weaselcossey
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Posts posted by weaselcossey
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Looks like the neighbors need a good wash, and a good painter. Is that some kind of hardibacker siding on the second house over? I guess in a place like that, one just gives up on keeping a somewhat clean exterior.
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They just remodeled my local Sonic a few months ago. The new design looked really good at first, but now its filthy. I've never seen anyone clean it. When I introduced myself to the manager last month, I asked about washing their concrete and building. She said: "We just let the rain keep it rinsed off."
I talked to her about the importance of keeping a clean building/workplace, especially a restaurant. No dice. They probably wouldn't pay it anyway, gum is very heavy and everywhere.
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I've never seen marks quite like those, such a consistent pattern all the way across. Could those marks be from some kind of chemical? Maybe they sprayed something on the entire surface with a pump-up, only to find it dry when they went back to rinse.
Apparently it takes a real genius to leave marks like that, seems us fools can't figure out how. :lgbugeyes
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Try some gutter grenade from pressuretek. Just don't mix too strong, or dwell too long. Of course test an inconspicuous place first. Use a soft brush to apply it, dwell, and agitate it a bit. Good luck.
P.S. You can certainly be held liable without a disclaimer or such in writing.
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What was up with that wacked out post you had before changing it? You sounded like an insane crack head.I was hoping no one saw that....
My computer is going nuts, that one was supposed to be in the thread about automotive finishes..... I dunno what happened.
I gave up on that post, didn't even go back and put it in the right thread.
Did look like I lost me marbles, huh?
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Good answers.For years I have had the same outlook. 10 years ago we looked into "green" cleaners, but fell short of par.
I was hoping they'd come up with something better by now. Because you can charge a premium, and I can sink my hooks into the green revolution.
I am skeptical and believe I'll continue to use good old 12% Nuke.
Customers don't dictate any thing, but the times do. And the times are going green at break neck speeds.
But your right about monster house wash. Its not a green product.
The guy at Northern tool say there are a few contractors that buy it on a regular basis.
I am also betting nothing is better than 12% Nuke on roofs either.
Inform your customers that you buy 'bleach' in 55 gal drums which are reused. 55 one gallon jugs in a landfill plus a little SHc runoff in your yard must be worse than only the latter.
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Maybe they are no fun, but the respirator is a must in some situations.
Safety 1st.
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My local Sherwin Williams is having a sale through late august. They got the Titan 440i for $699, with hose, gun, and 4 tips. Might be worth looking into. Wouldn't you be kicking yourself this time next year if you had to replace the $300 sprayer from Lowe's?
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I washed a house in May that had a deck with 1 week old solid stain. I just wet the windows and deck, soaped up the house, rinsed windows and deck, dwell, rinsed house, rinsed deck again. With that stain only 3 days old, I would definitely try to wash that side while its in the shade. Definitely rinse the mix completely off the deck before you do anything else. Just keep the deck soaking wet, and when you're done with that area rinse again.
edit: I was using simple cherry and 6%.
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Dwight from BMC Pressure Washing is in Tennessee, and cleans roofs.He is a member here, I think ?
I know he is a member at ***, perhaps look him up, and ask where he gets it.'
OR contact Mike Kreisle or Russ Spence.
Mike in Lexington Ky, Russ Spence owns ProKleen is Alabama.
They will know!
As long as i'm x-jetting, 6% works fine on vinyl at 2 gal per 5er most of the time. I would really like to get a good ds injector (the one I have now sucks.......errr I guess that's the problem...it doesn't suck), but i'm sure I would need stronger than 6%. I'm sure dsing would be faster. Biggest drawback seems to be the hose filling up with chems. How does a person throw chems any distance when dsing? Can you use a 0 degree tip and drop the pressure at the unloader until it draws? Sorry, a little off topic.
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Matt,Yeah, noticed those finish nails. The ends are fastened with what looks like 16 penny nails. What is amazing is that no nails, finish or otherwise, are popped or loose.
