Aplus

At one of the local HD, in the area where the sliding doors are and you exit, there is a small vendor that sells hotdogs, chips, and soda. Imagine if there were a booth setup where you could buy beards. What a country.

That's why I like the 12v shurflow system. Never have to worry about electricity onsite. I keep a battery charger in the trailer in case I forget to charge the battery. I also have two pump up sprayers in each trailer for back up purposes. I try to be redundant in as many areas as I can so not to be down on a job. Actually, on single story homes, I like to apply gutter cleaner via a pump up, because it is faster and more economical.

It is true those statements are included on most pump sprayers. The issue is not whether the device is capable of spraying certain chems, but rather the liability issue of doing it. If you dress and equip yourself properly, you can greatly reduce the risk of personal injury during their use. In fact pump sprayers and their use can be downright safe if certain care and procedures are always followed. The problem is that many consumers won't follow the proper procedures, and will end up injuring themselves, then trying to sue the manufacturers for their stupidity. I've seen people smoking while gassing their cars, so I can't picture it would be any different while spraying any number of caustics, solvents, and what not. I'm not saying to anybody that it is safe to spray certain chems with a pump up that says not to. Just be equipped for safety if you make that decision.

I don't think I can generalize how many s/f to the gallon is typical. The age, condition and species of wood present too many variables. Between 100 and 200 s/f per gallon is my response.

John, Nice job. Gutters and trim that clean are what I expect the results to be. That's how you know you're using the chems right. Proper chemical selection and application can make house washing a brushless operation. One of my local competitors states in his advertising that he brushes all siding when cleaning. I think alot of customers may perceive that brushing provides superior results. After reading the ad, I got to thinking about my methods of washing a house, which are typical of the trade. How can a case be made that chems alone can do as good a job as brushing with environmentally friendly soaps. I know they can and do, but how to convince the customer? In order to achieve brushless cleaning, the chems have to be applied pretty strong. For example, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and clorine are common ingrediants in house and trim washing brews, and that stuff is downright nasty. I can't rationalize to myself that the larger amount of water during the wash will dilute the effects of the chems. The ten or more gallons of caustic spuz sprayed on the house has to go somewhere....I hope not into somebodies well.

I always include exterior gutter cleaning with every house wash I do. I've never had anybody ask for a gutter wash without also doing the whole house. I always plan on having to brush the gutters, but sometimes the gutter zap does the trick by itself, without brushing. Man, if I could get say $250 for washing a house, plus another $350 for the gutters, I'd be a happy power washer.

Paul, I think you need to re-read my 2 posts. I merely expressed how I mix my emulsifier plus. Then I also say that everyone needs to do their own testing to determine what works for them. Then I say to mix the chems at the mfg suggested rate. Every product I mentioned is approved for a mix as you need it approach. I don't understand what you're busting my chops for..:(

Paul, Your colored marbles example makes sense. However, we're not talking about marbles. I'm not a chemist, or a mathematician, so I don't have scientific data to back up what I'm saying. I can only relate to my observations and experiences. I feel that most chemicals, when blended properly with the appropriate additives can be considered truly mixed for most purposes. For example, consider pool shock packaged in 1# bags. 90+ % of the ingrediants in the package is just filler. It's possible that any given scoop could contain more filler than another scoop, making for a weak dosage. Yet the directions tell you to add x ounces based on the gallons of water in your pool. It doesn't say you have to use the whole package. My observations for the past 17 years as a pool owner is that a 1/2 bag of shock works the same every time. Why?....because it was properly blended. In fact, I can't even think of a commercially prepared dry product that can't be measured and used at differing amounts as long as the proportions are kept the same. My expectation is that the shock has been properly blended to provide the same results everytime for any given amount. Maybe the point is that mixing raw chems in your garage is more hit-or-miss because a person likely does not have the knowledge or equipment to make the mix as it should be. A paint stick used for stirring a couple dry chems in a five gallon pail may not be good enough. Unless the manufacturer specifically says to not do it, I will always make up my mixes in smaller amounts, as I need them, rather than in a 55 gallon drum.

John, I like the blue wand, and dislike it for certain reasons. I like the locking mechanism better, it's easier to operate than the ones on the yellow poles. However, the blue pole is heavier than the yellow ones, and the extra weight is fatiguing. I like the extendawand best of all, and when I can afford to buy three more, I'll be selling both the blue and yellow extensions I have now.....:) I keep two extension poles in each trailer, a short one, and a long one.

