but I'm also going to purchase the lemonator from Steve Rowlett. I looked at his website and he has it listed for the exact reason I needed it for. To kill the love smell. Thanks for all the quick replies. This board is a huge asset. Thanks Again Dan

Hi Rod Thanks for the compliment regarding my card! And Beth I did mention that I was refered to them by you from TGS. I'm sure you speak to a million people and don't remember but we spoke awhile ago and you told me about Twig. That's the first time I used them and was very pleased. Thanks I always make it a point to mention TGS to any vendors I find from you or the other board members. They love the fact that a BBS refers to them as a quaility company. Nothing better for business than word of mouth. Dan

I've used Sil-o-Wet for about 5 years and it's always worked good. I think I'm going to try some of Steve Rowlett's wax this season. Never hurts to try something new and he has a pretty solid reputation. If it doesn't fit my needs I can always go back to Sil-o-Wet. Dan

It's seeing great results that makes us all feel like we did something that day. Nice Job!! Dan

Test test Test

I actually have an great kid and pet wash recipe but it took me years to fine tune so I won't share it here. There is a "mother in-law" turbo wash that some people request but I don't mess with family matters lol Seriously I've never washed a house without doing the gutters. Curb appeal is one of the main reasons people get there houses washed. There are allot of guys around here that do PWing without much knowledge. Numerious times customers have told me that the last few times they had there house powerwashed the previous company said black streaks on gutters can only be lighted but not removed. I once thought that was true, years ago until I ordered my first 5 gallon bucket of "Gutter Zap". I use a different product now but when I disovered GZ I was able to do what apparently very few companies in my area could. One of the main reasons I grew in this business. Most customer want there house to look really clean so I don't nickle and dime them to death. I explain what will be done and how it will be done. Of course I won't include a huge cement driveway or deck wash without giving a seperate price for that. But front walkways, patios etc. are part of the price. I'm located in South Brunswick NJ and usually get between 295-445 for a house wash. Does that sound about right from you other East Coast guys? Dan

I just bought a e-250 03 with 37,000 miles on it. When I started looking at ford dealers I was going to buy new. They really have a nice contractor package with Racks and bins already installed. I think Weather Guard makes the racks. Cool setups! But I was looking at the 06 and it looked exactly like an 03 they had. The 03 looked brand new. I mean spotless. I took it for a test drive and I was sold. It doesn't have the contractor package but it does have a cool cargo package that makes the van very quiet inside. I ended up paying $14000 total for it at 7.1 % interest rate. My monthlies are really low plus I'm not worried about every little ding that might appear in the future. Trust me I wanted something very clean because I'm going to have it lettered pretty nice. My point is keep an open mind! There really are some great used trucks out there for way less. Dan

Hey Louie Tell them that Dan from Reliable Roof & Powerwash Co. referred you to them. I haven't received my cards yet but I've used them in the past and you won't believe the quality. My cards should be here monday or Tuesday at the latest. I got mine with a special they ran recently. The current price is $120 per 5000. But mention the $105 price and I'm sure they'll honor it. When I first heard there prices I thought that it must be pretty bad quaility but being so low I took the chance. I had 6 by 4 post cards done about a year ago and was amazed. http://www.twigonestop.com/printing/business-cards/business-cards/ Printed in full color on BOTH sides photo quality Printed on a 12pt. cardstock (c2s) If anyone could give me some feedback regarding my cards I'd really appreciate it. I designed them in photoshop myself. I don't mind if it's constructing critism. Dan

[ATTACH]3666[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]3667[/ATTACH] Let me know what you guys think. I've used Twig one stop for most of my printing. There pretty good. 2 sided gloss 12pt card stock. I got 5000 for $105.00 They have a good website to. Dan

I think Taylor Hicks is great. Play's a mean harp to. He's one of those guys that you would see singing in the subway for money and say "Why isn't that guy signed yet". I love musicians that sing/play because that's there passion and if they get famious great, if not they would still be playing somewhere. He's really original but with a Joe Cocker, Marc Cohen and Ray Charles feel lol My girlfriend is a singer /songwriter and she got me watching Idol about 3 years ago. I've been hooked ever since. Dan

I was going to build a new computer about 4 years ago starting from the mother board up. I priced everything I would need. Video card, memory, powersupply etc. Well I started checking prices on the individual parts I needed and couldn't even come close to what they were selling prebuilt systems for. I found a small mom and pop store locally. I couldn't believe there prices. I built a few systems in the past and new the components were top of the line. My advice would be to anyone getting a new computer is: 1.Stay away from the big stores 2. Go with an AMD processor ( They're cheaper/faster than intel and I've used AMD chips for 7 years without a problem) 3. Always make sure they're upgradable. Extra PCI slots, enough usb ports, Firewire connections in front, room for more memory, room to add additional hard drives. You shouldn't spend more than 600-700 for a really fast system. As far as the monitor goes, I still use a CRT and it looks better than most of the flat panel displays. I do alot of video/picture editing and won't buy flat panels until the price comes way down. Magnus computers has a website that should have current prices but I haven't been on there for awhile. Hopefully this will help anyone buying a new computer. Dan