Adrian

The x jet will make your life so much easier. Make sure you get the model rated for your pw. If capitol is a pinch right now, I would go for the xjet as it greatly reduces the chances of climbing the ladder or in a lot of cases you may not need the ladder at all. Most important...... cover the legalities like license and ins. like Mr Brockman said. Don't give up and keep plugging. Business tends to come in spurts just starting out. Each year has been better though, so stick it out, and learn learn learn from these guys.

Great tip on the mineral spirits with the sealer. Does anyone know of a good brand of pump sprayer for WTW or Ready Seal. I seem to always wind up with a clogged tip or wand when I am through spraying and the fan spray pattern seems to always reduce by the end of the job. Usually end up trashing the pump sprayer after a couple of applications. 25.00 bucks here 25.00 bucks there. I would just like a reusable sprayer that I can get at least 4 or 5 decks out of.

That's pretty common on the vinyl I have been cleaning all summer. I see a few responses to your post' for help. I am available as well if you need my help. I'm sure I can knock out at least four or five in a day. Season is slowing and have the timer to help if you like. Just give a shout anytime.

I saw some footage on the newsreel last night. Glad you are ok. Maybe there will be some jobs for you after the cleanup is done (not to sound morbid). If you need any backup, I'm there for ya. I think I am only about 50 or so miles from you. stay safe. Adrian

Have a great day!

Demons are so rare anymore. Alot of them went crash and burn because of the power of the hemis. You have got a keeper. A real rare find anymore. There is a guy in Dallas Tx. (gawd I miss the lone star state) that has a lime green 67 charger that he pulls a lime green trailer with a lime green super bird ( super big 3.5 ft spoiler in back) with hemi to alot of the collector shows around Big D and beyond. It is a site to see. Valued at over 150k for the setup. IMHO the super bird was the greatest high performance street legal car ever made. I hope to someday have as a project. I have always loved GM, but the super bird takes the cake. I have also always loved the AMC Javelin with the 360 big block and dual carbs stock. About 400 hp. What a ride. Plus the Gremlin is a great ride to lose your virginity in ( oops sorry I have said too much). You have a real keeper. Keep us posted on the restore project. caio

I spoke with a deck firm that I thought was a supplier at first but he gave me a mix that works great without B-L-E-A-C-H. Plus nor "furring" whatso ever. Here's the mix. Home depot: Oxy clean 1 small tub $12.00 Zep formula 505 $6.00 1 gal. 5 gal bucket, 14 scoops of oxy clean, 1/3 gal 505, then fill bucket. spray with xjet low flow adapter ( did I mention I love my xjet?) let dwell for 20 minutes. sorry, I didn't take pics because I was running like crazy on 2 other jobs as well. ( not enough time in the day). Al I did was rinse after 20 minutes and remove the haze the formula creats when it lifts the dirt with about 800 P.S.I.. ( you can let it dry too!) The whole deck (20 x 12) took less than an hour including dwell time. This stuff works pretty darn good and like I said..... no furring. :lgmoneyey

Hi Celeste, I hope this doesn't sound dumb on this forum but... try this.... It may just save you alot of work. I have done this with SUPER results, except that my tile is from the 60's not the 20's. But for 3.00 bucks it's worth a shot. Clorox makes these liquid filled pens that work perfect for in between tiles. Just squeeze out the liquid while following the existing grout lines. After a few minutes the lines are white as chalk.

I wish I would have taken pics now. The finish on the deck was very old, almost nothing left. So there really wasn't alot of old stain to lift off. What the mix did do is lift all the mold and blackness from the grill area and brightened the deck to it's natural look. A bright blonde look. It was a prep job for a contractor I just landed. I went in and cleaned the day before.They will finish with stain and seal today. The biggest benefit from doing it this way for me is that I don't have to lay down alot of tarp like with using hydroxide based stripper. Just heavy rinse after. Kind of like " in and out asap" for the next crew to come through. Just wanted to share the mix with anyone interested. For a minimal investment in materials, you get a pretty good cleaning out of this stuff.

Hey Jeff... look up Philip Doolittle of Power House Pressure Washing. He is on this forum. He sells a product called odor destroyer for bad smells. If you do use bleach on the car, try not to let it dwell too long because it can cause hazing on the finish. But you will be waxing the finish after right? I think Philip will be able to help you out.

Where in Tx Pressure Pros, I'm from Austin. I miss it.

I'm in there as well

like I said, never again, live and learn.

Had a lady that Has a two story house with gutters hanging from weight of debris that was in them. Did a great job on the house cleaning (did I mention that I love my xjet?). The house is about 35 ft highest point. She asked if I would re-secure the gutter hanging from the end of the house. I replied that I cannot promise that it will be a permanent fix but I would try. Well, I only have a 24 ft ladder and could not reach from the ground, so I used the ladder to get up on her deck that was about 15ft high. then I pulled the ladder up onto the deck to get to the roof. I'm not good with heights first off. It was a real stretch to get to the nail in question that holds that section of the gutter. If you can picture having ladder fully extended already airborne from the deck 15 feet up and stretching out beyond the railing of the deck and trying to clean out the weight of debris and looking down at the length of the potentiel fall. I was a nervous wreck up there. Plus this was never mentioned until I got onsite. Again, the house cleaning (which I was hired for) came out looking brand new. Vinyl sided, no big deal, pretty common. The gutter repair was fine afterwards for what it was worth but still needed a gutter pro to replace or repair. The lady refused to pay me, since I did not make her broken gutter look brand new. I explained that I am not a gutter repair service and that I only do power washing. She started speaking in tounges under her breath about my performance and said she would not recomend me to anyone. That's ok with me! In the initial conversation the gutter was never brought up. It was however brought up when I got onsite. She had her foot in my #2 the whole time I was trying to fix her gutter.( that's right .... make it more nerveracking while i'm up that high) Finally she agreed to my explanation that this was only a temporary fix and that I don't do this type of service work to begin with ( and never will again for that matter). I offered her a 20.00 discount off of total PW service I performed to pacify her. The discount in reality was to get her from continuously barking at me. I only took a 20.00 hit in the pocket just so I could run as far away from her as I could. I'm learning guys, from here on out...... no free service or favors or going outside the realm of my profession. I don't care how needy the situation is. Standing firm on this one. It just amazes me how this customer went from pleasant to werewolf in no time at all.

