Mike Williamson

Quick read. LOL Just kidding. :lgbounces

Isn't the point to using the Xjet the ability to draw MORE chems than downstreaming?

Me too! Well, I love MY downstreamer. I don't have any real emotions about your downstreamer! I don't think I could ever go back to lugging buckets around the house, mixing 2 or more buckets of wash mix, having to setup, cleanup, and put away one more piece of equipment, and deal with one more hose to tangle up in the junipers or other landscaping! I pull my pressure hose, fire up the machine, open the ball valve on the chem tank, stick a soap tip in, wet the house while the chems are drawing, and soap it down! I've got one side of the house soaped and probably rinsed before most Xjetters are set up and starting to wash.

Yes, great job, Barry!! I agree, the Xjet isn't useless, it has it's place, that place just isn't typical housewashing. I use it on screen enclosures that are particularly bad, since downstreaming just doesn't seem to do the trick in those cases. Thus far, downstreaming has done the trick for everything else I've run into. I can't downstream with more than 200' of hose on the 5.6gpm machine, but Mel has told me he downstreams 300' all the time with his 10gpm machine. I was able to downstream 250' with the 8gpm machine, but I had to use a larger tip than the black soap tip to get any draw.

Same way I applied the Zap when I used that...with a pump up. I mix it about 50/50 with water, spray it on, and then rinse it off with about 1000psi. Sometimes I need to respray a few areas, but I RARELY need to brush. One thing I have found though, with Shock AND with Zap, is that it WILL take the paint off of some aluminum fascia wraps very easily...the paint isn't baked on in many cases as it is with gutters, so it naturally comes off much easier. I've had it come off with just spraying the cleaner on and rinsing almost immediately. I've gotten to the point where I'm very hesitant to use it on anything but gutters, which is a problem here, since so many houses don't have gutters, or have gutters only in the traffic areas in the front and back of the house.

How small is your machine? I run 200' of hose, and it doesn't take more than 10 seconds for chem to get to the gun, or to clear the hose of chem, and that's with 5.5gpm. With the 8gpm machine, it takes even less time. I think I used to spend a LOT more that that dragging that cursed bucked around! With a 4gpm machine and 125' of hose, it would take about 8-10 seconds. Figure 4 sides of the house, that's maybe 2 minutes wasted waiting for chems to draw or clear.

Gutter Shock from Steve Rowlett beats Zap hands down...much less brushing, and I've not had the problem with damaging bare aluminum like I did with Zap.

At $1.10/liter, my truck would take $142.00 to fill! At $0.90/liter, it would be $128.00. Ugh!!

It looks like the same type of thing as gutter streaking, and if so, you'll need a product like Gutter Shock to get it clean.

Pictures of what you're trying to clean would definitely help. I don't know what kind of black dirt you're dealing with, but here, we have algae, dirt, and various insect webs/cocoons/nests. A mix of pool chlorine and a good housewash soap (citracleen or similar) always has done the trick here. I don't think I've ever had to scrub anything, with the exception of gutter streaks. 20 mintutes for a trailer is definitely hustling, if it includes setting up and putting away, but I could definitely was a singlewide vinyl trailer that fast without pushing it very hard, not counting setup and putting away. What chems are you using now, how are you applying, and what machine are you using?

This was part of my monthly Neal Boortz newsletter, and I thought some of you might find it as funny as I did... Anger Management When you occasionally have a really bad day, and you just need to take it out on someone, don't take it out on someone you know, take it out on someone you don't know. I was sitting at my desk when I remembered a phone call I'd forgotten to make. I found the number and dialed it. A man answered, saying "Hello." I politely said, "This is Chris. Could I please speak with Robyn Carter?" Suddenly a manic voice yelled out in my ear "Get the right ****ing number!" and the phone was slammed down on me. I couldn't believe that anyone could be so rude. When I tracked down Robyn's correct number to call her, I found that I had accidentally transposed the last two digits. After hanging up with her, I decided to call the 'wrong' number again. When the same guy answered the phone, I yelled "You're an ***hole!" and hung up. I wrote his number down with the word '***hole' next to it, and put it in my desk drawer. Every couple of weeks, when I was paying bills or had a really bad day, I'd call him up and yell, "You're an ***hole!" It always cheered me up. When Caller ID was introduced, I thought my therapeutic '***hole' calling would have to stop. So, I called his number and said, "Hi, this is John Smith from the telephone company. I'm calling to see if you're familiar with our Caller ID Program?" He yelled "NO!" and slammed down the phone. I quickly called him back and said, "That's because you're an ***hole!" and hung up. One day I was at the store, getting ready to pull into a parking Spot. Some guy in a black BMW cut me off and pulled into the spot I had patiently waited for. I hit the horn and yelled that I'd been waiting for that spot, but the idiot ignored me. I noticed a "For Sale" sign in his back window, so I wrote down his number. A couple of days later, right after calling the first ***hole (I had his number on speed dial,) I thought that I'd better call the BMW ***hole, too. I said, "Is this the man with the black BMW for sale?" He said, "Yes, it is." I asked, "Can you tell me where I can see it?" He said, "Yes, I live at 34 Oaktree Blvd, in Fairfax. It's a yellow rambler, and the car's parked right out in front." I asked, "What's your name?" He said, "My name is Don Hansen," I asked, "When's a good time to catch you, Don?" He said, "I'm home every evening after five." I said, "Listen, Don, can I tell you something?" He said, "Yes?" I said, "Don, you're an ***hole!" Then I hung up, and added his number to my speed dial, too. Now, when I had a problem, I had two ***holes to call. Then I came up with an idea. I called ***hole #1. He said, "Hello." I said, "You're an ***hole!" (But I didn't hang up.) He asked, "Are you still there?" I said, "Yeah," He screamed, "Stop calling me," I said, "Make me," He asked, "Who are you?" I said, "My name is Don Hansen." He said, "Yeah? Where do you live?" I said, "***hole, I live at 34 Oaktree Blvd, in Fairfax, a yellow rambler, I have a black Beamer parked in front." He said, "I'm coming over right now, Don. And you had better start saying your prayers." I said, "Yeah, like I'm really scared, ***hole," and hung up. Then I called ***hole #2. He said, "Hello?" I said, "Hello, ***hole," He yelled, "If I ever find out who you are..." I said, "You'll what?" He exclaimed, "I'll kick your ***," I answered, "Well, ***hole, here's your chance. I'm coming over right now." Then I hung up and immediately called the police, saying that I lived at 34 Oaktree Blvd, in Fairfax, and that I was on my way over there to kill my gay lover. Then I called Channel 9 News about the gang war going down in Oaktree Blvd. in Fairfax. I quickly got into my car and headed over to Fairfax. I got there just in time to watch two ***holes beating the crap out of each other in front of six cop cars, an overhead news helicopter and surrounded by a news crew. NOW I feel much better. Anger management really does work.

