Mike Williamson

Why try it at all? All this to save a few bucks on soap? I'm too dang busy as it is without worrying about trying to copy someone's product that works. I mean, it isn't like citracleen costs $20.00/gallon or something. If some folks would spend 1/2 the time on marketing and selling as they spend on trying to save $1.00/housewash, they'd be busier than they can imagine. Now let me finish posting this so I can get back to trying to figure out the formula for Coca Cola...Bet I can save at least 50% on soda if I can just figure out what makes it taste that way. When I'm done, I'm going to go order all the parts I need to build my own appliances...bet I can save a few bucks on those too. :lgbonk:

I had similar experiences when using espec's d-Limonene based cleaner. I didn't like the soap for several reasons, and stopped using it. I found you DON'T pour this stuff straight into a bucket of 10.5%...had a full bucket boil over, and boil to the point where it was almost empty, right behind me. I haven't had anything like this using Steve's citracleen, even mixing with straight 10.5%.

Amen to that...except you just gotta look at the back side...The front may look easy, but the back may be heavy with mold and covered in pine straw with plants growing out of the gutters! You're right though, I can price a house, roof, or driveway in the time it takes to walk quickly around the entire house. 10 minutes tops, including talking to the homeowner and either closing the sale or getting the "let me talk to the wife" speech. :)

Florida is great! Year-round busy, prices aren't that bad, you can't beat the weather, even when it's 98 outside. Better yet, save the $50.00 and learn to eyeball a housewash and save all that time. There are only two things I take the time to measure. Decks, and very large areas of concrete. For residential, there's really no need to waste the time measuring, calculating, learning geometry or algebra, drawing grids, etc. Measuring the footprint of the house isn't an accurate way to calculate square footage for washing purposes. You want to measure the square footage of the surfaces you're washing (linear feet X height). That's if you're going to waste time measuring every house you wash. Why base your prices on the pricing of someone else? Once you learn how much time and materials a job should take, and once you know what you need per hour to make the money you need to make, estimating is easy. BTW, most homeowners haven't a clue about their roof, and really don't know what a "square" of shingles is.

YES!!!!! Though the statment is correct, I couldn't downstream roofs and get the same results as with the Xjet...but I don't Xjet roofs either anymore. If I remember correctly, he DIDN'T know what the hell he was talking about. :) It's all about having an open mind to trying new (or old) things. Someone whose opinion I trusted talked me into trying downstreaming, and I listened. Glad I did. I'm sure there are comments like the one you posted from me in more than one thread on all the boards.

A fairly large zero degree tip (size 30 or 40 works well, still gets the same distance as the Xjet) Not sure the brand. Got it from Mel at Vero Under Pressure Not sure the ratio, haven't tested it. Sufficient to clean as well as the Xjet.

The right downstreamer! Hey, the Xjet works, and works well. It's just that a good downstreamer does just as well in most residential applications...So why worry about mixing 5 gallon buckets of soap and chlorine and hassle with extra buckets and hoses when I can simply leave it all on the trailer and downstream? I'm very pleased with the results I'm getting. I still have my Xjet, and I'm sure I'll run into a situation now and then when I need a little extra kick in chem strength.

I just eyeball it, figure the amount I want for the time I figure it will take, and that's the price. Most houses I do are between 2000 and 3500 square feet, and prices range from $150.00 up to $300.00 for those houses. Most common roof cleaning price is $175.00.

Keep in mind that homeowners also do internet searches for information about pressure washing, and may very well read this type of stuff...Not all that professional to call a potential customer an old hag. Sounds like the "old hag" turned out to be a pretty good customer. Let's hope she's not one of those who goes looking for information on pressure washing on the internet. A lot of folks look at this industry as one that doesn't take much education or knowledge...I mean, how hard can it be to spray water? Rather than getting pissed at them for their assumptions, we should work to educate them on the amount of knowledge and equipment it takes to do the job correctly without damaging their property. Sounds like you were able to do that with this lady.

