Pat Norman

Dawn is one of the better substitutes. It probably has the best base to help "cling" of all the common soaps you mentioned.

+1 that is a good valve, Pressure Tek has 'em.

This was 1200 sf+ deck at a lakeside cabin I stripped the deck for sealing later and cleaned the brick patio today. Whew i'm tired! I sprayed the deck with F18max applied straight with my Bobcat at 2 oz per gallon,used about 15 gallons. Stripped with my dual lance and 45* tip. Neutralized with F8 at 9 oz gallon further diluted by my downstreamer. I did not realize until I started stripping that the portion of the deck starting about the picnic table was a new addition and thus newer wood. Could have never told beforehand! I hope the older wood continues to brighten for a while.

Exactly! I tried to stay on the cleaned part mostly but nearly busted my &$$ on numerous occasions. I ain't the most graceful creature anyway and a little slippery surface can really make a fool of me!

One thing I figured out today is I need an open gun for deck work. Man it is rough on the ole hand grip! I have a ball valve at end of my hose so open gun should be no real problem.

and the patio....

Woodies, do any of ya'll use hot water in your stripping process? Any advantages or disadvantages? Thanks!

I got REALLLLY lucky and did not not have a mishap but ya'll need to check your trailer hitch hardware regularly! Today i noticed a little "slack" in my hitch while I was driving, starting and stopping etc and first paid it no attention as I do had a little play in my hitch receiver. When I got home and started unhitching the trailer I was shocked at what I saw. The nut that holds the ball on the tongue was GONE!!! Incredibly I have a lot of weight on my trailer tongue and fortunately nothing bad happened. I know a few months ago I checked it and it was tight as a tick with a lock nut. Last time I swapped balls I used "neverseize" and I guess it made it too easy too vibrate loose or someone was messing with me. Moral is ,,,check your hitch often!!! Everything is double heavy safety chained, but I still couldn't imagine if it came loose!

You still need the SH with the soap.

I'm not a woody virgin any more! Did my first deck (pressure treated pine) today using Bob's chemicals and guidance (THANKS BOB!!!) Used F18 straight at 2 oz per gallon sprayed with my Bobcat and Bob's neutralizer / Brightener downstreamed at 9 oz per gallon in my bucket. After spraying the F18max and a 15 minute dwell I used my dual lance and 25* nozzle cutting my pressure way down with the dual lance to wash the old weathering out and then the brightener. This really surprised me. The deck was really rough and I thought it wouldn't come out this good. Only a few splinters and a small area furred. Minimal (maybe 10 minutes work) hand sanding will be all that's needed. Only one railing really needs replaced before I come back and seal it, that board was fairly rotten and had a wild vine growing on it at one time the home owner said. Plan on using ReadySeal to seal it. What ya think?

Do the Dickies not bleach out?

Did not see an answer about the 13 hp pulling a 6GPM pump. I think your going to need a 20hp engine for that size pump as well as a float (water storage) tank as mentioned. Spend the money and get the Honda engine.

Like Celeste says down-streaming is sooo much easier and cheaper to setup. The X-Jet has it's place for very strong mixture concentrations but for 95% of house-washing the down-streamer is the way to go! Oh the X-Jet will pull chems 50' feet of hose.

Borax is not as toxic to pets and people as you think. Look at its uses for peopel and pets at EarthClinic.com . It can actually be given dogs as a treatment in their water for fleas and parasites. Also as a pet shampoo you leave on to dry for mange and flea tick control. It does work great for repeling and killing red wasps, Put a cup borax and some dawn in a pump up and spray around where wasps enter cracks in siding etc...they won't come near it again.

Have not had a chance to try it yet, but have read on these forums before that Safe Restore is supposed to work wonders.

Hey Guys, Been lurking here a while and not sure I introduced my self yet. I am just getting ready to get my boots wet and start my own business, Roof Washing, House washing, Flatwork and Deck & Fence Restoration. My equipment is coming in now and hope to be spraying water by middle of NovemBRR! I have been working with a friend all Summer doing commercial washing and really enjoyed the outdoor experience vs being under a desk!