acidburn

Chlorine is used to kill the mold/mildew that grows on concrete. Not all areas of the country experience this. Here in the South, mold/mildew is THE big problem. If you are using the liquid "pool chlorine", then yes, it is the one and same. The liquid form is Sodium Hypochlorite. Most suppliers have it in 12.5%, which I've been told is the strongest you can get it in a stable form. Check your yellow pages. Call your local pool suppliers. Also, check under "chemical suppliers" or some other derivitive.

What others have said is true....check the laws in your area. If it isn't illegal, then keep doing it...this type of advertising (I use full page flyers) is the most profitable for me, and the least expensive. I encounter the problem of the "peeling paint" regularly. At first I was a little weirded out that people actually bothered to call and complain about such a trivial thing. Then, I began to think how I would react had it happened to MY mailbox....the SAME way! So, I began repairing (when possible) the paint when I get a compaint call. I even had one little old lady that I replaced her whole mailbox (it looked 40 years old and had been repainted many times). I also apologized, of course. She was very grateful and said she was sorry that she couldn't afford my services. Well, over the next few weeks I began getting calls from people for cleaning....and they said Mrs.X recommended me. Well, I ended up getting 20+ referrals from this little old lady over the following months (I replaced her mailbox in the spring). I ended up washing her house pro bono in the fall....and have each year since. I have made literally thousands of dollars in referrals from this lady....and it only cost me $9.97!!! Yes, I realize this is an extreme case....BUT, people DO talk...and remember, do a good job and the person will tell one person, do a bad job and the person will tell 10 people.

Do a Yahoo search on "biodiesel"......VERY interesting stuff!

I collect residential washes on the day we do the work, unless it is an established customer (repeat work, etc).

Well said.

Phillip, I have done something similar. I own a total of 3 businesses, 2 of them with my brother. So, after talking with attorney and accountant of course, we incorporated one main company (the holding company), then made all of the businesses LLC's with the holding corp. as the parent company. This allows us to transfer money to one company (via profits), but keep seperate records, expenses, and LIABILITIES.... liability being the big reason for this, we didn't want one company liable for another company's problems, should any arise. (FWIW....the companies are pw, of course, mobile electronics, and a driving school). But of course, I suggest discussing this with your attorney/accountant. What works for one situation/person may not be suitable/satisfactory for another.

Washed a house today for an elderly lady. Her daughter was visiting, loved the work, and wants her house in Atlanta washed. I know it is 2-story vinyl in Fayetteville area. I am looking for someone who is interested so I can pass on the info to her. Post here asap.

A note on my experience. The more you use it, the faster the brush wears out, the more you have to replace it......LOL.....so remember to budget that into your maintenance costs.

Phillip, I gave her your info, but she is still here in South Carolina, so it may be a few days before she calls.

I thought I remembered seeing someone on here from the Fayetteville area. I will pass along your info to her. Let me know how it goes.

LMFAO, but true. AND.....don't EVER make the mistake of telling someone who just paid $120,000 for a "modular" home that he has a "nice doublwide".....it makes them fightn' mad!

That's where you are wrong. THe only way this affects the station adversely is if they were to not sell the next load of gas. The gas in the tank should not be overpriced because of the cost of the NEXT load. When the NEXT load arrives should be when prices rise. And i didn't SAY anything about GIVING a room to the refugees. But cost should not increase due to this disaster. That is BLATENTLY taking advantage of people....and is EXACTLY why we have laws against price-gouging. Hell, they're already going to make more money than they would have even if they leave the prices the same. I am all for free enterprise....but with prices within reason. If one's costs go up, then by all means raise prices. But not double or triple overnight, unless costs rise like that. You misunderstand my point i believe. I am not talking about charity here....i am talking about not ripping off the American public. And you are right, people can choose to not buy from them, and I don't. But I also think they should hide their heads in shame. There is nothing wrong with making a profit....that is what business is all about. But there is a point where it IS price-gouging...and it is legally.....and in my book, morally WRONG. These types of people are shamelessly exploiting a natural disaster. But, maybe karma will kick in.....and they will reap what they sow.

AMEN Scott, AMEN!

I require 1/2 down on all wood jobs. Rarely does anyone balk at it. But, like previously stated.....I go over the terms of the contract, and the terms are non-negotiable. I am nice about it....and frequently make exceptions (referals, repeat customers, etc)....but I also know how to hold my ground if I get bad "vibes" from the person, and walk away if necessary. I would rather loose the job than have to deal with the PITA factor of collecting. Commercial accounts provide enough grief with collecting....no need to add more grief with residentials. FWIW....I often wonder about how others feel about this, but I would rather do residential work (it's just not steady year round). Res. is more gratifying, most people are actually happy and satisfied when you leave. With a lot of commercial (especially the larger corps.), the managers are like "yeah, you showed up and did something, bill us and you'll get your check in 30 days....maybe."

