Beth n Rod

Jason, No, Actually, the better way to put it is as a precaution since you are unaware of any deficiencies in their homes weather protective condition. Again, tell them to turn off any outside circuits to avoid any problems occurring from the wash process that you are unable to foresee since you are not familiar with any deficiencies that may be present on their homes exterior. Overall, asking the customer questions pertinent to their homes condition is a start. Letting them know devils advocately what could happen in order to jog their memory of a condition they may be aware of and forgotten or just to inform them of the possibilities is more informative and gives them the understanding that you are just looking out for their home and trying to avoid any mishaps. We had a customer that had problems with their electrical because water got behind the siding around the outlet and kept popping the circuit. They called an electrician and blamed us for the problem saying just that "well it never was a problem before even when it rains real hard" not understanding that rain and pressure washing don't work the same way. We paid for the repair and they were happy. The best thing to keep in mind is that most homeowners don't take the time to investigate any potential problems before hiring someone and they most likely aren't even aware of something that may have been a condition that they may have created to begin with and the process reveals the problem. We are often the inadvertent messengers where deficiencies in their homes exterior are concerned. How you handle it before hand and the education you impart on them can make a big difference between a normal day on the job and a disaster and worries for you. C.Y.A. people. Talk to the customers and cover the bases. Rod~

Michael, No more coffee for you today. :lgbugeyes Beth

http://www.cleanertimes.com/products.cfm?doc=book_pwagb&PartID=3 This is a good primer book. Beth p.s. labor for learning near you is also good, and you will want to check out www.pwna.org and try to make Memphis in April.

The mix I use makes webs lose their ability to stick to the surface and they come off rather easily. The spiders will return unless they have a regular service from a pest control company. This year sure has been the year of the spiders though. I have seen some pretty huge and amazing looking ones recently. Rod~

Sil-o-wet works best if you apply it with hot water (120*) The results are very nice. Although I have not used it on aluminum, vinyl takes on a brighter appearance. IMHO, its an add on that is really superfluous in respect to the time of protection you are getting from the re infestation of mold and mildew for most homes. I only recommend it for H.O.'s who have an abundance of pollenous trees surrounding their home that create the problem more readily. Maybe its a conscience thing, but I don't feel it right to sell something to someone that they don't really need. Nice product though, I like the way it smells and so do the clients. Rod~

Good questions Lou, We have found that most methods of covering out door lamps are ineffective against the process of washing even though we use an M-5 to apply and low pressure to rinse. Water and chems still always get behind the fixtures or into the glass housing. Tape just doesn't hold well. Around electrical outlets, if they are not covered, I will recommend the homeowner turn off the breaker for the outside circuits to avoid any problems. For exterior communications, these are designed to be outdoors and even in windy rain situations. Our method is not to apply or rinse them directly. If you are using bleach, it will turn the plastic housing yellow. For the windows, besides making sure they are closed, we recommend that they put a towel on the sills and bottoms of any windows or sliding glass doors to catch any possible leaks into these areas that they may or may not be aware of. We have found that some homeowners are just not aware of the condition of their weather seals or weather stripping until a wash is conducted on their home. In addition, we ask for the best results that they remove the screens so that any matter that has collected in the sills can rinse free without clogging up the screens or the troughs that allow rain water to escape. This helps to prevent a problem with water retention that they would not necessarily be aware of until it was too late. It would be interesting to know how others would approach the problems associated with outdoor exterior fixtures when doing house washing. Rod~

Actually, the search feature just got better too! You can now do Boolean searching. And as Rod pointed out, the FAQ/Guide area has some info as well. Searching is always an excellent supplement to posting. Beth

Rod used Sil-O-Wet. I'll ask him to check in here and comment. 'Da Man is sleeping in today! Beth :cup:

You guys are too funny...I don't think the BBS is set up to censor the word bleach. ;) The key to using any tool, is knowing how to use it best to get results. Sharing how is what helps us all. Beth

Michael, No problem! :) Cool picture. Beth

Lou, Go back and check some of the posts here. There is Balto work on the BBS, and you might call them. We do not know if anyone picked up the lead or not. Beth

Jerry, Can you reupload. The link is broken. Thanks Rod~

Barry, Can you re-upload the images in your first post. It appears that you added them right at the time an update was being done and the files were compromised. Thanks. Rod~

Mark, Try this link and check out the FAQ under house washing. http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/faq.php If you have any further questions, we'll keep an eye out here... Rod~

The owner only elected the stripping, sanding, and sealing. Maybe on the next go round he'll do the spindals. This time it was not in the budget. Shame... Beth :cup:

