John T

Hey Jarrod, Call Trex to see if you can do the cleanings for them in your area. I do warranty work for them here and they pay well. $1.50 sq. ft to clean and seal each deck with Trex supplying some of the cleaner and all of the sealer. Just to give you a fast example on this..last week I cleaned and sealed a 660 sq.ft Trex deck thru Trex. The whole process took about 2 total hours and it paid me $1080. That was a great day for me and my worker since we had a nice job in between which made it a $2000/day with the Trex being the easy part. Call Trex..........

Bleach bleach and more bleach and very little pressure. Better yet if you use Chlorine put it in a bucket straight and then x-jet the trex deck where it comes out 2-1 where it makes it equivlent to the strength of bleach straight...You may even have to x-jet the deck more then once to make those black dots disappear...oh yea did I say use very little pressure....

Its rare that I do estimates over the phone. Sometimes when its a concrete patio or something along those lines then I can and do estimates over the phone if I'm given the exact size of it. I also have a minimum charge now which is $150 to even break out the hose so every job is $150 and up. I also except digital pictures thru my email and Have given prices thru that process. For Commercial I always go out and measure/size up what it is that I'm asked to give an estimate for...

Simpson Whitco

Dealing with the rich on a continuous bases I find that the ones who are the self made rich are the most generous ones to do work for. Its the old money ones that are the look down at you type and also they are cheap. The running joke with the old blue bloods is that there is a reason why there families for generations have had a ton of money..cause there cheap. They can have there money....... Think about it. If anyone here starts making the extremely big bucks I'd be willing to bet that they would pay generously to those who help them out. Some here probably already do..I know I do when I can afford it.

To leave a steady job and to do the Powerwashing fulltime is the toughest decision for alot of us to make like myself. The problem if you want to call it that is that my regular job is a good paying job and my Powerwashing business does pretty well. So do I leave my secure job and let it all ride on my Powerwashing business?? With Gas prices going up and up and everything for that matter getting so expensive what does the future look like?? For me running my business and doing my other job the burnout factor is always in play. I've been doing it like this for 11 yrs now.. I guess if I was forced to doing my Powerwashing as a fulltime business that obviously would make the decision for me. If this was the case then I would give my business everything that I could give it such as the energy needed to make it successful. This is the best advice that I can think of. Give it everything that you can and most likely you will be successful. Give it your all!!

Mike best of luck with this Convention. It looks like you have some great classes put together that just about anyone in our business can learn something from. I spoke to your Dad briefly at the PWNA Convention and I also wished him the best of luck. I can say from experience that when these Conventions get started the excitment now begins and the learning and rubbing elbows with others in the industry is...priceless!!!!!!

The PWNA Convention Registrations are out! Download your copy of the registration form and plan the success of your companies future today! For more information about the convention, visit our website now! Special Announcements... Due to popular demand, the PWNA will be offering their popular Wood Restoration course and Kitchen Exhaust course. Download your registration today for these outstanding classes before they fill up! The PWNA has also set up some excellent speakers and events for our next convention and expanding on the classes and seminars to make this our best convention ever. We all know how important support from family members can be to make companies successful so they are adding a special benefit. This year the PWNA is inviting spouses to join us for free! They have also decided to offer reduced pricing for employees in order to make it easier for you to justify bring the whole gang to Memphis this April. We know that the awareness of the industry and the education that your employees receive will payoff with increased productivity, safety, and environmental awareness. Plan on joining a couple of hundred other contractors and their employees April 6-8, 2006! The PWNA Board Of Directors have put together a survey to give PWNA members and power washers from around the world the opportunity to voice your thoughts on the industry and the PWNA. Take this 5 minute survey today and help shape the future of your industry! This survey will run on line until February 5, 2006 in order to give everyone an opportunity to take the survey. If you prefer, the survey may be downloaded here for the next month then fax your responses to PWNA Headquarters at (609) 268-9778 The information obtained from this survey will be kept confidential and used to shape the future of the power washing industry.

Here's a company that makes surface machines up to 72". The problem I see with these large sizes is that they only take up to 9gpm which I would think would not be enough for these oversize surface machines.

You go girl. Your bb looks great. Its like a breath of fresh air. I will now have to put you in my Favorites catagory next to the other bb's I visit.(May have to drop one of the others) So when are we going to start the new and futuristic Organization for the everyday Powerwasher? LOL I hope to meet you and Rod down the road at a Roundtable meeting or a convention(Can't make this one coming up). I was at the NJ meeting and Everett did a great job there. Maybe one year we could combine yours with there's. Your website also looks great. Do you possibly plan on selling Powerwashers down the road?? The sky appears to be you only limit. Congrats once again.

The only thing that I can think thats free is the air you breath..After that there's nothing free..not even in our great country...Everything has a cost but if the cost is low then thats as close to free as your going to get.

Scott is right on. Karcher did the Powerwashing of Mt. Rushmore for free so that has to tell you something. I don't know much about Karcher but they appear to be a big player in the industry.

Way to go Lance!! I have a 1000+post on *** and I enjoyed every one of them. I'm sure alot of them are pointless but doesn't mean I didn't enjoy posting them. I would love to have a 1000+ post here along with 1000+ on PWNA's bb along with 1000+ on PWN. Now that probably something to add to the alltime useless club:)

This is one of the very first post on this bb and I just want to say that this bb still rocks!!! Beth--Do You see anything interesting in this post here that I started way back when???????

Jeff, Don't take this the wrong way cause I'm only trying to understand your problem and offer idea's and since I'm not a professional when it comes to this stuff my thoughts may be 100% wrong. Maybe you should see a doctor about this cause there's a possibilty your body/brain went thru a chemical change. I have a friend thats a cop who I grew up with..He did stand up comedy before he was a cop and then when he becomes a cop he stops doing the comedy thing..As years go by he starts to feel different about things and he doesn't know why..kind of like you..Then one day he drops at home and his wife calls the ambulance and he's rushed off to the hospital..it turns out that he is fine and the doctors are clueless why this happened so they send him to a shrink..it turns out that his brain wasn't producing enough seritonum and when that happens alot of phsycological things can happen. They prescribed a drug for him thats a seritonum enhancer. Maybe 6 months to a year later he can now get off the drugs and once again he's doing stand up comedy at promotional/Retirement parties. He also has made boss and he's about to move up again..its an amazing turn around for him..all because of the shortage of seritonum that his brain was producing.. The other thought I have is what Jon Fife said which is maybe your getting panic attacks..which is another reason to seek out a doctor.. Good luck with the toastmasters and I hope you can solve this "Thing" so you can be happy..and if you never do get to where you want to be here..thats ok to because every one of us have our strengths and weeknesses and this is what makes us all....different. Good Luck

Way to go Brent!! I just love hearing these stories of what got people into this field. Its like learning the history of Powerwashing..on the bio channel.

Around 1992 I use to clean my house by hand with a brush and soap. Then about 1994 I hired a retired Police officer to Powerwash my house. I was amazed at how fast he cleaned my house and Deck and also how much he made from me and also how much he can make on a good day since we got to be friendly for that day. Then In 1995 I was cleaning pools for a friend of mine and it was at this time he let me use his Powerwasher to clean My parents and sisters houses. In 1996 I started my own Powerwashing business and today I can't believe I'm about to start my 11th year of business. This is the second longest job I ever had and by the time I'm done doing this business I have a gut feeling that this will be the longest job I ever had:)

If you like on my website at www.cleancounty.com you can see a video on the gutterfilter...I've spent about $5000 advertising this stuff until July of 06 and then I'm going to drop it faster then I can say the word drop. Gutterfilter for me has been a total disapointment!! People here won't pay for $8 linear foot for this stuff and that includes installation..I don't get it for no bargain from my distributer either ($4.25 lin') and now I'm finding out that the company GUTTERFILTERtm will sell there product to others for around $4.50 and that includes shipping. I can't wait to have my advertising for this product expire!!

Back to HomeMore Features Contact Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the November 1998 issue of Cleaner Times. History of the Pressure Washing Industry, Part 21 Educational Resources by Annmarie Worthington "If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin No matter how great an industry, education among its members will undoubtedly make it even greater. For many years, there weren't many educational resources available to those in the pressure washing industry. Such is not the case anymore. From schools and Internet resources to books, magazines, and associations, there is a wealth of information and resources available to help business owners become more successful. Here you'll find just a sampling of this vast pool of potential knowledge that has evolved to benefit us all. Magazines Industry magazines were at the forefront of available educational materials, with Pressure Points being the first in a series of publications. The magazine debuted in May 1987, published by Creative Publishers. Initially owned by Dave Maier, the publication changed hands less than a year after its premier. Bob Smith, formerly of Delco, purchased the magazine from Maier, aiming to develop the publication as a tool for the association (CEMA) and the manufacturers, which would, in turn, "supply good, bona fide leads from distributors." The magazine, as with many early industry benefits, "did not focus on the end user," says Smith. "It was really slanted toward the distributor," he continues. And it was well received in the industry. In a letter to the editor, Stephen Phillips, Cleaning Systems, Inc., Richmond, Va., said, "The pressure washer industry has been in major need of such a publication for years, and I'm glad we finally have it." However, a lot of changes were taking place in the industry at this time, with the distributors calling for stronger recognition. Following the founding of the APD in 1988, several distributors were presented with the opportunity to invest in a second industry magazine - a publication that would be published by distributors specifically for an audience of distributors. The Cleaning Systems News hit the stands, so to speak, in August 1988, although it too ended with the disbandment of the APD in December 1989. Yet another magazine entered the industry arena in December 1989, joining Pressure Points as the only available publications. Cleaner Times was initially published by Westside Publishing, a subsidiary of Victor/Spraymart , Springdale, Ark. Although the first issue of the magazine received a good response from its readership, there were difficulties in securing regular advertisers because of the affiliation with Spraymart. Some viewed the company as a competitor and were, therefore, uncomfortable with the idea of advertising in a magazine published by the competition. David Hunt, one of the owners of the publishing company, realized that ultimate success would result from hiring experienced sales people. With this in mind, he asked his sisters, Nelle O'Bryan and Charlene Yarbrough of Advantage Publishing Co., Inc., to assume the responsibility of advertising sales, knowing that, combined, they had experience in sales, as well as in print. However, observing the difficulties Hunt was experiencing with procuring advertisers and the additional problems that would be encountered due to logistics (the sisters were both based in Little Rock, Ark.), O'Bryan and Yarbrough proposed an alternative solution. They offered to purchase the entire publication and move it to Little Rock, thus breaking all affiliation with the supply house. Hunt explains, "Knowing the difficulty of producing the magazine and the resistance by CEMA members to buying advertising from a competitor, it was easy to decide to sell the magazine." The publication met much success, so much so that it soon became apparent that there was room for only one magazine in the industry. Pressure Points folded soon after Cleaner Times premiered. Smith says, ". . . it was such a small industry that it did not need two magazines. It doesn't need two of anything, a lot of times." Smith, however, saw the positive effects that Pressure Points had on the industry, as it opened the doors for other publications to follow. He says, "I felt like the magazine was a big help. Publications really keep people knowledgeable as far as what's going on, the moves that are being made, the trends, and so on." In addition, magazines bring information to those who may have limited access to educational resources due to geographic location. Smith continues, "Magazines are very helpful in that area. They're just priceless." In the beginning, Cleaner Times was focused primarily on distributors and manufacturers in the industry, but Yarbrough, who now owns the magazine with her husband, Norris, felt that the contract cleaners deserved the advantages of an educational resource, too. With this in mind, Yarbrough launched a new publication that was aimed totally at the end-user-the first of its kind in the industry. Pressure Concepts premiered in 1993 and continued to be published until 1995, when it was then merged with the existing Cleaner Times. There was finally an industry publication available to benefit everyone in the industry. Brian Hegarty of Prospect Productions, Neptune, N.J., was working as a contract cleaner at the inception of the magazine and explains the impact of the publication on the industry, "I think that Cleaner Times has brought the entire industry together. It used to be that the industry was so fragmented. You wouldn't have any idea if your soap manufacturer was overcharging you on soap or, if the soap just wasn't cutting it, you wouldn't even know where to go. You had to find these guys by accident or go to a trade show and find them by accident there. Now they're readily available because they advertise in the magazine. Cleaner Times has really brought a lot of valuable information into the industry." Which is exactly what the publication strives to provide. Yarbrough says, "We are here to report good and positive things that will benefit the industry as a whole, and, if it doesn't, we don't print it. Our purpose is to grow the pressure cleaning industry."

Don't quote me on this but I believe there circulation is aprox 11,000 and issue. What you can quote me on is that every PWNA member gets this excellent magazine as part of there membership. This is an excellent magazine that I would recommend to all in this industry.

I also saw that Surface Cleaner at the last trade show. I would love to try that to see how good it works compared to a typical surface cleaner that doesn't have the motor up top. They advertise that it cleans faster because of the motor up top which makes the nozzles turn into the direction where the dirt is lifted up easier I still can't understand why this is and can someone here explain why this would be Another beauty about this surface cleaner is that you can attach a hose into it to make it where it can reclaim if you have a reclaiming set-up.

I also would have started at a much younger age then 34 but then again I wasn forced to make money since I didn't have kids yet and my wife had a good fulltime job.

What I do with my Powerwasher to lower the GPM since its 11 gpm is to lower the throttle spead but My Powerwasher is differnet then most since it has its own radiator. When there is no hook up for water when we do commercial and there is only one guy cleaning such as myself or my worker this is when we lower the throttle cause even though I can hold 700gal of water in my truck you can go thru it extremely fast at 11gpm. My engine is similiar to a car engine and if you don't have to run it full tilt then there's no hurting it by lowering the throttle.

Jon here's a couple of pictures of a Pool/Patio and fence my partner put in my backyard 2 yrs ago and he only showed up to measure out where to put my pool and then he showed up after it was all done. He didn't put that Shed there in that one picture and can you see the water tanks next to my shed?? My wife keeps telling me to move those tanks somewhere else:)

As for my partner he's business grosses in the neighborhood of $3,000,000yr and his biggest part of his business is installing Built in Pools. He also has a cleaning service part where he does over 700 openings and 700 closings of the pools which both of these averaging over $200 each. He also has hundreds of weakly vacuuming's( not sure how many here) that average about $40/Pool. He owns the concrete forms to make the pools and he also installs Steel wall built in pools. On top of that he builds concrete pools for other pool companies and now he has just put together a Masonary end of his business..and the money there is insane..Now thats a great business alone to be in..All this and my partner is not even 40 yet..He can't retire fast enough here but he has 2 yrs to go to earn his pension then he's gone that very day. Jon your Numbers sound about right. I know the bigger you get the smaller percentage you make which leads me back to my partner. He earns in the neighborhood of $300,000 which is about 10% of his gross and thats about right. The kicker once again is that he's adding that masonary end and that is where his number will go off the charts. He's figuring on selling around $600,000 worth of brick work for the patio's for his pools etc and out of that he expects to pocket at least 40% of the gross and that is an insane number but masonary is like that......Why do you think the MOB was always involved in Concrete?? It wasn't just for the cement shoes:)