Chris S

99% of my house washes can be done with 200' of hose. If the rare occasion arises that I need 300' of hose, I just put a downstreamer inline 200' from my gun. This FAR outweighs x-jetting or any other method in my opinion.

How about... "while your at it, make sure to push as much water as possible under the siding"...

Exactly. You ever see a dishwasher when you put Dawn in it? That's always a great prank at the firehouse.

That mix will work for houses, but you probably need something stronger, like straight 12%.

That looks like an AR RKV model pump with the factory injector. If you are using household bleach, you need to draw that straight through the injector. If you mix it with water, it will be too weak. Try looking for a supplier that has 12% sodium hypochorite. If you are set on using that rig, I would unbolt the unloader and call Bob at Pressure Tek for a new unloader and hi draw injector. I actually started out with a set up just like that. If you use straight household bleach without results, you have an equipment issue. If you have any questions, feel free to call me.

A few months ago, I put fliers out on mailboxes when I lost one of my dogs. I happened to talk to a Postal Carrier while doing so. I asked and she said that nothing is supposed to be attached to a mailbox, but she let me do it under the circumstances.

I am probably sticking with DeckScapes oil again this year. I have been using it for several years, and have come up with a few custom colors that my customers have really like. For me, it has held up pretty well. I regularly drive by a fence that I did in the Spring of 03 that still looks really good. On the other hand, I feel like I'm missing out a bit by not trying some other products. I like that fact that products like Ready Seal and Wood Tux aren't readily available to the homeowner. It is probably comforting to some that their contractor uses a "contractor only" product. Also, with the Wood Tux, the same day application would be really nice. Does anyone have a problem selling the customer on the fact that you can stain a "wet" deck?

I almost went ahead a replaced it with another airless. If I go airless, I am getting a Titan 440. Let's say you had the $800 that the Titan costs, what set up would you go with for staining?

What kind of sprayer? That makes a big difference.

I run a General TS2021 pump with a gearbox. It works great, but I think I would probably prefer a belt drive. The biggest thing that I notice is the vibration from the engine that the pump endures. I've noticed a few loose bolts from time to time on the gear box. As far as performance, I have not complaints. I have about $1300 invested in a 5.6 GPM machine, which is very cheap.

Try some foamy oven cleaner. What I have done in the past is spray it on, let it set, and then rinse it off when I get to that part of the house. The foam lets it dwell,and it can be rinse at close range with a soap tip. Make no promises. The customer goofed your not a magician.

I'm sorry to hear that Steve is out of business. I learned ALOT from him and others over there when I was first starting out. On one occassion, I ordered packing kit for one of my pumps. I had never replaced packings before, so he thoroughly talked me through it over the phone. He then shipped me his personal slide hammer and packing installation tools so I could do it myself. I'm sure others have stories like mine. The industry has definitely lost a stand-up guy. Good luck in the future Steve.

If I'm not mistaken, that machine may have the downstream injector and unloader as one piece. I guess if that is the case, you would have to upgrade to a stand alone unloader, and then attach the injector.

How are you going to apply it? That is the most important element when deciding how to mix your housewash. If you are using an x-jet, 50/50 would work with 6% bleach. If you are downstreaming, you would have to use it un-diluted and you would still have some troublesome spots of mildew/ and mold that would need a re-application.

4 GPM is good, but more is definitely better. I run 5.6 GPM now, and the bottom line is more volume saves time! That means more money in your pocket. If you can swing it, definitely go with at least the 5.6 TS2021 General Pump.