PressurePros

6.5% margin isn't going to set the world on fire but when you are talking about billions of dollars in gross sales, it's rather healthy. My family's retail beer distributor works on about ten percent net margin and it's a healthy per annum dollar. Restrictions won't work. Tax decreases aren't going to happen. Everyone isn't going to trash their Hummers and SUV's and enviromental restrictions aren't going to less in the long run. It's really left to the individual. I do check tire pressure more often, accelerate more smoothly and maintain 65 mph or under. I'm a horsepower freak so the idea of a hybrid car I'd have to push up a steep hill is not yet in the cards but I am trying to come around. What I don't understand is when a barrel of crude goes up $.95 pump prices rise by $.15/gallon. Based on margin and yielding 20 gallons of refined gas from a barrell it should be about a nickel. I guess panic is a valid economic variable to supply and demand.

Sodium percarbonate is a slow mold killer. If it was heavy, you probably neded much moe dwell time. THe simplest solution is to go back and apply a 4% bleach solution and rinse it with a garden hose. (not what I advocate but it's what you will hear)

After going through a couple of K7's (professionally matched and installed on machine as I don't know what the hell I am doing) I stopped using them. What causes them to fail? Tennis Elbow, watch rolling your hoses onto reel. That motion aggravates it. I don't setup or breakdown anymore, that was what caused most of my problems.. dragging hose etc.

It's going to be like a broken a record, but.. PASS. With a 20" cleaner, no flatwork experience, and no crew, you will be lucky to get them done in 60 hours. You factor in gas, pro rata insurance and wear and tear you will net a mediocre surface cleaner and twelve bucks an hour. Driveways that size with commercial volume discount should be at least $100 apiece and he is gettin that for the whole job?? The hiring contractor is a knucklehead. Either that or he is pulling your leg in hopes of getting you to lowball yourself right out of business.

LOL...I had to read it five times but I finally got it. I don't know if that's a good thing. I am finally starting to decipher Jim Speak..scary.

It's extremely green. I am off to do a deck today that has a small addition built onto it. I treated it with heavy duty stripper and a ton of acid when I cleaned it so I hope there is a little better balance.

I like Shane's colors (Baker's Gray Away) the best. Just ordered my first batch of product today. I custom tint Wood Tux Wet for customers but for some really discerning people, the finish of the WTW is just not happening.

Michael, are all your ducks lined up? Do you have a sound business plan (meaning, is it written?..if it is not written down it is a fantasy list of hopes and dreams, not a real business plan) -Do you have liquifiable assets that can compensate for lost income? -Do you have money to sustain advertising and pay the bills while you are slow or when the inevitable 42 day in a row rainy streak hits? -Do you have all proper insurance and licensing in place as well as disability insurance that will cover you in the event you get injured? Your first full year in business you are likely to net about half of what you are currently making (unless you have every single piece of equipment you will need for every single job and that equipment is all new) Can all your bills still get paid if you make half salary? If you can answer all of these questions positively, then there is no reason to drag your feet. The number one reason by far for business failure is undercapitalization. The last thing you want is for a few minor pitfalls (and they will happen) to start having you borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and your wife's confidence will fall through the floor. Don't dissillusion her, be honest. Owning a business is not for everyone. It takes support from a spouse and the first couple of years are lean but by the third year things start to explode. If she is willing to sacrifice a bit at first for the good of long term financial independance, you both will be well rewarded. Best of luck to you.

Anthony, you can dba under different names under a corporate umbrella. HS Commercial Cleaning A Division of Hot Shot Services, Inc

There needs to be water present so 100% is not possible. I did not open the picture. Upon initial glance it appeared a powder. Seventeen percent is the low end of a concentrate though it is still capapble of causing intense tissue damage, irriversible upper respiratory damage and almost instanteous blindness. Read up on proper PPE, application technique and further safety precautions. No one in my crew handles strong acids but me.