I'm using a 1.8gpm 100psi shurflo with 3/8" fittings/hose. My first pump was a POS 4.5gpm 60psi flojet that didn't deliver as much flow through 200' of hose as the 1.8 does. The 1.8 gives me as much flow as I need for a roof...more than I'm getting now and I get too much runoff. I can coat a 2500sf roof in 30 minutes or so, depending on how heavy the algae is.

Yeah, don't we all! I don't think we stop growing up, or needing to grow up in some areas, until they plant us in the ground. I certainly understand your feelings, and have felt the same way a time or two. There will always be the customers who like to talk, make promises, etc, but don't follow through. I just look at it like it isn't my job until I'm actually doing it. Up until I start spraying, the customer has every right to cancel, for whatever reason. Sometimes they find themselves having to spend money they didn't expect on a broken car, etc, or something personal comes up that they have to deal with, or sometimes it is buyer's remorse...they get to thinking of all the things they could do with that $300.00 or whatever. Until services are actually rendered, there's no guarantee. It can be pretty depressing sometimes to have a customer cancel (or in your case, promise but not follow through). Sometimes it one cancellation call can throw my whole day off. I just assumed that since you gave her a discount and mentioned she was a senior that she was living on a limited and fixed income. Sounds like you should have just charged her full price and let her be the one to call to schedule. That's how I handle it most of the time. I either give the customer a proposal in person or leave it at their house, and that's the end of it until they call me to schedule. If it is a particularly lucrative job, I may call them back to make sure they had no questions, etc, but most of the time I just don't have the time. If they call me, the job is usually a pretty sure thing. If I call them and bug them into scheduling, they stand a better chance of having buyer's remorse and cancelling later.

It sounds like you truly tried to do the best you could for her, and would have continued to do so had you gotten the job. Take satisfaction and pride in that, and don't let her decision bother you. She may very well have NOT given you the runaround...she may have fully planned to hire you, until she found someone in her church to help her out. And you really don't know if these "boys" know what they're doing or not. I've done a fair share of free work for folks in my church, and despite the fact that I'm 38, I'm still considered a "boy" by some of the seniors. Getting a friend or fellow church member to help you out with something they're more experienced in than you is common...I do it, both giving and receiving help. Just because I'm a pressure washer doesn't mean I don't know how to help someone put a roof on, or install a hot water heater, or build a deck, or fix their car. If I know how to do it, I'll help...if not, I'll simply say so and tell them that so and so is great at installing carpet or fixing an air conditioner. If I need help with something, there's usually someone to go to. That doesn't mean it isn't a paying job, but I'd rather give my money to a friend in the church than to a stranger across town. Who knows, this lady now knows who you are, and that you were considerate enough to give her a great price, and to check back with her more than once. She may hire you for something in the future, or give your name to someone else. You just never know. It just seems you are taking this a bit personally, and I'm sure it wasn't personal...she made a decision (whether good or bad) that was surely motivated by her limited financial options, and that's something we've all done.

I don't think this has anything to do with being in the bible belt...People are cheap and don't know any better all over the country. You're assuming that she planned to have these kids do it from the start, which raises the question, why waste your time? Yes, we Christians are supposed to be a representation of the church, conduct ourselves in a righteous manner, etc...but often we don't. It isn't as if at the point of salvation we become perfect people who always do the right thing. We're still the same fallen, imperfect people. Salvation isn't an instant transformation from fallen sinful people to perfect sinless people, it is a lifelong journey that hopefully includes progress towards that goal. As far as evangelists (or preachers in general), the flashy gold encrusted fools you see on TV aren't really a good representation of the ministry as a whole. Most are simply trying to fulfill the calling they feel in their life and conduct their lives according to the scriptures, not according to TV ratings. Just as with lowballers and weekend hacks, a few jerks give the whole "industry" a black eye.

Shurflo and 200' of 3/8" polybraided hose to apply chlorine for roofs (or any other large area...did a 10k square foot asphalt driveway that had algae and moss all over it.) I use a SS downstreamer for housewashing, and get results that are just as good as the Xjet in both cleaning quality and speed. No need to drag buckets, and no need to worry about a 2nd hose from the pump to the Xjet. Just swap tips, soap, swap tips, rinse.