Gary, Keep applying in a methodical manner until you see the color change to dark or black. The scratch test is another technique to determine the strippers progress that we use. What was disturbing about this particular deck is that the wood was so badly beaten up by the person who pressure washed it that most of the spindles looked like they had a rake run through them the gouges were so deep. Rod~

It's really cool to watch this happen. Blew my mind when I first saw it. Beth

We did use HD-80 and citralic on this deck. We never need Boost against a Behr deck. Behr removes easily with HD-80. Beth

Matt, Sometimes nature has a one way road. Trees as everyone knows are designed to move fluids up or down the tree as the seasons dictate. At the time the tree was cut down this process was stopped and the channels either remained open or some of them were closed in order to act as a pump valve. This effect fluctuates up or down the tree depending on the season. The boards in the pic showed that the sealer was being pushed back out. I have seen deck boards side by side absorb and repel a sealer respective to this condition. One would take and take and take until it was full while one adjacent to it would push the sealer back out after one application. I have shown this to members of my crew as an onsite lesson of what is going on and what to do if it does happen. Typically I would have them spread out the excess sealer and/or wipe it down with mineral spirits if it persisted in order to obtain the desired result. This may also help in your case which would be a time saver no doubt. As far as sapwood cuts, no, I dont believe that is the case. More so it appears as an interaction with the sealer being the reason for the color. Sapwood pieces tend to be sorted out before bundling. (worked in a lumber mill and was taught what to look for in the sorting process) Although some peices may contain higher amounts of sap, the boards in the picture look to be exhibiting this effect on the entire board and not just in sections as would be the case if it were the problem. ***USDAFPL mentions using bleach (sodium Hypochlorite) to remove the blue staining though. While they maintain that they have conducted limited testing regarding bleachs and the majority of the information they have on bleaches comes from manufacturers and users of bleach products.*** Hope this helps Rod~

And a couple of the wash shots... Beth

Degafreed, it was not a typo. It is a fact in our experience that RS will soak into the wood and not leave much pigment on the top as you have noticed in the pic submitted above. Adding another coat with RS will not necessarily produce a shiney or glossy look. It does not work that way. Being a paraffinic oil that has no driers or hardeners leaves it free to continue to soak into the wood which is the reason for Beth's statement. Jim, As we have always said you are welcome to post your techniques here. For the benefit of those who are considering using RS and getting the best results, post your technique here. No one is benefitting by all this cloak and dagger secrecy of how to use the product. If one cannot follow the directions on the label and achieve the best results... Help RS out for those who would want to use it... Matt, let us know how it turns out. Rod~

We used to use Ready Seal. We learned during that time tht if you do not apply enough, you will get a phone call saying it looks "light" or like "hardly any sealer is there". It's due to it penetrating so deeply. This is why I feel confident that additional product will help. Beth

We are finally getting some rain! It's been dry as a bone here. We are supposed to get 6 inches between now and Saturday, and we need every drop. Beth

The 3 boards in question look to have exuded the sealer along with some of the pitch in the wood creating the darker looking boards. The color doesnt look much at all to be red so this could indicate the majority of the deck boards have soaked up the product and could use more. from our experience, you will avg about 75-100sqft/gal. Regarding the 3 boards and the color, this is uncontrollable and unforseeable. You could go back and strip just these 3 boards, neutralize and then recoat once dry. But the result may not improve the overall look. If the boards did not show any sign of discoloration before applying Ready Seal, then the issue resides within the wood. The product seems to have contributed to the issue. This is the best I can tell from the pic submitted as the view is too far away. Rod~

Looks to me like it needs more sealer. I would seal all but the boards which seem to already be full. Wood can get thirsty, and we have seen before the effects of wood needing more product. Don't kick yourself. It takes time and a trained eye, and even then you may not see it before you walk off the job. Best thing I can say to help, is look for a satin like sheen. I have noticed that when wood seems full, the pigment is closer to the surface and the light refracts with a certain sheen. (happens with transoxide pigmented products) This may not make sense, but if you go back and add sealer to the deck, and look for it, I'll bet you see it when you are done. Now having said all that... keep in mind not all boards look the same after you seal them. Personally, this drives me nuts when I am out sealing with Rod & the guys. I always try to get boards that stick out to blend in...Sometimes they will sometimes they won't. You can't change the physical properties of the board's structure. Hang in there. Beth p.s. can you tell us how you applied the sealer? I would suggest spraying and back padding or backbrushing ( personal preference on which).