Mike Smith

I always do free estimates. I normally meet with the customer but sometimes I never meet them from signing the job all the way through completion and payment. Some folks are just too busy or don't want to be bothered with another meeting. If I speak to them I tell them where I will leave the paperwork and try to sell the job over the phone. I then call the night of the estimate to ensure that they got it and ask if they have any questions or concerns. Most are done face to face but I land most of my estimates either way. Id say Im around 75% of all estimates. I am definitely not the low man but quality and referrals go a very long way,

I have been shocked very badly by lightening. I was in my shop during a bad storm and lightening hit close by. I was working on equipment when I happened to touch my metal garage door when the strike occurred. The charge was enough to knock me to the floor. I suffered muscle spasms in all my extremities for 3 days as well as bad headaches. I personally seek cover when lightening is around.

Prosoco makes an excellant brick sealer. They have several siloxanes that work great. I have a maintenance agreement for a customer that has alot of brick walkways and patios in a high profile neighborhood. I have been in charge of this for 5 years now and we used to have to clean 2 times a year with extremely heavy mildew and mold. 2 years ago I brought up the idea of a sealer and I cleaned the bricks wiith 6% bleach and 175 degree water with a surface cleaner. Came out great and we sealed it the following week(job was cleaned on Friday, sealed on Monday) Now the customer calls once a year to clean and there is only a skim of mildew and no moss growing on the bricks. We used prosoco's weather seal siloxane.

Gavin I really think you can go down even below 140 and achieve a very good result. I usually run 125 and lower pressure and it cleans very good. Every degree you go up you burn more and more fuel. Id try 125 and see how your comming out. Lower your psi through the use of larger tips or a dual lance wand. I use the dual lance myself and cut pressure back by about half. Heat and low psi clean better than heat and high psi.

Gavin, I do alot of different types of cleaning. I find for general cleaning, sidings, new concrete , etc... I don't need anything over 150 degrees. I usually use it at 125 and go up slightly if needed. I use hot water on old mildewed concrete or when Im trying to get out oil stains or gum. On decks I use mostly cold water unless I encounter a very stubborn stain Im trying to strip off. Then I use around 125 and decrese pressure to as low as possible. Hot water tends to raise more grain in the wood.

I use open trailers myself but I can definitely see where an enclosed van or box truck would be more benneficial. It all depends on what type of cleaning you plan on specializing in. I specialize in residential cleaning but do lots more. I clean concrete, trucks, poultry houses and what ever else needs to be cleaned. The advantage enclosed systems have over me is the ability to continue work when outside temps are below freezing and storage(the units are stored in the vehicle.) All depends on your budget.

I can remove oxidization and make the house look almost like new for around the same price as their product. Sounds like a bnch of bull and they are looking for suckers to take the bait.

We generally raost the turkey for thanksgiving but we love fried turkey. Go figure I think its just the tradition in our family to raost on thanksgiving. I personally like it fried much better.

I washed homes with cold water for years. This spring I got a hot water skid unit and ive never looked back. The heat works circles around cold water hands down heat is better and faster and the surfaces get cleaner.

Ive found that when stripping or cleaning a deck I always use cold water to clean. I do however apply my stripper via downstream injection on the surface hot. It seems to activate the ingredients much faster and dwell time is actually diminished. This is a chemical I use, not everyone. I don't know if your chems are strong enough to be downstreamed at around 20% but mine is a very" hot " caustic from a powerwashing supplier in my area.

Watch the raw chems, they are dangerous. I buy pre mixed from a chemical company(s). They are trained and know what reacts with what to make it work. Sodium hydroxide can hurt you bad be very careful. I just find it less hassle to buy 55 drums of chems ready to go but they are highly concentrated and easy to use or mix if they come in a drum kit.

I used to use cold water on residential flatwork. It is as you say "allright". I won't go back hot is quicker, easier and it cleans better with less damage. Ive had to hold on a stain alot longer with cold water. Just turn up the heat and if you use dual lance wands you can lower the pressure and apply more heat and clean even faster. GPM's and heat mix well for any concrete.