I have had two die early in the past couple months...the first one because I was cycling it on and off all day (using a small tip) and got overheated. It was maybe 6 months old....the other I only used on 3 or 4 jobs and it just quit. That one I'll be returning to the supplier I purchased it from.

Debone? Don't bother....just roast the whole thing over a fire pit and eat it right off the bone. Bone-in meat always tastes better.

I've killed two moccasins in the past week within 5 feet of the house. With all the rain this year, the lake is just about up in the yard, and the snakes are a lot more active...haven't seen any in about 5 years, up until this week. I agree, leave them alone if possible, but with two dogs and a cat sharing that part of the yard, I had to opt for safety.

If you can get it to me, I can get it to Hugh. mike@northfloridapressurewashing.com

I'm sure some know where that came from, but it's a shame you have to ask. What are the schools teaching???

That's always an option, though it would take a HUGE uprising to accomplish anything. Let's hope it never comes to that.

It is the fact that this nation has more liberty and freedom than most that we CAN sit here moaning and groaning about the things that ARE wrong with our nation. If we all take the position you seem to have, nothing will ever change...In fact, things will likely get worse, since public apathy opens the floodgates for opportunists to take advantage. Of course I'd not want to live anywhere else, but that doesn't mean that I'm happy with every aspect of our nation, with every action of our government, or every infringement of my constitutional rights. Just because someone comments about something they don't like doesn't mean they're saying this is a crappy country, or a lousy place to live. It means they don't like some particular aspect of this country. That's how change happens.

Stupid, maybe, but the point is, it should be his CHOICE to sell or not sell. Who's to say the property won't be worth 50 times market value in 10 years...who is Walmart to take away this guy's potential to make even more money down the road? The government just should not be allowed to step in and take one person's private property and give it to another person (or corporation) simply for the reason of increased tax revenues. If the county needs more tax, raise the tax rate. That farmer should have the choice to sit there hating the city that has built up around him, or to sell and go enjoy life elsewhere. You don't have to understand his point of view to see that FORCING someone to give up their property to benefit others is wrong (keeping in mind that this is supposed to be a free capitalist nation, not a socialist nation). Maybe that farmer was born in that house....Whatever his reasons for desiring to keep his property, I don't feel I have the right to take it from him to benefit myself. Again, you're using a situation where you have the CHOICE to give up your equipment for fair market value (of course, someone else is determining that for you) to benefit others. How about if the police simply show up, have your rig towed away, and write you a check for whatever they think it's worth, without asking your permission? You may be generous enough to live with that, but can you honestly say that's right? I'd be willing to be that quite a few small business owners who would have been in direct competition with Walmart breathed a sigh of relief when Walmart moved 20 miles down the road.

I know I'm the last one who should be saying this, but do we really need personal insults?

Fred Meyer is basically an upscale version of a super walmart...groceries, household goods, clothes, etc etc etc. Very nice stores. They're all over the west coast, but apparently not so much in Southern CA. They're affiliated with Kroger I think Beth was referring to Jon Fife.

I have yet to see anyone post evidence that WalMart has been unfair. They may have some pretty aggressive business practices, and their cost cutting surely harms other smaller competitors, but that's not unfair, that's just business. If I move into your area and offer customers the same job you're doing for less, that's not unfair, that's simply me competing in the marketplace. Whether Walmart will have long term detrimental effects on our economy remains to be seen. Either way, they're simply doing what we are all trying to do, grow their company and increase their profits. No one is forced to do business with Walmart, no one is forced to work at Walmart, and no one is forced to shop at Walmart. I can just as easily shop at Target or Kmart or Fred Meyer (wish we had them out here) or any of a number of other stores here in town. Sometimes I do. I don't like Walmart, but for different reasons. The two stores here are usually dirty, overcrowded with welfare recipients dragging their 6 screaming kids behind them, and noisy. Much nicer to shop at Kmart...I often feel like I have the whole store to myself. Am I saying Walmart has never done anything unfair to a vendor, employee, or customer? Of course not...But for the most part, it appears to me to be a pretty fair and clean-nosed company.