I use the emulsifier plus, with very good results. I don't have room in my garage for any more drums, so I mix it on each jobsite, at 2 measuring cups per five gallons of water, and one gallon of 12% clorine. I use my xjet to apply it with a 4gpm machine, so it's applied from the pail at a rate of about 1 part solution to 1.7 parts water. Washers delivering different GPM's will affect the final output from the xjet. I tested varying mix rates until I found what worked for me. I suggest everyone conduct their own testing to determine what works best for them. While I realize it's probably best to mix it all up at once in a drum, I just can't do it that way, and actually have had quite good results mixing as I said above. Of course, HD-80 and EFC-38 have several different dry ingrediants mixed together, and you don't have to mix up the whole pail at one time. So I'm not 100% convinced that dry chems need to be mixed up all at once. I think that perhaps someone has speculated that, and now some folks think that is always the case. Once again, do your own testing and find out what works best in your particular situation. Don't forget that different parts of the country have water of varying hardness, which greatly affects the amount of chems needed to obtain a certain result. You can use recommendations here as a starting point, and adjust up/down as needed.

I've got three of the old fiberglass extension poles, that used to be ok, but since I got my extendawand, I don't even want to use them anymore. Sure the extendawands are a little pricey, but like anything else, you get what you pay for. Over time, I plan on replacing all my extension poles with extendawands.

Beth, Since the efc-38 is a sodium percarbonate based cleaner, is it wise to mix bleach with it? Just curious.

On the other hand, my first two cold water machines were direct drive Excell washers from Home Depot. 11 & 13 horse Hondas, attached to Cat or AR pumps. These are rated for lifes of 1000 hrs for the pump, and 2000 hrs for the engine. Mine have lots more hours than that. Belt drives provide a longer pump life, are smoother running, and often more fuel efficient. They are also a little heavier than direct drives, which may make a difference if you are working by yourself. I now have 2 belt driven and the original 2 direct drives, which are still used almost daily. I say continue your research and buy the best you can afford.

OTP, Problem is, you'd need a 1 ton or bigger truck to pull that trailer around. Water and fuel, almost 10,000 # 2 hot water rigs, 1,200 # Misc easily 800# Trailer alone at least 2000# I can tell you for a fact that towing a 14,000# trailer is a task in itself. 1100 gallons of water would create a wave momentum that you'd better be prepared to handle. Too much hassle for me. My trailer is about 6000# full, and is about all I would personally want to haul around. IMHO, a box truck would be a better choice for heavier loads.

Jon, Whatever brand tires you chose, the nature of your driving conditions are going to be the factor in how long they last. When you load up the rear of your truck with a lot of tongue weight, the front end of your truck lifts up a bit. This changes the camber and caster angles on the front tires, and the tires wear prematurely. It would be appropriate to have a front end alignement done when the truck is under load, so the angles can be set to the specific condition. Figure your average tongue weight, and load your truck with an equal amount before they begin the alignment. Not only will your tires wear better, the truck will probably handle a little better when you're towing your trailer.

To me, it's a goofy looking rig....in an oddball sense. If I had to have that much load capacity, I'd rather have a heavy duty chassis with a box on it.

Beth, Does Wood Tux have to be stripped completely for a recoat, or can it be just washed with a percarb cleaner and recoated?

Ron, ReadySeal is great for maintainability. Not sure about Wood Tux, Beth can answer that. Forget about the CWF-UV, that's a finish you and your customer will regret. It holds up very poorly.

Don't ya just hate it when a customer is standing around watching you work, while he quaffs a cold beer, while complaining how hot it is?

The only other way to remove acrylic latex is with a big can of lighter fluid and a match......:D Seriously, as far as I know, it's almost hopeless. It's either do as Greg mentioned, or cover over with another solid. Two tones are the perfect solution to keeping the costs down for the customer. One last solution would be to replace the railing.

Ron, Sikkens is one of the toughest stains to remove. I've had occasions where HD80 will not remove it well, even when applied heavily and allowed to dwell for extended times and kept wet with more HD80. I always tell customers upfront that the Sikkens may not completely come off, and it's best to evaluate until after the stripping. I know Beth says they have no problems with Sikkens removal, but I have not seen that yet. The citric did not cause the nail stains. They were already there, but you couldn't see them when the deck was dirty. Oxalic is the best for removing nail stains, or rust stains in general.

Paul, I'm only 30 minutes north of the ohio border, off i75. I think I could shoot down and have some ribs, and tell Jon how good they were..;)

I'm sure I'd throw up, and with the prices for lunch at Cedar Point, that be a waste of $$$ Of course a bulimic might appreciate the ride....:D

Reed, Be glad you haven't encountered acrylic latex. HD80 won't touch it.

Earl, OK, if full strength gutter zap won't remove streaks without brushing, you might try a little hd-80 in the mix. Start with 1/4 cup in five gallons. It sounds like the streaks in the gutters may be permanant. Have the gutters been painted? You may still have to brush. 2nd story gutters are no problem with the right extension pole. Not all are created equal. Good luck.