Richie Rich is, umm, rich, and doesn't work for anyone!!!

Lowballer.... :eek: LOL!!!

Yes, I'd like to know the answer to that one too. Don't assume that just because some of us disagree with leftist fascist ideas it means that we're Republicans!! They should have called it a tax rebate like they did a couple years ago. Then the poor don't qualify. Supply and demand. High demand, higher prices. I bet you use a heck of a lot more gas than the former oil exec up the road. You're more to blame for these prices than most of the people you know!! Probably! I'm getting a locking gas cap. :)

Go to your user settings and change your password. Do you use the same password on other boards? Sounds like someone is playing games at your expense!

Whoah, dude, calm down! This is a family friendly board!

No, that's the length of time it took to play the one game that netted that high score.

Are you serious?

http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/26/news/economy/oil_profits/index.htm NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Big Oil defended its record profits Wednesday, saying they weren't that out of line with other industries, and that recent consolidation in the sector was essential for the U.S. to remain competitive in the global oil business. "Seven of the 10 largest oil companies in the world are owned by foreign governments," said Red Caveney, president of the American Petroleum Institute, according to a statement from a press conference. "Earnings and reinvestment numbers may seem big to you, but in an industry that must make multi-billion dollar investment decisions annually to remain competitive, they absolutely are necessary." The statement was a clear bid to head off antitrust concerns voiced recently by several members of Congress. There is currently a bill moving through the Senate that would limit future oil company mergers, and some Senators have publicly called for the break-up of some companies. Caveney also said oil prices have risen in line with other commodities. He responded to calls for the oil industry to invest more in production and renewable energy efforts by saying the oil industry had invested $100 billion in "emerging energy technologies" over the last five years, while all other industries and the federal government combined have invested just $35 billion. Caveney said the real cause of high energy prices, and what policy makers should focus on, were barriers to more oil exploration in the U.S., too little focus on conservation, as well as rising geopolitical tension and rising worldwide demand. "Over the past several decades, our nation has chosen a menu of public policy decisions that has resulted in decreased domestic energy production and done little to promote energy conservation and efficiency," he said. "If we all do not understand the factors that determine energy prices, we are never going to get the policy right." The oil industry has come under fire recently as its profits, following the price of crude, have soared. Exxon Mobil, the country's largest oil firm, reported annual earnings last year of $36.1 billion, or $1,146 a second, a record for any U.S. corporation. Exxon is due to report its first quarter earnings Thursday. Oil prices have risen 6 percent since the company last reported Jan. 30. In addition to talk of breaking up the oil companies, some lawmakers have called for a "windfall profits" tax and for the United States to sue OPEC for price collusion. But many observers say these calls will do little to bring down the price of oil and gas, which is driven mostly by rising demand that is not being matched by an increase in supply and speculative buying by investment funds.

God aren't employees great??!!

Excellent choice!!

Nope, I don't think that. It isn't. Gutter Shock works better. Zap requires brushing a lot more often than Shock.

Once you use the surface cleaner you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. You certainly don't want to try to clean 73 driveways without it! I could live with $40.00/each.

What do you think you're missing? From what Jason said in his first post, apparently townhomes around his neck of the woods are 2700 sq ft. rather than 1600 sq ft. By townhomes, I assume they're attached units. Depending on how many units are in one building, and whether they're 1 or 2 story, I would likely be willing to wash 73 units for $7300.00. I wouldn't be willing to do the buildings AND the flatwork for anywhere close to that price!

Ditto on passing. Those are pretty decent sized driveways. I'd be charging between $50.00 and $75.00 per driveway, which includes a volume discount. As far as a surface cleaner, you get what you pay for. I've heard good and bad about the GP surface cleaners. If it were me, I'd spend the money and go with a quality brand like Whisper Wash (my favorite) or Steel Eagle.