Onthespot

Heh. I saturated it. Two five gallon buckets worth of diluted chemical. Hasn't rained here since I was at that job. I regretfully packed everything up and told the guy who contracted with me that I was unable to do it = no charge. If your technique works, and the moss turns white, dies, and falls off - then I've done my job......... for free! (btw, thank you both for your input in this thread. It means a lot to me.)

Thank you for your reply. I have an x-jet and was able to easily get my chemical all the way up to the top of the stone (rock) steeple. Sodium hydrochorite mixed with sodium hydroxide + H20 = no luck. I mixed it up strong too, thinking that might loosen it up. The steeple is stone painted white and it was as though the moss was glued to it... ? I don't always use an extension wand for heights. I've cleaned 2 story vinyl with a four foot wand... Honestly, I'm perplexed. I'm wondering if there are any pressure washers who would have touched this job. I'm wondering if muriatic acid would have worked? *shrug* I don't know. I'm just trying to learn from this.

Some type of moss that clung with all it's might to the surface of the steeple.

Greetings to all; I have been pressure washing for about 5 years. During that five years I've rarely run into something that I couldn't handle. Yesterday, I met my match (and almost met my Maker) on the roof of a Southern Baptist Church. I'll try not to bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that I seriously underestimated the magnitude of the job, and my abilities to actually do the job. I actually tried to do this tied off to the steeple base while fighting with a 24 foot wand that reached less than three fourths of the height of the structure. All this while balanced on a steeply pitched roof. Anyone else see all the dangers in this job? I rarely had any fears of heights. I jump around on roofs here all the time. Many residential homes in this area are perched on the side of a mountain and are three stories high, and I feel comfortable. Don't misunderstand me - I always had a healthy respect for the dangers of being on a roof; However, this fear was almost incapacitating. I could feel my knees shaking... I had all my equipment out and the jobsite was set up, and had done the back part of it while standing on the ridgeline of the roof. It wasn't until I almost fell while standing at the base with the vent in it in the picture above that I finally admitted that I was not competant enough to safely finish this. The real deciding factor though was looking at the cemetery located behind the church and realizing that they wouldn't have far to drag me after I fell. So I packed everything up, drove to see the contact for this job and humbly explained to him that I wasn't able to do it. Which, incidentally, he seemed to understand. So ever since, this nagging feeling is telling me that I need to post this experience here and get some feedback from the real pros... ;-) No flames please. Suggestions for how this job could have been safely done? Constructive criticism? Would you have accepted it? Would a straight boom have been in order here? Or even a knuckle boom? Could it have been done without the use of a boom and if so - how? I'm looking for some feedback, opinions, ideas... Please keep in mind, that I'm somewhat experienced at pressure washing. I'm not brand new - I'm just brand new to this particular situation. Thanks. Tom

I've run into the same problem. Not sure what kind yours is, but mine is a 20 foot or so Simpson. A big yellow beast with an aluminum extension! The problem seems to be the black locking piece where the aluminum comes out of the yellow fiberglass - It wore out... Since yours is over 3 years old - the manufacturer of it will most likely try to sell you a replacement wand... or (worse yet) a costly repair... Simple solution: Extend that wand out all the way on the jobsite and wrap a bungee cord around the aluminum pole where it comes out of the fiberglass pole. Wrap it tight and secure it to itself, groan in anticipation of holding that thing, then pick it up and get back to work..... ;-) And in response to the previous poster.......... I personally feel that nothing posted on this board is a "waste of time". If everyone just went ahead and solved all their own problems, and never looked for feedback from others here - then boards like this would cease to exist. I'm constantly lurking and reading new ideas and ways to problem solve.... (Just my 2 cents)

In the south we call them "mud daubers" or "dirt daubers"... I think up north they are known simply as "mud wasps". They are solitary wasps that build these cylindrical nests out of mud. For a picture of one of these nests see the following link: http://www.hiltonpond.org/images/MudDauberNest01.jpg Last week I did a 2 story vinyl on Lake Chatuge here in Western NC. When we hit the eaves - which happened to have all those perforated holes - red mud just started pouring out of them. Apparently there were lots of these nests built up under the eaves... No matter how much we sprayed, the mud just continued pouring out of there. The home owner was more than understanding... But I wasn't satisfied with leaving a house with brown stains on the eaves. Has anyone else ever run into this problem before, and how did you handle it? Thanks in advance for your responses. Tom V. (On The Spot Pressure Washing)

Full time since July 2002 when I first moved to the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Last year I mostly concentrated on auto detailing and pressure washed to fill in the gaps... What I discovered during that learning process was that people don't like to spend money on their vehicles... but don't even blink when you give a quote for their house. Essentially what this meant for me was: - Spend 6-8 hours doing a full detail on a Chevy Tahoe and rake in $180 OR Spend 6-8 hours pressure washing 2 houses at over $200 each... Hmmm... So, now it seems that I'm mostly pressure washing... Although I am still detailing for some faithful customers who have been with me since I started (Have 2 BMWs scheduled for this coming Friday)... Now the detailing kinda' gives me a break from blasting houses... I have to say that I absolutely love this business!!! I have never made this much money and been this content before.... And I have several college degrees & was a mental health therapist in Ohio with 2 private practices... Every morning I get up and actually look forward to going out and working. Years ago, I woke up and groaned at the prospect of getting to sit in a room and listen to peoples' problems all day... It is only May and I have already exceeded all of my own expectations and goals for this year, and it just keeps getting better... For the past two years people here have watched my company grow and prosper, and a few have made the remark, "You're lucky!"... Well, I don't believe in luck... I believe in myself... ;) Regards, Tom (On The Spot, Western NC)