RyanH

I went to one race the year we moved here and none since. They never really appealed to me...too many people. My wife likes NASCAR about as much as I enjoy breathing, so she makes up for my lack of interest, although it is a little more appealing now that i've seen a few races on the telly. She has more memorabilia than a small souvenir shop and was a die hard fan when Dale Sr. was making the rounds. When he went, she pretty much dropped the high interest and watches it here and there. Personally, I'd prefer to drive than watch it!

What's your current method? Just curious. Ryan H.

They're recruiting in Hampton, GA this weekend. NASCAR. It's such a funny sight to see. For 50 weeks out of the year, when I drive by the track I see the large condo and grandstands, and lotsa land around it. For the other 2 weeks, the land is covered in RVs and tents. When I was a kid I used to sit and watch the traffic before and after the race. We lived on the main highway in front of the track, approximately 3 miles away from the entrance, so we caught 99% of the cars coming in. Sometimes we'd (friend and I) make signs like "Honk if you like ?????". Maybe now I could get out there with a sign that says "Show us your ---- if you like ????" :lildevil:

Tony, For me, in this area, it's definitely worth turning them down. Anyway, homes with aluminum siding (here anyway) are generally old, small, and the residents don't have the money to pay a lowballer with a garden hose with a buzz from GoofOff, much less someone who would take the time to use the proper chemicals. I've only received two calls for aluminum houses...one wasn't even aluminum it was just dingy vinly (brightened up very nicely, though!) and the owner didn't know the difference, and other was as I described above. Anymore, I work off referrals with a few targeted areas. My primary business right now is my janitorial...I stepped aside from the PW so others who have a real necessity to make it work can have some space to work. I've still been called by homeowners to save a few botched jobs, though. Those are fun.

That's the one!

After reading some of the informative opinions concerning aluminum, I decided last year to turn down any offer for aluminum siding. Henry, I believe some of your posts were the ones that really made me want to steer clear of these monsters. Thanks alot!! (seriously...vinyl is so much more easy anyway).

The moon's looking a little rusty tonight....thought it could use a shot of oxalic.

Mike, I don't have much of a problem on the greasy floors...I think I'm using a shoe similar to what you describe because it is much better than regular tennis shoes. My problem is on the tile floors in areas like a foyer or bathroom....putting these things in a bathroom and areas where people can come in out of the rain was a BAD idea and I don't know why whoever installed it for them did not bring this to their attention. Fortunately, they haven't had any problems....yet. But when I mop these floors, I make sure that I'm mopping my way out of the room because if I have to cross over the wet surface for any reason I must be EXTREMELY careful. Thanks for the shoe tip. Ryan

I had a small piece of steel shaving caught in one of my nozzles before that almost eliminated any useful flow through the orifice. Take the nozzle off and make sure you have a clean line of sight through the hole. If some trash made its way through your pump, it would likely accumulate in this place.

The primary selling point of the outdoor bleach is that it contains enzymatic agents designed to breakdown the contents in saltwater so it can be considered environmentally safe. Like beth said, it also contains a higher amount of sodium hydroxide than bleach so is better at acting as a degreaser and oxidation removal. Also, it has some detergents in it to help it act more as a soap. It sounds great and is in a nice looking package, but after using it and regular bleach, I just can't justify the cost difference. However, using if full strength on some rather strange looking fungus growing on a stucco surface literally melted the fungus away and made the surface look fantastic.

Have never had a flu shot....may have had the flu once when I was a kid. If I ever feel any symptoms coming on, I down two or three theraflu doses at a time and go to bed and have a fine day after. Exercise and a good dose of vitamins go a long way towards prevention, although lately I haven't had either.

Check the yellow pages for hose or hoses...I bought 100' from a local supplier. They have all kinds of assorted hoses and can put connection ends on them as well. I bought the poly braid and it is very flexible.

