Beth n Rod

You might try a gentle house washing solution on it. X-Jet it on, let dwell, brush, then rinse. Beth

First question - is that vinyl or aluminum siding it attaches to? Second, we don't charge for tarping, plastic and tape. It is built into our cost and used on every job. And our guys get photos before, during and after on every job to make sure we have shots of the protection in place..... Beth

If you need to protect the lower area, just use 4mil plastic and clamp it to the joists underneath. Throw a tarp down below to catch any drips from the rails. Brush and go. Rod

Applying a percarb does the job of the brightener without needing to neutralize. It kills the mold and helps to remove gray wood. Something to consider. Rod

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I know of lots of people who get work from this site. Many are not on the forums anymore, but their posts are still out there. Our site is advertised in Extreme How To magazine, and well ranked in the search engines. If you have not done it post your business in the links directory. Beth

If you are just cleaning a gray deck that has no stain or sealer, you can actually do a better favor to the wood by using a percarbonate instead of the bleach mix for house washing. Yes, it will get rid of the gray but it also leave behind chemical that on the next wet weather cycle can become active again and degrade the wood. A percarbonate is oxygenated bleach. It has a life of 4-6 hours once mixed with water and applied. After that, it is inert and useless. This product is harmless to the wood afterwards and actually brightens it without the use of chlorine. It kills mold and helps to remove the gray wood fibers that are caused by exposure to the suns UV rays. Mind you, this can also work on decks having a sealer/stain in place as a maintenance cleaner which has little effect on the coating itself, but will help to remove dirt, mold and prepare the surface for maintenance applications of whatever sealer/stain is in place. This is basically an introductory to one small aspect of wood care which does not give the topic of wood care the thorough explanation it requires but in the case of your question, it provides an answer to the basics of your question. Too much to go into here. It requires a class and about a week of your time both in a structured educational format and hands on work in the field to begin to understand the many facets of what one should know when it comes to wood care. I hope in the case of your question, I have helped at least in that regard. Rod

John thank you. That was very kind of you. What a nice thing to find early in the morning. Beth

Of stripper? Depends on what you are removing. It's one of those things you learn over time, because the coverage rates vary depending on what your are applying to. Beth

Glad March is officially behind us. maybe now we can say goodbye to winter and get some work done! Beth

How did it go Adrian? Beth

Yeah pool work is always a treat! Beth

Ah.....well, for hoods that is a whole other thing. We are residential. Beth

Always nice to see your work!!! Need to see more of you around here. Beth

We love our x-jet m5. Don't knock it until you try it. Many seasoned vets here swear by them. Including us. Beth

Rick's a man who rules his own destiny, great when he is around. Saw him at ACR's roundtable in February, didn't get time to talk with him as there were so many new people talking with me and all the vendors with products. It was like being in a candy store. Lots to do and see. Hey Rick, need to catch up with you some time. Rod

Great Topic. Thanks! Rod

Always follow the manufacturers specs. In general, oils need warmer temps than acrylics by about 10 degrees. Beth

When we first started out, I used to just hand roll all my hoses. But then again, I used to carry them from the front to the rear and back of each house/townhouse configuration we did. KILLED my back! Never got into the electric reels. Bought my first one in 2000, 200' Rapid Reel and it is still in service to this day. In 2004, bought a 3 stack by hosetract and it is still in use as well. When it comes to this topic, I think it is going to come down to: How much hose do you use on a regular basis? 50' ? hand roll...easy-hand roll! 100'? hand roll or reel? 200'? Yeah, you bet a reel! Rod

With all the hacks in the field it is no wonder they dumped them. Too much liability with people who get into the KEC and don't know what they are doing and leaving themselves wide open for a lawsuit. I don't think it has anything to do with easy money, it is a matter of the caliber of clientel. Restaurants have a huge liability on their own and to add someone who doesn't clean a system well to it would be a nightmare in the making. Insurance companies assess these types of accounts with loss potential. They are too great comparatively. Since we don't do hoods, I can't offer any alternatives. Rod

Welcome to TGS John. Good to have you here. Rod

The x-jet or m-5 jet without a proportioner is 3:1 (3 parts water to 1 part chemical) If you are looking to improve the performance of your mix, you need to add more alkalinity. Simple cherry is a simple detergent. What you could use is a degreaser that contains sodium hydroxide to increase the spectrum and reactive range of bleach making it more effective at lower concentrations. I use 1/3 gallon in a 5 gallon bucket of water along with other chemicals for my mix and it does the job fine. We brush all of our houses to get the best result, but I never have any problems getting off anything that is mildew, mold, algae or typical pollutants such as dirt and pollen. If you need it stronger, you can adjust the formula to contend with difficult spots such as gable vents which tend to have a great deal of mold and carbon. Rod

I have used this product and it cleans fine, just doesn't work the same on mold/algae. You still have to brush it. With bleach, you see the mold and algae turn brown as it is cooked. Limonene doesn't do that in my experience. If you have little in the way of mold to clean and are just looking for a good cleaner, Emulsifier plus can do the job. Rod

Another storm is brewing and we will be glad when spring arrives. A few years ago is was warm early around here and we got an early start. Who else is ready for spring to arrive? Beth

Jim's points are exactly what anyone should be considering. Wood at 50* or lower begins to tighten up as a response to the temperatures and won't absorb well. Also, oils are like bacon grease, they begin to congeal at that temp and don't penetrate. Combining these two factors makes it a difficult assessment for when to start. Getting temps during the day is fine but remember overnight temps can literally squeeze out the sealer that hasn't dried/cured by then. This leads to tacky finishes which will never set right and leads to a premature failing of the product. Acrylics have a little better performance ability but again need to have consistent temps above their application range to ensure proper curing. Some can be applied as low as 40* but keep in mind the substrate. If it is a hardwood. Forget it. Wait for warmer temps. I acknowledge Jim's predicament over the years and that he has had it very difficult where temps AND rain have been concerned. He and other in the northeast corridor have been hit with some unfortunate weather which has impacted their businesses and complicated their ability to do quality work without having to resort to alternate measures to get the job done. Here's to hoping all have a decent weather year. Rod