Florence, South Carolina: $2.39 Tuesday $2.79 Wednesday $3.49 Today What really gets me is that yesterday, some of our local stores were changing prices every couple of hours.....I'm SORRY....but this IS price gouging. That is the SAME gas in their tank at 5pm that was there at 3pm.....which they have already paid for, or at least been invoiced for. The distributor is NOT going to call them up and say....."hey, ya know that gas we brought you last night, well you owe us $xxx MORE for it today!"....i mean c'mon.....the prices should DEFINITELY NOT change no more frequently than they get a gas delivery.....only THEN does their costs for that gas change. I mean....it would be like Walmart knocking on your door and saying..." hey a**hole....you know that milk you bought yesterday, well we've decided you owe us another 60 cents, so pay up!!" And on that note....last week a gallon of milk at my local grocery store was $2.99....yesterday, it was $3.59!!! 60 cents in a week!!! Yes, I know....it's because of the higher gas prices.....geesh.

Isn't it odd how if a contractor were to raise his prices like that, it would be price gouging, but it is perfectly acceptable for hotels to do it? It's absurd at best.

That may be for state law purposes, but individual circumstances could require WC (ie: a property manager, some commercial account, etc.etc.)

Now why does the toe get the "shaft" so to speak?....LOL...I thought that was hilarious! I kinda rate things the same way as pldoolittle. Basically, if it isn't life threatening, life altering, or permanently damaging....i ain't goin to no frickin doc!

Yeah, I thought it was a neat link too. I was a couple hours into a net search one day when i found it. I was looking for a reasonable, in the field, way to test the strength of sodium hypochlorite. Obviously a pool test kit is not helpful, and lab quality procedures are not necessary. If anyone knows how to do this, please feel free to share. Thank you.

If you have a local uniform rental company....their cleaning products come in 50, 30, and 15 gallons. We have a bread bakery here, and we have gotten 55gal from them. Just start thinking of places like that in your area, and call around and ask. You never know what you might find for free or a small fee ;).

Filtered bleach is used in industry. Most bleach from pool suppliers is NOT filtered....so it has been explained to me by my local supplier anyway.

here's a helpful link: http://www.powellfab.com/products/SodiumHypo/bleach.html

FWIW, I started with a used trailer setup I bought from a guy who had it setup for his son to wash cars, which lasted all of one summer....lol. It had an Excell pw (B&S 7.5hp, AR pump 3gpm/2850psi w/ 25' hose), a 225g tank, small 2500watt generator, a truck tool box, and a drop cord reel. I added 200' hose, some chems, INSURANCE and went to work. SPent the first year (last year) doing cars, trucks, homes, whatever paid the bills. Did a LOT of research. And did ok for my first year part time, or at least I think. At the beginning of this year, I added another trailer setup. 500 gal. tank, Pressure Wave pw (13hp Honda GX390, 3500psi/3.5 GPM....from Sam's Club), a 20" surface cleaner, more chems, more hose, etc.etc. Bought a hotbox back in April from our local dealer (who tried like a traveling salesman to sale me a $10,000 rig!!!!!....I told him not now, we're not ready, just the hotbox please :). Oh yeah, and 3 guys (2 full time, and 1 part time). We've been rolling pretty good this year. (And if you notice, BOTH of my pw's are what some people consider "Home Depot crap".) I guess my point is just that we all do what we can afford. As long as your professional, in your legal business practices AND customer relations, then it doesn't matter. You wouldn't believe the morons I have seen around here this summer who just bought one of those $10,000 rigs I just mentioned....not morons because they bought them, but morons because they haven't bothered to do their research, learning, etc. (I'm sure you've seen the kind working....just like the "guy who fell off the roof" post earlier.) BTW, our local dealer finances ANYONE...lol...and last winter I saw lots of "refurbished" rigs for sale at his place....lol...I'm guessing repos. ;) OK, post over, sorry for the long reply. Just had to add my .02

True. It doesn't take long @ 100 degrees outside for those darn little things to really **** you off!! I "lost" mine LONG ago....somewhere on I-95....LOL.

I agree with CCPC here. When I give the estimate, I rarely followup. I have found that it is a waste of my time. Either the person likes the price and you schedule it right then, or they will call you within a reasonable amount of time. Occasionally you will here from some one much later, but those are rare. For instance, I got a call just today from an old lady to whom I gave an estimate back in MARCH!!....I have her scheduled for next week. A person knows pretty much immediately if they are going to hire you or not.....they may be waiting for more estimates (which I understand), or they may have to "save" the money before calling you. Frankly, I don't have time to call people 2 or 3 times to see if they want the job done. There are exceptions, but as a rule of thumb, that's how I operate. Remember, they called you, which means they are already interested in the work. A lot of people like to take the lowest bid, so, as a rule, I ask them "are you looking for a cheap job, or a GOOD job?....there IS a difference", and if they tell me they are looking for more estimates, I let them know up front that I probably WON"T be the cheapest. Again, this is all assuming residential. Commercial is totally different. Sometimes it takes a LOT of followup to get the account. Just my 2 cents.