Talk about a stable wood! The current owner has been in the home for ~ 5 years and has not touched the deck. Says it "looks about the same" as when she moved in.
Must be some type of swirled or ring shank nails for absolutely none to be popped out. We use the 4" swirled nails repairing docks. Nearly everything here is SYP. I've completely redecked a couple of docks, and have never had a problem with those nails working loose. I'm sure you know how the moist pressure-treated SYP acts when it dries. Considering the constant moving side to side, up and down in the water, and constant moisture from underneath the dock and condensation, its pretty amazing how well a good nail will hold in stable wood.
The finish nails just blow my mind. That lumber must have been dried very well, and straight as an arrow.
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For vinyl, this is the mix I use most of the time(with the M5). Sometimes you'll need more bleach on the north side, dormers, etc.
2 gal. 6% SH
8 oz simple cherry
3 gal. water.
Sounds too simple huh? Try it. Mix some gutter grenade in a 3 gal. mop pail and brush the gutters. Clean gutters usually amaze my customers. Just don't mix the gutter grenade too strong, or dwell too long.
I experimented adding 1/4 cup of F-13 to the house wash. Mostly does nothing to help clean the vinyl, other than weird stains around high traffic areas. Added a good tablespoon of apple blossom dawn, just made it harder to rinse. Added a squirt of cascade rinse aid, and ended up where I started. If there's substantial mold/mildew, make it 3 SH and 2 water. Cleans well and rinses easily.
IMHO, the most annoying aspects of cleaning vinyl are:
1) Getting all the solids rinsed off. Especially under shutters and such.
2)Gutters 3 stories and up.
For me, getting the vinyl itself clean is about as easy as it gets.
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No 10% at the supercenter here :lgsad:
I've called every pool store within 50 miles or so, no dice. I did find a local place that orders mostly janitorial stuff for local businesses. They offere me a box of (4) 1 gal. jugs of 12.5% for the low, low price of.......$39.95!! And I had to wait for them to get up to a $600 order, or pay shipping. No thanks.
The only other place i've found is a chemical distributor about 70 miles away. They had 10% for $2.19 gal, 55 gal drums only. Minimum order is $800, and they still charge shipping.
Keeping my fingers crossed for the wal-mart stuff.
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In my opinion, the first thing you have to do is get the owner to understand that a spray down simply won't be good enough. You gotta at least soap it up and rinse. Imagine how many people will see you working there, and the buildings not actually being clean when you're done. Bad for business. I once had a guy in a nice gated neighborhood ask me to wash only the first story of his home. The second story was just as filthy as the first. I gave him a bid for the whole house, and didn't get the job. I just couldn't see washing half his house with all his neighbors driving by seeing my company name and a half clean house. No one else is gonna know that he only paid for the first story.
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2 and a half hours ha ive been at this thing for 2 days now and im extremely frustrated.. hopefully i can get a system down where i can be in and out in that amount of time..I don't know how profitable you'll be with that washer. Go to Buy the pressure washer items you need at affordable pricing. We have Suttner Cat Giant General Pump Delavan Pressure Pro Hansen Mosmatic Comet Whisper Wash AR pumps trigger guns surface cleaners lances wands duct spinners swivels ball valves chemica and order an M5 x-jet, 10 lb. simple cherry, 1 gallon of gutter grenade, and a brush with an extension. You should be able to clean most any vinyl siding house with this. If you can't find any stronger bleach locally, just use the 6% wal-mart stuff. It will work, you may have to apply soap a couple of times on trouble spots. In a five gallon bucket mix 2 gallons of 6% bleach, 8 oz of simple cherry, and 3 gallons water. You'll need the gutter grenade for gutters and downspouts. If you have some spots that won't come off the siding, don't hit it with high pressure, soap it up, dip your brush in the gutter grenade mix, scrub it with the brush, and rinse, rinse, rinse. Don't let the soap dry, especially on windows. Just remember if the soap isn't cleaning the surface, you need to adjust your mix, not blast away with high pressure. Good luck.