Personally, I think I would sell it as a liability insurance against unjust lawsuits...I believe the Americans with Disabilities Act is particularly biased in it's claims and OSHA, well, that's another issue on safety overkill in my opinion (I've worked on many OSHA regulations for companies and their goal is to idiot-proof the world...any wonder why we are getting better idiots every generation?). Showing that you have taken action to prevent an accident, however, goes a long way in a court room. Being a cynic, I would question anyone coming at me telling me that there are so many deaths each year from slip and fall accidents, so you might want some quantifiable evidence (specific to industry, commercial, and residential injuries, whether they were on stairs or on a flat surface, if it was related to obstacles in the way as opposed to the floor surface properties, etc.). Just a thought. One of the places I clean has glazed tile floor and I wish like hell it had a slip-resistant surface. When I mop it, I literally cannot even stand on the wet portion and push against the mop without losing footing. I don't know what the coefficient of friction is when it's wet, but I do know that walking on ice was easier than this floor.

There was some advertisement awhile back about a steamer unit (consumer available too) that can accomplish this. I've seen it at Rich's for a stack of dead presidents, but it's basically a glorified iron and vacuum setup that's set to constantly steam and suck. One company I work for has an industrial version they paid a few grand for....built by some company in Alabama I think. I'll check on the name and get contact info if you'd like. Basically it's a holding tank (around 20 gallons) with a low pressure shurflo pump (45 psi I think) and vacuum setup...I took a look a look at it and figured I could build the same thing for around $300, the only thing is you would need a source for hot water to make it really effective....add another $200 for a makeshift electric heating unit.

Is there a ring (O-ring or washer) that either should be there, or is there but has deteriorated? Take the bolt off and check....most likely you will see that there is a space near the head of the bolt on the underside where an O-ring should be. If this is the case, you should be able to get an assorted set from a hardware store (heck, if it's craftsman you'd think Sears would have them).

Sandblasting, perhaps?

The good thing about owning your own business is usually you are more receptive to seeing successes in other businesses. You are also more apt to know other business owners "out there." I'm hoping that is the case with some folks here. I'm looking into opening a liquor (package) store in my area and would like to talk with anybody who has either done this, worked in one, or knows someone who has done it and wouldn't mind talking about it. I'm in the process of talking with some of the city council folks and finding out all the laws of opening one, but I'd like some input on things to look out for. Also tips on handling and contacting distributors. I've enjoyed running my own business for the past several years and it would just be a shame to stop now and go work for someone else. If anyone knows somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody (perhaps an in-law, cousin, friend, etc.), I'd love to contact them. Thanks for any help ya'll can throw this way. If I can get some help on getting this thing rolling (want up be up and functional by next Feb or March), perhaps I'll host the next roundtable event in Atlanta and have plenty of "goodies" to take home with you! Ryan H.

Chuck, Thanks for the info! The laws are a little more relaxed in GA (I know AL has similar restrictions like ArK) and seem more geared towards taxables. I hope to hear from as many knowledgeable people as possible.

Randy, I bought some "water shoes" like you use when jet skiing or scuba diving (to complement the fins)....the soft rubber soles work pretty well and are pliable enough to allow walking on an angle without being restrictive. I've also used rubber boots and tennis shoes....they all work pretty well, but the thicker and softer the sole the better. Celeste, The rope does indeed get in the way at times, but is definitely worth it. My primary concern is getting the cleaner on the rope (nylon + bleach not good bedfellers), but I rinse the rope very well in a bucket of water before putting up and visually inspect it before every use for chemical or physical damage.