I love that label.. Enviromentally friendly and the strongest caution is "Irritant"

I have never seen powdered hydochloric acid. This is definitely not HD-80. That is some wicked stuff in that bag. Most guys on this board do not use it preferring weaker acids for masonry cleaning. Be careful with that. HD-80 is a caustic stripper (higher pH balance) consisting of sodium hydroxide and some other detergents. It is more in line with lye or oven cleaner. Caustic stripping is followed by an acid as a pH balancing/neutralizing/brightening agent. Acids used for wood care are generally oxalic or citric. The same company that makes HD-80 sells a blend of these two acids marketed under the brand name Citrallic.

Start with the simplest. Double check your fuel level.

Mike, I prefer Cabot's solid decking stains.

Dan look into an Osborne brush. You use them on a 7" polisher.

You have to do a test spot. A job like this can take your shirt if you promise bare wood and the use of a semi-trans. You will rarely get all paint from a deck even with very expensive specialty strippers. It appears to be solid stain but a little difficult to ascertain from photos. Cute kids. If you try a stripper like HD-80 at full strength and 20 minutes dwell time and it doesn't budge, your best bet is to prime and recoat with solid.

Dan, I agree with you. Fuzzies can occur regardless of chemical used or pressure. I'm still trying to figure out the holy grail to avoid them.

I have had the same hoses and same reels on my truck for four years. I like the Rapid Reel quality.

Shane you'd clean your mother with bleach if she stood still long enough LOL.. Call me as soon as you wake up 610-662-4036

Wet the floor. Apply F-18. Strong HD-80 definitely removes color from composites. Not sure about F-18. I have found sodium percarbonate to be inadequate for cleaning Trex. Six percent sodium hypo with brushing has worked best for me.

It's a balancing act. First off I would never recommend doing a roof by yourself. Factor in day labor for a job like that. Use a temp agency to find workers. My advice is to work in small sections. Soak everything in sight first. It sounds like you are downstreaming. Apply chemicals to house (I do one side at a time because the houses are fairly large). You need to find a nozzle that shuts off your downstreamer but still provides low pressure. A number 18 orifice does it for my 5.5 gpm setup. Switch to that nozzle, run out the soap and re-rinse all vegetation. Peek at those windows. On a sunny, windy day, using the wrong detergent they will dry quickly. Here is where your labor problem lies. You have to shut the downstreamer off to rinse the house (if you are using what I call a "shooter" nozzle (large orifice, 0-5 degree spread)

Lime, it isn't about technique. I could care less if someoneone wants to add extra time and energy to their job to get the same results. Concrete comes up much cleaner if you brush degreaser into it as well. To each his own. What makes me raise feathers a bit is when someone whom has no experience with others efficiency and technique and knows no one here from Adam posts in a condescending tone. It's equivalent to someone from here going to a painter's board and implying everyone there is a chump because he uses latex paint because clearly oil is superior. I know this is a prejudiced statement but I agree with the above poster that talked about painters. Most have little experience with the way a real cleaning contractor performs work. It's blast away and paint over it. When educated to new procedures most are stubborn. This is the second time I have noticed plainpainter advising newbies to use questionable technique. I don't think he is a bad guy at all, but like I suggested before, he may need to just stick around and read for a bit before giving advice. If after trying multiple techniques and giving them real world tests then posting pictures of experimentation along with intelligent analysis plainpainter wants to come back and tell me my technique blows, I am more than willing to listen. (Lime and Plain, please fill out your signature so I can stop referring to you by nickname.)

Great job, Pete, you're a natural.

I'm pretty sure that means using it in a matter inconsistent with it's intended use. ie huffing, as an additive to make drugs, something illegal. Mildewcides are for killing mildew. How would what you are doing be going contrary to intended use.

Backpacks are faster and they leak. No matter how tight you think they are. You get stripper down your back and then continue working you can count on second or third degree burns. They are faster but still not comparable to using a powered pump. I have a special downstreamer I use exclusively for stripper. Also you should use SS couplers. Change O rings often. If you decide to go with a backpack, wear a PVC shaw or raincoat.