PressurePros

I had a lady. I underbid the project intentionally because she had three kids, single mom and her deck was incredibly nasty. I went to her the morning we were completing that we would be finished by noon and that the remaining half was due upon completion. She looks me right in the eye and told me she would have the check ($750) When I knock up her kids say she had to run out and she would mail the check. I knew right away I was in trouble but I had a signed contract and a digital copy of the first half she paid. I called her every day for a week. I remailed her an ivoice with a SASE. The second week I sent a personalized letter via registered mail. I explained to her that she was taking food from my children's mouth and how, as a parent, could she do that in good conciense. I call every few days (always messages) I offered her terms..never a call back.... The third week I informed her I was filing a contractor lien against her property. I called her the fourth week and told her the time was up and that on Monday I was filing liens, a civil action and criminal charges (an obvious bluff). It worked.. last Wednesday, to my surprise, I opened a letter and out popped a $700 check..the deadbeat still got me for $50 Since that day I will not discount a nickel to anyone, young, old or impoverished. It's unfortunate that losers like this lady (she drives a Mercedes SUV I later found out) spoil it for mankind. --Thanks

What product did you use and at what ratio?

Anchor down your foundation and bring in the cat, John's comin' to to wash your house! Best of luck with new rig. Can't wait to see it in person.

Why does the deck need to be sanded? Are there rails or steps? Feel free to contact me, it's a bit out of my usual area but not entirely.

Why does the deck need to be sanded? Are there rails or steps? Feel free to contact me, it's a bit out of my usual area but not entirely.

Great job, Ken squared.

Beautiful, Don. Best of luck with the new wheels.

I use an 0040 on a 5.5 gpm machine on the end of an eight foot wand.

Turbo shock is probably calcium hypochlorite and will not work effectively. There are a few guys that do everything from the ground, but in my opinion, you have to get up there sometimes. One example of a fire hose nozzle looks like this

A guy called me last week and asked me to look at his house and see if I could remove some rust. When I looked at the house I knew I could make the whole thing better. This was done by my biggest competitor. Two step process...my housewash followed by an acid blend.

ancient Chinese secret.. ;-)

Probably a bit of both, James. I respect what you guys that use bleach do I just haven't had good results using it. I feel that the HD as diluted as I use it is probably on par with diluted bleach. I have used bleach on a few decks with a sound finish to just remove minor mold. I'm still a little skeptical of using it on untreated/exposed wood.

Read my post and tell me. I would debate that downstreaming far surpasses the X-Jet on 85% of housewash jobs. I have a feeling this statement alone will give you all the debate you could ever care to read.

Here is my take as it relates to housewashing: X-Jet (positive) - best chem ratio X-Jet (negative) - Limited height and flow (I don't count that mist over 30 feet as usuable mix unless you soak it at which point the neighbors house, car and plant life mis also being cleaned) - unwieldy buckets and hoses - won't prime on 8 ft wand unless you point it straight - You can lose an X-Jet Downstream (positive) - plenty of ratio if you get the right downstreamer 1:5 - increased height of usable flow ( I get 50 feet ) - increased flow - no overspray - flow is on demand, no priming - less chance for damage to siding as you are using flow, not pressure Downstream (negative) - Ratios are too low for roof cleaning - chemicals run through your hose - You have to turn off the downstreamer (or change nozles to rinse) - No foaming/agitation of chemical so it doesn't cling as well For me, I down stream every house now. I found a nice surfactant called Barlox that gives me the cling. My housewash mix is 3 gallons of (leaving out brand name) and 5 gallons of 12% sodium hypochlorite, 2 cups of Barlox. This will do the average 5000 sf home with moderate mold. I switched to stainless QC's and swivel and have had absolutely no problems. The X-Jet is a great tool, and I haven't retired it yet. Last week I had brick with mold growth that waved in the wind. For that I needed the strength of the X-J but that was extreme. As someone said, the right tools for the right job.

Thanks Wesley, 3 oz per gallon. We coated the whole thing since it was in the shade then started washing.. dwell time was about 20-25 minutes. Thanks Mike, this was a baby. All season have been these ridiculously huge projects that all ended up taking longer than expected so this was a nice change. We arrived at 8 am stripped the deck, washed the house and driveway and were on our way home by 1:30. We are gonna seal it Friday morning with Sikkens SRD Natural Oak.

I swear by HD-80. Did this job today using it very diluted. Similar to what you describe. Ten dollars worth of chemicals. ta da!

I had it happen Saturday. Same thing hardwood floor installation. The other contractors worked around us but when it came time to rinse the driveway the sawdust/mud combination added an hour to the job.

It's probably not real smart on my part to answer the question about acids because if you aren't careful what you blend you are absolutely begging for serious injury. The acid blend is made up of phosphoric, oxallic, ammonium biflouride and a wetting agent. It is an in-house blend I get from my local chem company. The acid is applied via Shurflo and extension wand. Tough spots are brushed. John, we spent seven hours on the housewash. Tuesday we go back to clean and seal the flagstone steps, a 16x16 flagstone patio, and prep his garage floor for Rustoleum epoxy. I'll make sure those risers shine for you. :juggle:

:sinister: Pure dihydrogen monoxide is excellent for removing mud

You cannot use acid on marble unless you want the cost of replacing it.

Your reputation demands that you make it right. Job 1: Driveway: I'd go back and try a strong mix of butyl and sodium hydroxide (there are concrete cleaners at the big box stores that have these). If you have hot water, all the better, if not let it dwell again. Some shadow will remain but I'd get as much of the grease out as I could. If this marble is the real thing I would be a little cautious. You canot use acid on marble. You really should use deionized water to clean it as mineral deposits can hurt it. Get yourself a marble specialty cleaner or get some rubbing alcohol and dilute it with distilled water trying varying ratios. More than likely the stain may remain. Job 2: Get some 12% sodium hypochlorite. I don't know what type of nozzle you are using but I have started using a zero degree nozzle (I have to check orifice size but it might be a 25) I don't know the draw ration on Bob's DS'er so I am going to recommend going straight chlorine. The right nozzle will get you a nice heavy flow of detergent at least 30 feet, I have gotten almost 50 with none of the misting the X-Jet gets.

Jon, check it out here. If you are interested I will give you a better price. http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/forsale/detail.asp?OHID=923421&guid=22D7E5F607B44ABA98FA571B527E4C8F

If you want a bucket trcuk I'm selling one. Well a guy has an offer in on it but I don't call it sold til I have cash in hand.

Hey Bud, welcome to the board (as a poster anyway) If you have your insurance setup I would be happy to have you tag along to get some experience. For some reason i am in housewash season hardcore. All summer about ten washes, betwen this past week and the next two I have 14 scheduled (a couple of deck jobs too if that is what you are interested in. I'm pretty close to the 609 area code. Give me a shout. -Ken

I would like some input from you guys/gals on this. I am looking to purchase a franchise operation (non PW related) I have done my own homework and my accountant has done the exhaustive research neccessary and has come up with an offering price that seems way too low to me. This is a retail operation supported by TV advertising, growing at a rate of 100% every three years, has a ten year background, offer excellent support and fits into a unique but broad customer niche. The business currently nets 15k per month average. What would you consider a fair offering price?