CLASSICPW

I charge .80 sq ft wash, $1.25 sq ft strip, .40 sq ft clear, .60 sq ft semi and $1 sq ft solid, But I price every single job different. Every single deck is different, there are so many factors such as a previous clear applied to an easy prep wash for an application of a solid. I try to feel out the customer, get into their demographic. Using these techniques with my sales background II'd have to say I get 60% of my estimates and I never lowball. I explain every single step I take to the customer and provide a color chart with every estimate.

Here in Maryland you need an MHIC license to do the staining and sealing part. The public in general is not educated at all on pressure cleaning. Most of my customers have rented a PW machine, or own one, tried it themselves and then called me. My neighbor 2 doors down knows that I own a pressure washing business. One day I look outside and some clowns in a 1978 poop brown window van are pressure washing her house and deck with a tiny little machine. When they were done the siding had so many battle scars(aluminum) and the deck was full of cuts and still green!! I laughed right in her face.

I washed a house the other day in about 35 degrees and the mix was freezing up on the house. I don't have hot water yet but I thought, could you add windsheild washer fluid to the mix? It apparently lasts down to -20 degrees, but the ingredient is methyl alcohol.

That's very similar to my invention. A device that screws on the supply hose to the customers house easily. I'm trying to figure out a hanheld device that can screw on the hose to the faucet. Possibly battery powered. Is ther something out there like that?

What happens if you forget to winterize one of your washers before the first freeze and you still haven't winterized it. It wasn't used for about a month before the freeze. Since it was in storage I kind of forgot about it.

I agree with John. I target Real estate agents and this time of year I just wash the deck and house for sale then target the new owners for the stain.

Hold on, you guys are in North Carolina. How often does it freeze there?

As long as I've been reading this website I've seen so many members mention the fact that they are PWNA members. I myself looked into becoming one. My only issue with membership is the fact that 99.9% of my customers have never heard of it. I understand the cool benefits of being a member, but my business is still in the beginning stages so for me it's not cost effective. The organization is great, but as far as the whole reputable thing...........who's going to know?

Jarrod, you must not have a single house in your area with aluminum siding considering you strip every job.:lgbow: :lgbow: I wish that were true around me. I would pump on a percarb cleaner on a fence that gray with some healthy dwell and low pressure. I did a fence this summer that was made of non pressure treated wood, there was so much pulp on the ground that you couldn't see the grass. I talked him into a solid.

I'm a huge x-jet fan. Hey Rod, what's your bucket lugging idea. I'm working on strapping one of those rectangle chem tubs to a dolly. Right now I devised a 5 gal bucket with a hole drilled near the top. There is a ball valve attached to the hole with a tube entering the bucket and a 8 ft tube coming out. I HATE WHEN I TURN MY BACK AND THE MIX SIPHONS OUT!

I've had similar problems from handymen, painters etc.., but I've never been overbid it's always under. My response is "listen, this is what I do for a living , I do it day in day out and I only use the best products. Would you ask a carpenter to fix your toilet? Would you ask a plumber to replace your roof? This is my expertise and I treat your home like it is my own, so Monday the 13th is my next availabe date, please sign here.

I bought the one from Sunbright this year and used it twice(I think). It came in very handy x jetting a 3 story home. I initially bought it for the outsides of 2 story decks, but it was so heavy and cumbersome that I just dropped it and got my 9ft A-frame. I usually hang over the sides, but that kills my back.

I got mine in Walmart's fishing dept for $50 and I love it. It's lasted 2 yrs so far. I've seen the good stuff at ****'s sporting goods, but I wont pay the price.

Good point. Don't buy any chems or stains/sealers from any Home Depot or Lowes, it's all junk. I buy chems from sunbritesupply.com. As far as your stains/sealers there are various opinions, read the wood forums for that info.

Hey Don, I'm in the market for a hot water skid in the spring. What's your website? Or give me a call 410-952-7240

Nobody mentioned rinsing with citralic. What's up?

Wish that were me. I'll wash a house in a subdivision where every house is green and filthy and the neighbors completely ignore me. Now that I think about it, the people that i live around are all total dirtballs and must love being dirty. It is Baltimore!

That's cool that you brought up my post from 2 years ago. It shows your doing your research...good for you. I run an extension cord from my house to my pump and use a houshold heating pad, like the kind for your back. I was using the winterizer can stuff, but at $7.50 a can it got expensive.

I'm probably a small company compared to most of you guys, but I still get about 3-4 jobs a year that dont pay me on time. I wait until about the end of my season in November and send collection letters. Every time I get checks the follwing week, and it's a sweet bonus when work is slowing down. I haven't been burned yet. Knock on PT lumber.

I just finished my 3 season in business and that machine is all that I've used, I'm just now planning on upgrading to a hot water skid for this spring. I've replaced the pump once, with a 4000 psi unit, and the recoil assemply 3 times, but besides that the unit was a beast for the money. I did the same thing you did with the HD credit card since I started with zero capital. I used ramps to get it on and off the truck. The gun that they give you is junk, but the hose is no different than the rest. Buy an extra 50 ft, an xjet, and a 24ft ladder. I just bought an extension wand this year and probably only used it once, I actually built a 6ft wand that works great on 2nd story decks. The one thing I did was research heavily for a year before I started the business. I read books, the internet and asked tons of questions, and I still learn something new everyday.

Not sure where to post this, but I'm going to get into driveway sealcoating and applying epoxy garage floors. Any info would be helpful. I've got all winter to research the technique.

I’ve been noticing that a lot of my customers are scared of the high pressure method of washing their siding. It seems that I have to constantly sell my low pressure (x-jet) method of soaking their house in chemicals then rinsing. It seems that the general public sees pressure cleaning as dangerous and risky. I’ve heard things like “ will it blow off my siding?’ or “will you shoot water behind the siding causing damage?” I always have to explain that the high pressure, fan tip, no soap method is outdated. Was there an issue with this years ago that I don’t know about like a 60 minutes or a huge news article bashing pressure cleaning? I’ll be in a neighbor hood on a weekend when everybody is outside doing their thing and not have one person walk up or call and every one of their houses are filthy with at least one side green and moldy. I’ve pumped out three different ads, from direct mail to magazines to homes that are full of mold and never get a call. I still have a lot of work, but for the amount of advertising and the level of filth in my area I should have more than triple the business. We need, as the pressure cleaning community, to do something to reassure the public that washing your house is not dangerous and only benefits them, like a got milk commercial or the things that the beef industry do.

I have no problem selling my work, it's my strongest area. My whole point to this thread is about the public's fear of pressure washing. I've been seeing it more and more and it worries me. It also makes me wonder where they are hearing it and how we can dispel the myths. thanks for the siding insight Rod.

I'm puttin together a material list for a project work truck that I'm building this winter( a hotrod worktruck);) Anyway I want to fabricate a winch to my high pressure hose. Has anyone done this? If so how much torque do you nee for 300 ft?

I remember awhile back I saw a product called the RC ranger which was basically a remote start for an electric start assembly. I cannot find it anywhere, but I was wondering couldn't you just use a remote start that they sell for cars? I would also like to replace my pull start on my 13hp Honda with an electric. This I also couldn't find. I googled both till my fingers bled.