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Ok, so I talked to bob at ptek and he told me to see how much chem. my injector pulled in one minute and divide that into my GPM of my machine to get my draw ratio. Well.. did that but still need some help. Here is what I have:2.3 GPM machine
After 1 minute, injector pulled .5 gallons and just under 3 gallons came out of the nozzle. What does that tell me?
I need to know because I am trying to apply a chemical at 10% dilution and dont know how to figure out how to pre mix it so when it does come out the nozzle it is at 10% solution and 90% water (1:9 if i am not mistaken?). Thanks!
Someone correct me if i'm wrong. Your downstream injector is mixing at somewhere between 5:1 and 6:1, you want 9:1. If you premix your chemicals, one part chemical and one part water, that should put you close to 11:1 or 12:1. It seems to me you should premix two parts soap to one water to put you pretty close to 9:1.
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I accept credit cards. Mostly because my mother-in-law has a children's boutique, and I just call her up and have her punch in the card number. Always be sure it goes through; its crazy how many people have no clue if they're anywhere near maxed out. I personally have two cards I use for everything possible. I ALWAYS pay the full bill every month to avoid interest. In one month I cashed in over $200 in points at a ticketmaster. Can't beat free money.
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Try blowing through a coffee stirrer and a 1" PVC pipe...which one is "easier?" Your lungs create the same amount of force, but the stirrer will create a larger pressure drop and reduce the flow dramatically.that may be true but the xjet is sucking and it is easier to suck coffee through a regular straw then to try to do it through a 1" tube...
Someone didn't pay attention in science class. There is no 'suck'. Suction is created by 'pushing' air to create an area of low pressure, as explained earlier. Think of a shop-vac, it blows air out one end, creating an area of low pressure inside the vac, air in the atmosphere is then pushed into the other end which usually has a smaller tip at the end of a hose. I say 'pushed' because the vac doesn't pull the atmosphere, the atmospehere equalizes the area of low pressure inside the vac which is continually being blown out the other end for constant suction. The smaller tip creates more suction at the tip.
An area of pressure, lower than the pressure in your 5er, is created in the xjet. As a result, the liquid in your 5er is pushed, by the atmosphere, into the area of low pressure inside the xjet. This low pressure area is continually recreated, constantly repeating the process. Its all about atmospheric pressure, this suction stuff. Always makes itsef equal. Stick a needle into a balloon, POP, all the air inside is released to an area of lower pressure, the atmosphere. If this was a helium filled balloon, the results would be much different. This is related to density and such. If your 5er is full of molasses, the results will be much different.
Moral: Use the right proportioner for the recommended ratio. No mixing required, someone who manufactured the xjet already figured all this stuff for us, and was nice enough to make little proportioners color coated for easy reference. If they had only gave us a way to keep up with them.....
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Anyone ever put signs in a customer's yard after washing? I am considering this, and wanted to know if anyone's had any luck. Maybe offer a 5% discount for using their yard for a week or two. I am only considering this for the high trafiic subdivisions, and generally 'nice' neighborhoods. I can get the signs for about $7 each if I buy 24. Anyone have advice?
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That looks like an AR RKV model pump with the factory injector. If you are using household bleach, you need to draw that straight through the injector. If you mix it with water, it will be too weak. Try looking for a supplier that has 12% sodium hypochorite.If you are set on using that rig, I would unbolt the unloader and call Bob at Pressure Tek for a new unloader and hi draw injector. I actually started out with a set up just like that. If you use straight household bleach without results, you have an equipment issue. If you have any questions, feel free to call me.
You guessed it.
Wish I had got these yesterday. I decided to tinker with it and try figure out the problem. In the process I lost the spring, and the ball had a little crack in it. On top of that, it looked likme someone had torqued the tip down too much, the ball wouldn't come out of the tip. At this point, the chemical tank was getting filled up with water. So I went to my local small engine place and they ordered a replacement (shipped for $28, maybe i got taken, but i was desperate). It's just the, sorry I don't know the proper names, the part that hooks onto the pump and the whole assembly that the hose hooks into. Anyone know whatg kind of ratio this thing mixes? Do i need to adjust the cutoff valve on my water tank when using the chemical tip? I will probably buy an xjet, but i've got to get some work first.
