Aplus

Ill try to pop in Monday evening for awhile.

BE, The drain pictured above fits Honda 20 & 24 HP. It does not fit the smaller engines such as 11 or 13 HP. I am not using that particular drain valve, because it requires the engine and pump to be unbolted and lifted in order to install the valve, which retails for about $29. Normally you would think it no big deal to loosen an engine and pump, but it becomes quite a task when the rig is installed inside an enclosed trailer, with minimal side access. The one I use is similar to the pic below, which is probably not Honda approved, but is easy to install and less expensive. If anybody is interested where to order these accessories, feel free to email me. apluspowerwashing@comcast.net

Ron, Your information is not accurate. Honda does indeed make a oil drain plug valve kit, part # 15558-ZJ1-010AH. See attached photo. However, it is a 90 degree fitting, and the engine must be lifted up to install it. Honda also makes a remote oil filter kit, which is also handy to make maintenance easier. Rob, I've never use D-Limonene so I can't say for sure it will kill mold, but my gut feeling is that it will not. Also, when you mount that vertical burner, make certain you allow plenty of clearance around it to prevent a fire. Myself, I don't think I'd like having all that equipment mounted in a van because there are just too many fumes. I know my trailer gets stinky enough as it is after it's been closed a couple days, especially after refueling. No matter how much you try, a few dribbles of fuel always seem to evade the fuel tanks. That is why you should NEVER refuel a hot rig.

Rob, Before you mount that skid in your van, install an oil drain hose kit, because the drain plug for the Honda is on the side, which will be hard to get at when it's in the van. It is a nice looking setup, but maybe a little overkill, because actually, the rig is going to be out of the weather, and won't rust anyway. But if it puts you in a comfort zone, that's what matters. I've got several machines that are old and in and out of the weather and they never rust. I attribute that to the powder coat paint used, which is super durable.

Amen.

Saw this in the Detroit paper a couple weeks back. I was wondering if anyone out here did the washing, or new who did.

Sorry that pic is so big. I shrunk it down several times, but it keeps showing up gigantic. Beth, if you can shrink it down, please do.

Mike, I know you're not being critical to be mean spirited. It just kinda came out that way..... My belief is that even someone new to this would figure out very easily what Ron was referring to.

I use nitrile gloves all the time. They hold up well against all of the chems I typically use. The latex disposable gloves, on the other hand, disintegrate almost immediately when exposed to solvents. I get a lot of my supplies from Direct Safety. They have a very wide selection of most anything you need, and things you didn't know you needed until you saw it there. Check them out at www.directsafety.com Beth has a great price on the nitrile gloves, even better than DS. I think if there was enough demand for popular supplies she doesn't carry, she would look into adding the items. Would you Beth?

That's just the way Ron spells it....ok..spelling error at greatest. We all know exactly what Ron is talking about, regardless of how he spell's it. If I called any of my chemical suppliers and ordered a 5 gallon pail of limonlene house wash, they will know what I want. We should be glad Ron contributes so much information to this board, regardless of his spelling errors. Most all can walk away a little more knowledgeable after reading his posts. My .02

I have two separate rigs, one for cold water, and one for hot water. I have found no need to use hot water for housewashing. It burns the grass, and doesn't seem to make any difference for removing typical crud found on residential houses. Now for most commerical work where grease or oily film is typical, and for concrete cleaning, hot water is superior. Everybody has their own preference I guess.

Ditto to what Rich said.

Rob, You mention being one of the top quality contractors in St. Louis. How are you going to maintain that status, as well as uphold your warranty policy when you do the low-medium-high quality work on decks you've mentioned before? I suspect your low and medium quality jobs are going to prematurely fail, so you'll need to get some new contracts for them that state there is no warranty. If you know you're work is in the top of the field, why risk ruining your reputation doing sub standard work just to make a few dollars for the present? Referals make up around 1/3 of my work, which I'm sure I wouldn't get if I did someone a "budget" deal, and it failed within a year.

Here in MI, I don't see anybody reclaiming. Not one advertisement for it either. Maybe it's different for fleetwashing, but not the case for gas stations, buildings, etc. It may not be right, but I'm just reporting what I've seen.

Paul, I agree that insurance and advertising costs have to be figured in when starting up a business, however, I'm not sure you need to have that total amount available up front. Somewhere along the line, your revenue stream is going to have to start covering most of your ongoing expenses. Advertising, for example, is an expense that can go up or down after determining what works, and what does not. I guess everybody has different ways of looking at things. Probably the most important thing is to have extra living expense $$ tucked away to get you thru the difficult times.

Rob, You're mixing startup costs with operating costs. You don't figure in your annual costs for chems/stains, adv costs, insurance etc... for a start-up. Those are paid for as you go along, out of your revenues. It's good you're gathering data, and thinking about numbers, and building your strategies. Just make sure you use the data correctly. Interpreting and portraying data incorrectly can make it look like......... Notice it's Thick Sliced.

Email me and I'll tell you a few good places to buy the parts you need. apluspowerwashing@comcast.net

I'd like a copy too, thanks! apluspowerwashing@comcast.net

Lowes and HD both carry the quick disconnect version of the ladder standoff. I think it is made by Werner. It is about $40, compared to the bolt-on version which is about $20.

Ron, Where's that pic?

Today, I washed a home, and it was really windy out. To make a long story short, some of my soap solution apparently blew in the wind and landed on a couple windows. I didn't see it until it had already dried. Well, I tried Windex, vinegar, alcohol, and ammonia, and nothing would remove the white marks. It would look like they were coming off when wet, but as the window dried, the streaks showed back up. The solution turned out to be Soft Scrub, the pasty stuff in the squeeze bottle. Squirted some on a soft cloth, buffed it onto the glass, and the streaks came right off! Soft Scrub will now be in my arsenal of tools.

How do you apply the soap? Downstream?

Ron, I think especs Scum Buster is more appropriate for removing dried soap film from windows....at least that's the intended use as stated in the catalog. The glass de-etch is appropriate for glass damage caused by acid....maybe caused during a two-step process cleaning vehicles.

Soft Scrub is available with different grits. The mild grit, used with a car wax applicator pad, applied by hand using adequate water, does not scratch glass. However, the rougher grit version possibly could. That should have been pointed out...thanks James. Makes me curious if a mild automotive rubbing compound would work?

James, How much lubricant can there be? I've washed gutters yearly, for several years, and the black streaks still come back. Pauls' theory is more sound. Gav, I do gutters the same way you describe.... use a pump up for single story, and a 10" truck brush on an extension pole for uppers. Very fast, a typical 50 foot run is done in about 5-6 minutes. I've never used the Gutter Shock, but my gut feeling is that it will perform similar to Gutter Zap. Since the two are similarly priced, it might make sense to buy the one that allows for the cheapest shipping. The shipping distance on commercial carrier is a factor in the price, so look at which one is closest to you. I've added a little HD-80 to boost my mix on occasion, with satisfactory results.