There are as many ways to clean a house as there are pressure washers and the same for chemicals used. I can only speak for myself. I mix chems by the 5 gallon pail. I use 2 gallons bleach or 12.5% Chlorine, 1 - 2 gallons commercial pressure washing soap-alkaline based either sodium hydroxide or sodium mescilliate, 1 - 2 gallons water depending on the amount of soap and a generous squirt of dawn dishwashing detergent(gives the mix more cling) I apply with extension wand - downstream at around 20%- temp 150 -175 degrees- bottom to top and allow to dwell for approx 5 mins but never let it dry. Clean windows first then rest of the wall then rinse windows again. I haven't had to brush in a long time other than the gutters. If your wash mix is right all you should have to do is rinse very well and the house should look great. Just how I do it and it works great for me I can do 2 houses a day 1 man show. For the front and back walls single story or anything I can reach with a 72 " wand I use duel lance wands to downstream and wash. Very efficient but this will come with experience. Ive been doing this for over 5 years now and just making it into a full time gig. Remember practice makes perfect and there are tooooo many variables to consider to have just one approach to house washing. Good luck and I hope you are successful. I never knock healthy competition, it helps keep us all in line and on our toes.

Rob i charge by how long i think it will take me. I charge my hourly rate and can usually clean gutters on a rancher in 30 mins both sides and for 2 story i would charge around 125 for straight running low pitch roof. More complicated higher the price. The ranchers usually get 50 bucks but like i said 30 mins im done and that is add on to the house wash. If they just want gutters cleaned its a min of 85.00 to show up and go from there. I blow them out with 15 degree tip high pressure and flush down spouts.

The duel lance wand can be used to apply soap via a downstream injector after the pump/ I have a 5 gpm machine with an adjustable downstream injector. to draw soap from the duel lance all one has to do is turn the handle all the way back and soap will draw. What it does as the handle is turned it closes off the high pressure tip and opens the tip for soap which has a larger oriface to allow a vacum effect to draw the soap from your bucket. If you are using the duel lance just for rinsing simply remove the tube from soap or turn soap off with the adjustable injector. The plus with the duel lance in rinsing is lower pressure at the twist of a handle but maintaining high volume. No tips to change or the worst way to lower pressure is to turn down the unloader. They will wear out quickly and kill you in time spent traveling back to your machine. Hope i was able to help in some way.

Sometimes in winter as long as its above freezing ill do poultry house wash downs(nastiest job on face of planet but its ok when you have nothing else to do). Also do some truck washing and new masonry as well as new home washing for my usual contractors. Its not spring or fall but it still pays the bills and keeps some money rolling. If temp dips below freezing I stay home and plan, do maintenance on all my gear. I learned along time ago to make sure and put enough away to get through 3 months or so of no or little work. I don't go into winter without a decent amount in the account to get through the tough the tough times.

I have a hydrotek 5 gpm machine and i also carry 525 gallons of water. I used to use 4gpm cold water and now 5 gpm hot water has cut my time by more than 33% on the average job and cut time in half on some other jobs. going from 4 or 5 to 7 or 8 gpm will make a huge difference but will be like holding a fire hose and will tire you considerably faster. Make sure you take that into account before spending the money on a high flow machine.

Ryan, try a pqair of neoprene gloves. They will be hot in warm weather but are a god send in the cold damp times of the year. As for feet, I wear Rocky boots with Gore Tex lining. I buy a pair about every 2 years for a cost of around 170.00 but they last and when I pull off my boots at night my feet are dry. I wear commercial grade rain gear from Helly Hanson and they hold up well to dirt overspray and chemicals. I can get around 2 years on a pair of the bibs and still have my first coat which is 6 years old.

I always give brochures on the products I use to seal with. I have about 50 on stock an any given time of different sealers. I call the company or store that I purchase from and ask for them in bulk to distribute. They don't mind because you are buying their product and it reaches people that otherwise may have bought something else.

Rob 420.00 for that size home is good. Around here in lower De I can't get that much. I would come in around 325.00 including scrubbing the gutters, hot water and application of wax and 50% of the time get told "thats ridiculous - how much do you make an hour - thats highway robbery" People just don't like to pay for good service but I land around 50% of my bids so Im doing pretty good + my commercial accounts. Around here theres always a guy who will wash for 100.00 and scoop up all the work ( i get called back after his washes last about 3 months). As for the the original post I haven't tried any of the above chems because I use my own mix that works well for me at a cheaper price. I buy a local made sodium hydroxide based degreaser by 55 gallon drum. I put about 1/2 gallon sodium hydroxide cleaner 1/2 gallon water and 1 cup 12.5% chlorine. The dirt and black streaks almost always come off and this mix is applied by brush then rinsed. This is 1 gallon of solution and is normally enough to do the gutters on one house. End cost per house about 3.50 in chems ,double that for a long house, to clean the gutters + 30 minutes in labor on single story ranchers longer on 2 story houses. If thick mildew and dirt is present I soap up gutters with regular house wash first and rinse to get down to the surface to remove black streaks.

