Aplus

I design all my own forms, then take to the printer for professional printing. I prefer carbonless copy paper. I have learned it is often best to focus on my core business, which is power washing. I let others do the tasks that they are best suited for, like printing forms.

You can also switch to a dual lance setup.

Sweet! Perfect application for two tone.

I would say there's a very good chance an under rated ball valve could explode. Not like a hand grenade, but it could tear open enough to cause injury.

Less than $3 per 6 gallon bucket, plus the cost of chlorine. E Plus has several ingrediants, providing results far better than dish soap. A squirt of dishwasher rinse aid never hurts. Does cheaper really matter compared to effectivness? I don't think so, not for two bucks. I know there are plenty of other folks out here who use the commercially prepared products, mixed with chlorine, and get superior results. Lets here it.

Who here uses cordless tools on the job? Right now I've got a 14.4v drill/circular saw combo I've been using the past two seasons, but it just doesn't have the guts or battery life I'd like. I noticed Sears has what seems to be a good deal on a Craftsman large combo kit with 19.2 volts. The kit has a drill, a recipricator saw, a jigsaw, a circular saw, & a flashlight, with 3 batteries and a case, for $199.00. I'm wondering if this set will hold up halfway decent.

Part of the purpose for the insulation is also to make the lance easier to hold onto. The plastic insulation comes in all different sizes, so to keep weight down, just install it on the areas that you will hold on to. Makes the lances more ergonomic.

Did you prewet the windows? A dry window in direct sunlight can get very hot. It is possible that applying soap directly to a hot window could cause the soap to flash dry. It can happen in seconds. Always prewet windows. If there is a chance that overspray can land on anything that it should not be on, then prewet those surfaces too.

One key to good results with any product is to apply the products at the proper strength, and dwell time. If using an x-jet you have to ensure that your wash mix is not being diluted too much. It's easy to wind up with a mix that's too weak. It could take a lot of dishwasher soap to make the mix strong enough. Testing needs to be done to find the mix that's best for you. I prefer to use a commercially prepared mix designed for house washing. My testing has shown that they work better than the different home brews I tried. I suspect that once you use products like CitriClean or Emulsifier Plus, you'd ask yourself why you ever fooled around with home brews. Just my .02

Wow, that looks like something from Gilligans Island.

Because someone did a great sales job. Composite decking is often represented as "maintainence free". The #1 comment I hear from people is that they would not have built a wood deck if they had known what it takes for upkeep. These people are ripe for the taking by a smart salesman who sells them on the idea of a maintainence free deck. AKA... composite decking. Because you asked.

You'd be amazed at what one can learn just using Google for reseach. The world is at our fingertips.

Similar to the way I plumb mine, except I do q/c at each end, as shown...

Those are some really good tips, thanks Jon! You're right, I don't spray much latex, maybe twice a year, but when I have to, the airless is invaluable. Do you suppose q/c could be attached to make it easier to switch out hoses? I've never used any of the strippers you mentioned, at least not yet, and hopefully never, because I usually don't even bother with jobs that may require the hardcore stripping agents. There are enough "good" jobs that I let the crappy ones go to some other poor fool. I can imagine that you need those strippers more often to do log home restoration, and with the amount of money on the table for those jobs, I can see why.

Shane, The way that o-ring is seated, I wouldn't have expected it would swell. I've never had a problem with that, though. Are you sure a piece of debris wasn't at fault? Hmmm... Rod, Thanks for sharing your cleaning process. I do it pretty much the same way, except with thinner. I'll have to give the degreaser a try and see how it works for me. If you spray latex, would you still use degreaser, or soap & water? Sometimes cleaning the airless sprayer is such a task, especially after extended usage while spraying latex. Mainly I would spray solid color latex on fences. I've been using Simple Green and water, but often the little clumps, and clots plug up everything and maybe the degreaser would soften it up better. Speaking of Simple Green, I keep it in spray bottles in all the trailers, it is great for washing hands, and almost any general cleaning you can throw at it.

That doesn't seem very long. I'm not sure where you got those numbers, but I'd double check. I have customers that I've been servicing for many years, that were brand new when I started, and still look extremely good. I agree that new growth wood is not as strong or decorative as older growth, but if it's maintained properly, should give a nice long service life.

Printed T-shirts with embroidered caps for the work crews, and embroidered golf style shirts for me when I do estimates. The T's have large printing on the back, and small print on front chest. The polos have company name on chest.

I don't think a hand cart will make a stable mount for two reels. It'll probably tend to tip over when you're pulling the hose out. Unless you've already tested it, don't assume this idea will work ideally. A nice heavy duty hand wagon with pneumatic tires may be an even better choice. Northern Tool has some nice ones. Due to the limitations of your trailer, it seems you may be forced to custom fabricate something if you want it done right. If you can't weld, find somebody who can. Be sure they can fabricate well, because it may sound easy to just weld this piece here, and there, but it really takes a craftsman to cut the metal stock, smooth the edges, clean, and finally weld, laying nice beads. Plus make it look good to boot! A side point.... I like all my equipment to look as well as function exceptionally. Although jury-rigged equipment can get the job done, I prefer my equipment to reflect a professional image. Let the college kid with a pressure washer in his trunk retain the amatuer look. Although it takes time to build a business and get the extra cash required, it reflects very nicely to show up on the job with a nice clean truck and trailer, and professional grade, industry standard equipment. If we as powerwashers want to promote a positive image for the trade, then we need to play the part, as well as offer superior service. Sometimes if you step back and look at your overall operation, you can identify that changes need to be made in the basics before proper changes can be made in other areas.

Check your local coin operated car washes. They often have plastic drums available that was used to deliver their chems. You may find it easier to locate a 30 gallon drum, than a 25.

I also use Emulsifier Plus. I don't have room to mix up and store 55 gallon drums. I phoned Espec a couple years ago about mixing individual batches of the product. It's not a problem they said. Two plastic one cup scoops to 5 gallons water is a good starting point. Most any alkaline detergent can etch or streak glass if allowed to dry, not just E-Plus. One of these days I'll have to try the citricleen, having heard nothing but good about it.

So you're saying you pour a little degreaser in the spray bottle to clean it out? I never thought of that, always used paint thinner to clean up after using oil based products. Do you also clean brushes, buckets, trays, etc with the degreaser? Do you do a final rinse with water? Thanks!

All my ladders are aluminum, and since I do not go higher than 24', I see no reason to bust my butt hauling heavy fiberglass ladders around. Also use stabilizers, as they make a huge difference in stability.

Looks like the fuel tanks are a bit small. I have 16 gals on mine, and I wish they were bigger sometimes.

I totally agree about NI MH technology, but it's just not as widespread in cordless tools as NiCad is. I'm guessing here, but I think the NiCad is a cheaper solution, which allows the tools to be priced lower. Like for me, I wasn't really in the market for more cordless tools, but for 2 hundred bucks it's hard to beat, and I like the assortment of tools. If the tools were priced at 400 bucks, even though they included NiMh batteries, I wouldn't have bought them. Too much money right now. Maybe in the future battery technologies will advance enough to allow better solutions at lower prices. Then I'll probably buy another set, but this one will do fine until then.

Thanks Rod.... But it's OK, go ahead and start the thread. :razz: