GymRat

Check out Bob at Pressure Tek, He can hook you up and answer any questions you may have. Yes it does come with instructions. http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-6302467517443/m5xjet.html

I have been using a air hose with no problems, and I believe I have a 60deg #10 tip on a phelps wand. I also use the same tip on a 6' extendable wand that I purchased from northern hydraulic. I have had good luck with the higher amperage switches opposed to the cheaper low amp ones. Just make sure you rinse the whole system immediately after each use, by running several gallons of water through it.

I use them on houses where I can't reach areas without a little extra reach. I also use them when I clean around foundations of homes to get that extra distance away from the dirt which always hits me dead in the face anyways.

If I have a short distance and only need a small length of hose, my first section on my hose reel is 50', so I disconnect this section of hose and plug it into the quick connect at my pressure washer. This saves me the time of taking 200' of hose off of my reel, or having it tangle up on the reel. Just another way of doing things.

I drained all the water from my pressure washer pump last year before I put it up for the winter and had it in a building where it could not freeze. The other day when I turned on the supply water to it, water leaked out of the pump like crazy. I pulled the pump down and looked at all the seals and o-rings, but nothing really looked worn. I coated all the seals and o-rings in silicone and re-assembled the pump and now it does not leak. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem, and would it be better to keep the pump wet with a antifreeze solution over the winter to keep the seals from drying out? I guess I could pull the pump down and silicone the seals for the winter, but is this overkill? Thanks, John :)

Thanks for the replys, I washed a couple of houses today and the pump seems to be doing just fine, with no leaks. I guess I dodged a bullet this time, and will make sure I winterize it differently next time. I have seen there is a solution for winterizing with some lubricants also in it. Thanks again, John

Jarrod, what is your trick formula for getting those kool-aid stains off?

No, I do not include roof wash with the price of a housewash. I do not beleive most people would consider this as part of a house wash. I always try to sell this option unless the roof will need to be replaced in the near future. I know some will argue the point of the roof being part of a housewash, but I do not. Just my .02 worth :lglolly:

I will factor the price of cleaning gutters into the housewash price as well as front steps and walkway. I don't like my name to go on a housewash with bad curb appeal. My opinion is the homeowner will never tell that he was cutting cost by not wanting to pay extra for these options. I mix my gutter cleaning solution in a bucket, apply with a extension brush, then rinse.

I'm going to buy another cold water machine to clean mainly residential houses and concrete. I a'm looking at a 3500psi - 8gpm machine vs a 5,000psi - 5.5 gpm. I didn't know if I would have a lot of problems with the supply for 8gpm. I do have a 200 gallon float tank mounted in my trailer I can use, but that would confine that machine to my trailer. I was wondering if the higher pressure machine would make flat work with my surface cleaner faster. Thanks, John:lgsideway

Its a good idea to carry some super glue in your first aid kit, because it works better than anything on closing small cuts.

I also have been using citracleen for the past year and have been pleased with its results, but always looking for new products to try if anyone has tried citracleen and think they have found something that works MORE BETTERER. I have always Xjetted my solution which consists of 1gal citracleen, 1 to 2 gallons 12% chlorine, a dash of dawn and a dash of water softener in a 6 gallon bucket topped off with some high quality h20.

Thanks for all the help, 6-7 gpm supply just dictates that a 8gpm machine will not be as portable as I would like. It will have to run from my float tank. Thanks again, John

What is the average home water flow on city or county water?

Great job Matt, that will be a good pic for advertising your services. John

When I first built my roof cleaning rig, I used one of those battery packs you speak of and it worked ok for doing a few roofs before recharging. I used this setup for about 6 months before switching over to a marine deep cell battery. The problems I had with the pack is it will start running the shurflo pump at a much slower speed as it weekens and I believe that caused some pre-mature pump failures. I replaced two shurflo pumps in one month. I have not had this pump failure problem since switching to the marine battery. Hope this helps. John

Hope the Skins offense wakes up this week

I believe the lime green ball has to be illegal and any strike that occured while using this ball is null and void LOL. Glad Joshua had such a good time bowling with dad. Keep spending as much time with him and he will stay that great boy and best friend you have. Had my son in for the holidays (he is 23) and we still enjoy playing sports, doing projects or just any guy things together.

I agree with not giving that service away, because of the labor intensity of brushing badly streaked gutters. I use this service as a selling point of doing a complete job and a reason my prices are higher than the splash and dash people in my area. In other words I can charge more because I spend a few extra minutes brushing the gutters and it is a big marketing tool when the neighbors see this. John

I will turn down the job if the gutters have bad black streaks that I know will not be cleaned with my normal house wash. I just don't want my name on a job that is not complete. I always include brushing of the gutters if I deem it necessary in the price of a housewash if this is the only way I believe they will come clean. My take on the whole gutter thing, is if I know they will stand out like a sore thumb if not brushed, then they will be added in the price of a house wash. If I have it as a add on and the customer chooses not to take that option, I doubt they will tell the neighbors the reason the gutters look bad is because they were to cheap to pay the extra. They will just put the blame on you, which is bad advertisement.

I agree with Tony on gutters/facia must be cleaned on the each house wash. That is one of my selling points when I give a quote on a job, I like a house to have curb apeal which means the black streaks on the gutters must go. I refuse to do a house wash without doing the gutters because I don't want my name on a job that is not complete. Happy New Year to all!

Congratulations to you and the Misses. Hope everything goes perfect and Josh has a great brother or sister to spoil.

I have always used regular grade gas in all of my cars, boats and small engines unless the owners manual recomends otherwise. I have always understood that High-test gas can be bad for your motor! High octane implies that more energy is available but it actually produces no more then regular. Higher octane in fuel raises it's burning temperature and requires higher compression pressure to burn efficiently. Using higher octane in a normal engine results in incomplete combustion, less power, carbon fouling of the cylinder and, most important, wasted money. Most new cars also have knock sensors that will adjust the timing to keep the vehicle running smooth.

Nice looking house Jeff, and I agree with you Michael on how crazy the housing industry has gone. We just bought this house in June and we got it for a steal at a little over 200,000 in the Virginia area. It is over 3500 square foot with an attached garage, 4 bedrooms, 2 full kitchens and 4 full baths. I would rather take multilple beatings instead of moving again!!!

I was in the audio video business back in the 80's and found that there was only about 4 manufactures of TVs. The name brand companys basically put their name and warrantys on the merchandise. Yes , they also had some input into the specs of the units, but my point is , most tvs are made by the same maufactures no matter the brand name.This may have changed since my time in the business, but I doubted. Find a model you like with the warranty and price you like, and it will probably be just as reliable as most other units.