Also, I can't can't find anything other than krud kutter and simple green, locally. I tried the krud kutter for concrete on my driveway, before things went south, and it didn't help much. It didn't seem to help the cleaning process, did seem a but brighter than the section i just used water on. Didn't seem to cut through the grime, break surface tension. I guess I'll have to keep a case or so of whatever i SHOULD be using in my garage. Anyone know a place online, where shipping won't kill me? I've heard simple cherry and 12.5 % sodium hypochlorite for vinyl. What should i use on concrete, brick, and decks ( i realize that this should probably be on a different forum, the chemical part anyway, just didn't want to explain everything again). Thanks for the feedback, more would be great. I must be able to make money here, no one advertises, population is somewhere around 20,000.
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I bid on a house today, for a guy that some of family knows/knows of. Anyway, I know for a fact.he's well off. The peak of the gable ends on his house were 32 feet from ther ground, and he only wanted 12-14 from the ground cleaned (to pinch pennies). I told him I would do the whole thing, and priced him at $330. You should have seen the guy, studdering and just shocked apparently. I explaIned to him that if he really waNted a clean house, that was the price. If not, i'm not the guy. We talked for a while, then he started second guessing himself, mumbling about how it really needed done and such. I don't know if he'll call back, but he's in a nice subdivision with all types f requirements on color schemes, square footage, etc. Did he reaLly think I would do my first job there, and only wash the bottm half? I'm sure that would draw all kinds of attention. I'm just getting started, but i've learned from another trade that bidding low to get the job only digs an early grave (for your business, and considering the stress later on, probably yourself too)
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Don't know if it will help, but here are some pics. I gotta get this straightened out.
P.S. I don't know how these will look on a desktop. I took the pictures, and uploaded them from my handheld.
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For cleaning vinyl I use All Brite from SunBrite Supply.I mix 7 gallons of water, 1 gallon of cleaner, and 2 gallons of 12.5% Sodium Hypochloride.
Works like a dream on Mold etc.
You mentioned 4 gallons of bleach, and 1 gallon of water ... wow :O Im pretty sure it works very well, but you don't need that much. And I highly suggest using cleaner too (like Power House or All Brite from SunBrite Supply, or Simple Cherry from PressureTek)
I also use an X-Jet though, I don't downstream. and 1 1/2 hours - 2 hours for a 2,500 sq. ft. house sounds about right with the right equipment and chemicals, afterall, if you get the right mix, its a matter of soaking the house, and just rinsing it off ;)
The problem is that I can't get something right with my downstreaming. It doesn't seem to be drawing much from the chemical tank, or far too much from the water tank. I don't have any idea what kind of ratio this SHOULD be mixing between the two tanks. Therefore i don't know what to mix to even put in the chemical tank. I've got to get this mess straightened out. The mix of 4 bleach to 1 water was hardly doing anything. Seriously, that mix felt more like 8 water to 1 bleach, it was pointless to use it. Must be getting too much water even with the chemical tip. Don't know if this has any effect, but the line from the water tank is about 1" inside, and the chemical about 3/8" inside. Maybe just some adjustments are needed. As I said, I just this rig on credit from my in-laws, i'm still fairly clueless.
I tried to attach some pics of how its all hooked up ,but its not working out right now. I'll try again later.
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Length times width times the number of stories.The way he said 'living space' kind of threw me off. Example: garage isn't actually living space, but i'm good now.
I was under the impression that I should actually measure the surface I would be cleaning. Take the length with a measring wheel, multiply the height, obviously the gable ends are bit different but it doesn't take a genius to figure it. Maybe this isn't the besy way to go, but on my own house and my in-laws' there was not much difference between the sq footagve of siding vs living space.
Nasty House!
in Residential Pressure Washing
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$99.99?
Surely you're kidding.