Phillip, I agree with Mike. Your heart strings were pulled for a reason by that dog!!!! The Humane society offers a free scan for lost animals, in that, they can wand the dogs neck for a micro chip and any owner info. If the dog has a micro chip imbedded in his neck ( which is really common these days), there will be no need to put him (or her ) in a shelter. It's worth a try!!! also tried to contact you by phone yesterday..... I have some hurricane news for us that could help us get started. call me.

I am a little reluctant to place this post for fear of being bashed in some way about my equipment or whatever standards I employ that don't match or meet certain opinions. With that said, please don't respond unless it is really directed at the point of the post. I apologize in advance (Beth & Rod) but that seems to happen more than not when I post general questions and concerns. I have what I have and I do what I do. Here's my post: I would like to get involved in some of the cleanup efforts( not volunteering my services, but, making some money offering my services) on the gulf coast i.e. pressure wash resi's and commercial buildings that are dirty from the storms. New Orleans is pretty much out of the question as it is mostly government controlled entry, and I don't want to get involved with FEMA. I am talking about some of the outlying areas, Ms., Al., and outter La. I have spoken with my ins. agent and my coverage is good to go throughout the USA. So, that's good. Plus I am waiting to hear back from him about being put on a vendors list for claims and repairs. I am looking for input on how I can get my foot in the door other than just making the trip and showing up in a beat up neighborhood and hanging a sign on my trailer that says "house washing". I know I am not the only one who is contemplating this idea. There must be others interested in this idea as well. Perhaps some of you have done this before or are invoved currently and would not mind sharing your approach to this potential goldmine they keep talking about on the news for contractors and "restoring". With much respect to all, I value your opinions and input, but I will not respond to "equipment" bashing or "operational" bashing. I know that I might be sounding a bit rye by saying these points. I just would like some ideas on getting my foot in the door of these hard hit areas. One would think that these areas really could use some PW.

Don't fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult!!!!

Good luck lance. You won the ticket, now win some $$$$$. This might just be the beginning of a lucky streak for you. Milk it while it last'. Have fun at the game. Very cool Adrian

Jon, I was in ABQ last month to play at a wedding. I looked through the yellow pages in the hotel I stayed at and there were about 15 firms in PW. Also noticed that about half of them were also distributors or repair of some sort and looked to be as if they offered many other services as well. When I was driving around that wonderful city I noticed that the adobe buildings and most of the flatwork was so different in contrast to the mold in ATL. The city actually looked pretty darn clean. To answer your question, there are quit a few firms and probably more listed as painters as well. I think you will love living there. Oh yeah, there's a casino there as well called the Sandin ( I think) or something like that and the slots were pretty loose. There was also a great winery that the wedding was at and they had some pretty good wine from what everyone said. Not a drinker myself. Hope that helps some. Good luck with the move. Adrian

So I finished this resi in Atlanta and had a couple of gallons of chems left over from the job in my drum. I get home and was wondering what I should do with the leftover chems,i.e. pour it on the overgrown kudzu ( wild fast growing weed here in ATL) or try and save it for the next job. Well, there is this little old Irish couple that live a few houses down from me and their driveway is practically black from years of moldy buildup. The old man barely remembers yesterday and always talks about the war way back when. The wife is still pretty sharp though. Well I asked them if I could use the leftover chems on their driveway and clean it for free. She agreed to let me do it for free, but kept insisting that she at least pay me a little something. I declined over and over. Now before anyone starts grilling me for giving away my services, keep in mind that this is a very very old couple on a fixed income. I even cut their grass from time to time. The old man gives me fruit and veggies from his garden, which is payment enough for me. Well while I was cleaning their driveway she elusively climbed into my work truck and slipped a box of hostess ding dongs in for payment. Needless to say, all the calories I just burned will most likely return. I didn't even know they made Ding Dongs anymore. So I got rid of my extra chems and will most likely gain a few lbs. from this one. Man I forgot how good those things were. Have a great day everyone!!!!! Adrian

Anytime Mike, Still no word yet on the Brazelton bid. Take care

Some days, life is just GREAT!!!!!

LMAO about the cats. Sometimes good old fashioned hospitality pays off. by the way the ding dongs are good through Nov. Took your advice and checked the date. I remember when my mom used to pack them in my lunch and they were wrapped in foil. Now they are hermetically sealed in plastic to prevent spoilage. 2 down 10 to go. Have a great day. P.S. My big brother lives in O'Fallon Mo. not too far from STL. Ever hear of that place. Nice sleepy little town. Take care Adrian

office depot also sells actual carbon paper, so you might be able to print 2 copies of whatever, have them sign, and then you have a signed copy for yourself. Kind of old fashioned but I still do alot of business that way. or.... you can buy a bundle of blank carbonless work orders or invoices that have 2 or 3 copies that just tear away and you can hand write the info in them. I have a painter friend that does it that way.

Thank you Scott, I wish you the best of luck in recovering. I am actually trying to get to Mississippi, close to my daughter. I realize that this is the furthest thing from most of the residents minds right now, and that the cleanup will take a few years to accomplish. That's why I am setting myself up now for it. Again, I wish you the best of luck in recovery.