Your ratio will be dependent upon what your injector is set to. For example, if you were to put your injector at full force at 3 gpm, then you will effectively be putting out more chemical than water at a ratio of 3:2.6. To figure in percentage, add both values together (chemical flow + water flow), then divide the chemical flow by the total flow to get the percentage of chemical by volume. In this example, it would be 3/5.6 = 54% chemical in what ultimately comes out of the end of your hose. What that means is that 54% of what is coming out of your hose is whatever was in your solution bucket. If you had 10% bleach in your bucket, then your final solution will be 10% of 54%, or 5.4% bleach, a little strong for a house wash mix. So, I guess this is where your question comes in earlier of how to premix your solution to get the final solution. If you need a final ratio of 1 part chemical to 10 parts water as is called for by some stock solutions, then you will need to either dilute the initial concentration or reduce the flow of your injector pump, or both. These adjustments are up to you and you can do whatever is easiest. Most people would prefer to adjust their flow rates, but in some cases you will have to also dilute down. In your case, the lowest ratio you could ever hope for is 2:2.6, or 1:1.3. If you need a 1:10, you are going to have to dilute your initial concentration. You can use a little algebraic manipulation and see that you will need to put 1 quantity of your chemical and 7.7 quantities of water into a solution tank, then draw from this with your injector. To figure the numbers out on your own, you can use the equation: W/I = 1/(RF) where W = the amount of diluting water you will need to add to a solution tank in gallons I = your injector flow rate (between 2 and 3 gpm in your case) R = the ratio you need as a fraction of chemical to water (1/10 in your example) F = the flowrate of your pressure washer pump (2.6 gpm in your case) make sure your numbers are in gallons to make things work out ok. This is not applicable when you are talking about concentrations by weight, only by volume.

A little confused on the post I am, yes. Is the downstream injector an actual pump that pumps chemicals into your pressurized water stream, or is basically a nozzle to which you hook a hose that is fed by the chemical tank? I'm guessing your pump/pressure washer is a 2.6 gpm and can put that out at 2750psi. Your downstreamer will pull chemicals in at a ratio of approximately 1 part whatever is coming in from your chemicals to 7 parts water coming out of your pump (basically, if you have a 2.6 gpm machine, after 1 minute you will have expelled 2.6 gallons of water and 0.37 gallons of whatever is in your chemical tank). If you are going to want to have the final concentation of chemical to be in a 1:10 ratio, you will need to dilute it a little before downstreaming it. Without dilution, using straight chemical will give a final ratio of 1:7. If you want to make something 1:10, then for every gallon of chemical you have, add approximately one half gallon of water to it (0.43 gallons is more precise). This will give you a final ratio of 1:10 assuming your draw rates are accurate. Keep in mind that pulling a 6% bleach (standard store bought) solution straight from your Clorox jug into your machine through the injector will yield less than a 1% final solution and you will never get higher than this. Should you want higher you will either need a different injector or something like the Xjet, or a stronger initial concentration....just some points to ponder. Also, changing the flow rate between 2 and 3 gpm on your pump will change the velocity which the water moves through your hoses and past your injector port, which will change the pressure at the port opening and will affect your draw rate ratio (giving you less draw), so reducing the amount of water flow will not automatically give you a higher chemical concentration out of your hose. You can overcome this by physically pumping your chemical into your injector with something like a ShurFlo, or keeping the chemical source higher than the injector port (like on a shelf above it).

Amazing. Had I been the homeowner, I wouldn't have had any qualms about cost in a situation like that. Great job!

Acids and bases neutralize each other. Water will dilute either one to an infinitely weak solution, but will never take the pH beyond neutral point to cross into the other region (i.e., 1 million gallons of neutral water mixed with one drop of concentrated base will still give a basic solution). Check the MSDS for each chemical for the best ways to neutralize...trying to neutralize certain acids/bases with the wrong base/acid can cause wicked reactions and make the situation worse. Also, there are cases where trying to dilute can make matters worse (the scene in Fight Club with lye is a prime example).

I have a dog. We call him Cigarette. He has no legs. Every night we take him out for a drag.

In "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes," lightning striking an electrical station while a guy was in the vicinity caused him to become a genius. For some reason, the task of being a genius was too arduous for him, so he opted to be struck again to lose his smarts. That's just dumb.