Mike Williamson

rfitz: How do those gloves do in protecting your hands from heat from the hoses/fittings?

Yeah, I'd love to see it. Send it to oneness@gator.net Thanks!

I guess I'm lucky to be in Florida! We have very very few roofs with pitches that can't be walked without safety equipment, I assume due to the fact that snow building up on the roof is not a concern. Another plus to this is that you get a heavy buildup up leaves and pinestraw on the roofs, giving a bigger incentive to homeowners to have it removed!

Like I said, I was not trying to be critical, and I certainly wasn't calling to question his knowledge or experience. I've learned a lot from reading his posts. And Tony, you're correct, we all know what he's referring to...because we're familliar with the product. I was, as I mentioned, referring to someone new to all this. My apologies to all for being so critical.

ronp: I'm not trying to be critical, but there's no such thing as Limonlene. It is d-Limonene. While most of us know what you're referring to, someone unfamilliar with what you're referring to wouldn't.

It also depends on how the image is saved...If I add text to an image and then save it as a JPEG, then there's no way to simply remove what I've added. It can be done with a lot of detail work, but it isn't all that simple.

Jon: What do you use gloves for? To keep from being burned by your hose fittings, etc? I don't run hot water much, but I do have a couple fading scars on my wrists from the first time I ran hot water and kept bumping the hose fittings, in the same spot on each wrist every time.

You left out the most important shopping site! www.ebay.com !!! If you know someone who really likes candles, check out www.illume.com . They are pricey, but they are awesome candles. You can buy a 2x3 sampler pack with 5 candles for $36.00...It may seem like a lot for 5 candles, but they are very strongly scented, and burn fairly slowly. My wife loves them. If you spend over $100.00, there's free shipping.

RAJD: You're absolutely correct...Not having to look at things from an owner's perspective before this year, I was looking at it from an employee's perspective. I wasn't thinking of all the other vehicle related expenses, which would obviously outweigh the benefits of claiming mileage alone. Thanks for pointing that out!

Post it here!

I understand about needing to go with a custom made shape/size. I'd like to go with twin verticle tanks that would sit against the side walls of the trailer and free up the room in the middle of the trailer, but they're so dang expensive! Rob: What's that tank going to cost you, and how big is it?

An aluminum tank??? Is there a reason for that?

For those of you who are in Florida, who are not incorporated, and who have a Worker's Comp exemption, you'll have to do one of two things by January 1st...either incorporate or obtain Worker's Comp insurance. I'm incorporating.

RAJD: Have you checked your figures both ways? If I drive 100 miles each day, that's 500 miles a week. That's $182.50 in deductable mileage expenses. Now, if my vehicle gets 10 mpg, that's 50 gallons of gas, plus another 30 gallons for the washer if I'm running all day, all week. That's 80 gallons of gas at $1.60, or $128.00 in gas. If you're burning deisel all week too, that's another 30 gallons at $1.50, or $45.00, for a total deduction of $173.00. Now, if your vehicle gets better gpm, or if you drive further each day, or if you don't use that much gas or deisel in your washer, you're coming out even further ahead. The only way I can see that claiming fuel over mileage would be a benefit would be if you were running multiple machines and not driving very far, or if you were running an older box truck and only getting 5gpm....

Talk to Pete, Chris, or Tracy at Sunbrite....I know they have a good bit of experience doing docks on some lakes in their area...If they can't help, I'm sure they can point you in the right direction. That is, if no one here has any suggestions.

Neither are chemicals, but rather types of chemicals. Not sure what you're meaning when you say "thickener", unless you mean a foamer type chemical to cause your wash mix to "stick" better? there are many types of Emulsifiers available from many suppliers. Beth may sell one, and if so, you can be assured it is a quality product. Another I've heard about but never used is Emulsifier Plus from envirospec. As far as how to apply chemicals, what types to use for what, etc, I'd spend a couple nights reading this board. Do a search for various terms. There is a wealth of information here about chemicals, applications, etc.

I imagine it would be possible, but not recommended...You're way too low for that..you need 18-20hp... IF the engine could turn the pump fast enough to put out that much gpm at 3000 psi, I would think it would be way overworked. I have my doubts it would even do the job, you would possibly wind up back where you started, with a lower gpm and psi than you're shooting for.

Actually, I will be adding a coffee pot to the trailer soon...It is one that is designed for boats, so it sits on gimbles, with a steel percolator pot that is secured over a propane bottle/burner. Works great!

The water in your tank won't get any hotter because of humidity. I have a hard time believing the water in your tank gets to 150 degrees unless you keep the van shut up in the sun all day, and even then I doubt it gets that hot inside....Hell, I'm in Florida and I doubt you get much hotter or more humid than we do, and I've never had the water in my tank even approach warm, let alone 150 degrees. That 180 degree threshhold you mentioned where chemicals somehow stop working, is that for all chemicals?

Dang...do you have to be a resident to qualify for the lottery? :)))

Mike: How about uploading the correct pic so we can see the results! ronp: Be nice...His site doesn't suck, and is better than many I've seen. Constructive criticism doesn't include the word "sucks". :)

My understanding is that hot water is not good on unpainted wood. I don't see why it would be a problem on painted wood such as siding. Personally, I don't use hot water a whole lot, but that's not because I don't know it cleans faster, but because most of the time it's too damn hot and humid here already....I don't want to spend 10 hours a day in a sauna. That being said, I sure am glad I have hot water when I run into some nasty concrete or gum! As far as housewashing, I don't see a difference, but I have never tried applying chems with hot water, either. I'll have to try that.

I have had a similar reaction when mixing a d-Limonene product with chlorine, though I've never had it blow like that. However, it was mixed in an open bucket. I got in a hurry and poured the chlorine into the bucket first (1 gallon), then the citrus cleaner (1 gallon), rather than water, citrus cleaner, then chlorine. I turned around to grab a bucket of soap mix to add to the mix and heard a whooshing sound. When I turned back around, the bucket was boiling over. When it stopped, there was about 1/2 a gallon of mix left in the bucket. I can imagine what it would have done if I'd had it capped. Even when mixing the citrus cleaner last, after diluting the chlorine with water, there's a reaction that produces heat. Learned my lesson that day! Just lucky it didn't boil over down the back of my legs.

Did you check with the owners of any pictures you recognized to see if they gave permission before you posted this here, or elsewhere???

I agree with Melissa...IF you know what you're doing, and IF you can get results you're happy with by mixing your own chems, then there's no problem. However, if you are messing with stuff you don't understand in order to save a few bucks, you're not so smart. As far as the idea that if you're mixing your own, you're not spending enough time on your business is crazy. Once you know what you need to mix to get the results you want, it is simply a matter of obtaining the raw materials, and once you get them mixing them. It isn't like we're talking about spending hours each week mixing your chems. I make my own deck wash, and I'm happy with it. I don't make my own brightener, since I'm not happy with the results I got when I did. The mix formula I use for cleaner I got from the Chemistry Store's website. You CAN save some money doing it yourself, but you're certainly not going to get rich. By the way, it is percarb (Sodium Percarbonate), not pre-carb.