I once ran one through a basement window but never through a house. I would fear a hose bursting and spewing chems and hot water all over the inside more than the dirt. Do they have a garage, if so run hose through garage and out a window or door to the other side. How much hose are you running? I run 150' all the time but carry an extra 100' in the truck that I sometimes need to get around the big ones. I don't think I would run through the house though too much liability if the unthinkable should happen. Injury to people or even fire hazzard if hose would burst inside. Thing is they can go at any time and you must always be concerened about the possibillity.

Aplus, nice you have a feeling of environmental respect. The 10 or so gallons of caustic seeps into the ground followed by 100's of gallons water. It is mass diluted and the dirt, stones, grass etc... all act as a filtering system. I personally feel it is diluted enough to not be harmful even though I am no scientist and cannot back up my claims. Only just a gut feeling that all that water will dilute and the surface soil will filter .

Has anyone ever cleaned a deck made from a product called Timbertech? It looks like wood but has some type of synthetic feel to it but it also greys like wood. I would imagine it would clean like wood with a standard pre-carb application and wash. My question is is this the way to clean it or are there other methods. Customer wants a bid on cleaning it and is gonna seal it himself. Thanks for any info on this subject. Decking is located on second story with a membrane roof underneath protecting a sunroom. Railings are cedar, no previous stain was applied - all material must be pulled up over railing with ropes when doing the inside. Railings are very shakky and cannot support a ladder. Access to deck must be gained from inside of home. I figure it will take approxiamtely 3 1/2 hrs to complete cleaning of the deck if pre carb can be used.

Ron im a country boy. Born and raised in Sussex County, DE. I know what your saying but here we have a very unique way of life. We are watermen, farmers and bankers and lawyers all together. You may drive down the road and in one mile of road see 5 run down shacks and in between them 2 million dollar homes. Here markets switch with every call. You can't expect someone to pay 200.00 to wash a shack but you can expect to get 500.00 + on the mansion. Weird sometimes. Then you encounter the good ole boys who have worked hard and made it but still feel like they have to pinch pennies and eat beans and rice for dinner. I have been to the store and actually ordered a hoagie, a hero and a sub. LOL depends on the neighborhood. We get alot of Jersey folks moving here all the time. No sales tax and green trees everywhere are the major factors. The other 2 counties in De (thats right we only have 3) are more populated, but have less land than Sussex. They call us "Slower Lower Delaware" but I like it like that. We get a bad rep and they call us rednecks. Blows there mind when they find out Im Vice President of a masonry co. Own my own business and have been to college. People think that because your from Sussex county you can't be smart. Lol so much for their stereotypical B.S. Back country roads with chicken s--t on the fields for fertilizer. LOL country roses. Im just saying this because demographics change here by the house, neighborhood etc... not the county or even the town. I just did a huge deck restoration project. Cost was 1,400.00, I bid one the exact same size just down the street and cut my price and still lost out, the next guy got it at 650.00. Crazy he wont make any money on it. 1250 square feet strip brighten and seal for 650. Not me. We have it all here in Sussex county, makes life very interesting and by the way...the fishin is gettin really good, may get ready to go catch dinner.

I have a deck I bid last week and was awarded the bid. It has a nasty old solid stain kind of red that needs to be stripped down the best it can and recoated with another color. I will be using Cuprinol Solid stain and the rep says they can choose a lighter color and the stain will cover any remaining stain left after the stripping. Questions: 1 should I nuetralize stripper afterward or just rinse since Im doing solid stain? 2 Have any of you ever applied solid stains with airless equipment, airless will spray paint so I think it will spray solid deck stain? It is such a large deck I would hate to fathom brushing all the railing. I may use a roller on deck flooring. Let me know your thoughts. and how you would proceed. Deck is 550 square feet with approx. 75 feet of railing including upper portion( it has a step leading up to a 14 x 11 deck with just sand underneath) my bid was $775.00 1.25 on deck + 1.00 per foot of railing. steps are included in square footage.