Neil_Asheville

Philip - I visited http://www.eacochem.com for the first time the other day. I would think one of their masonry detergents or concrete cleaning products might work for this job and be relatively safe. I plan on testing a few of their products...no experience with them yet, though. /neil

I want to set up a bypass for my unloader through a supply tank. Before I get all the stuff required, I want to make sure my pump is compatible. In looking at the pics here, can this be done? In the pump2.jpg, the upper hex nut looks to be inline on what's labeled Bypass. Do I just replace this with a MPT plug and QC a section of supply hose to the top of the tank? If you need more shots or info let me know. Thanks in advance.

Thanks beyoungsr and PWKid. Mathew Johnson from NY graciously called me last night and we talked for a good 45min. Thanks Mathew! I'll be calling Tom Vogel to get what I need. If anyone has a picture of a plumbed frame-mounted unloader block it'll be worth a thousand words to me. /neil

Lou - Rowlett's recommended housewash wax is RPC 821. I use 4oz in a 5gal mix.

I came across this thread in a search and wanted bring it back to the top. I know that when I don't use my respirator doing normal housewashing I end up with an irritated throat, shortness of breath, and a jacked-up caffiene buzz at the end of the day. When I do wear it, none of this. I'm sure we all have different levels of reaction to bleach as I'm only part-time now not doing anywhere near the volume some of you do...I may just have more of a sensitivity. (did I just say that? Don't tell my wife:) ) The $35 AOSafety model just KILLS the bridge of my nose and isn't large enough for me. I'm shopping now for an upgrade....my local Grainger probably has one for me. Out of a 3-hour wash, I may have it on 30-min at most. I loop it over my cell phone pouch on my belt and only put it on if i'm mixing, doing overheads on porches or if the wind is nasty in the wrong direction.

I'm curious if anyone's noticed a correlation of not closing a particular sale when the question is asked by the customer during the estimate "how long will the job take"? About 1 out of 5 I get this question before the commitment as I'm selling the service...More significant. More often it comes after the commitment as it relates to scheduling a convenient time for the cleaning...less significant. I'd like to know how others handle this question? If I figure the job at no more than 3 hrs and the question is asked, I would give them a range of 3-5 hours and mention a few variables related to that job or their property. I sell on quality of completed work, attention to detail, and in the instances where I know what other PW'ers have quoted or charged for the same property my rates are at or slightly above market.

Phillip - The butyl available to me here locally sells for $6/gal from a chem supplier. It's labled as Big G and contains <7% 2-butoxyethanol and <11% sodium silicate. Head to head with PP both mixed 2:1 i'm favoring the butyl for it seems to not dry and rebond as fast as the PP. The PP cleans just slightly better. If it's a hot day or sunny aspect on the gutter, I'll add a bit more water or do less at a time. Gutters bite, but the hourly I net is good. No complain'in...still 'speriment'in:) To your point above, just yesterday I knocked on a door of a 'house in need'. This was perfect. The wife had already booked the PW company she'd used the past three years for work to be done next week. I offered to leave an estimate as a favor to her to make sure they were in-line. They left to go to dinner and I walked around a bit. 2hrs later, she calls back says I'm 10% higher and gave me the job based on the detail in the estimate sheet(thanks for the pointers EVERYONE), listing of the ingredients in my wash mix, and that I brush all gutters. The other outfit doesn't brush gutters (read...perceived quality). She can tell in the 10-minutes spent with her that I do better work than the outfit she's used for 3 years. I quoted no different knowing she had the work already booked.

Very nice, Adrian. Are you a one-man outfit? Portable unit or trailer rig? I'm still having draw issues with my M5. UGH. I've tried the 9 and 13 orifices and continue to get a lot of air in the chem line. I just need to make time to call xterior. It is a great tool, though, for housewashing. With the xjet I average 3.5hrs on a house about the size of the one in your picture. I'm happy with 3.5hrs. I frequently get asked to do the gutters and not the house. This is usually asked early in the visit, however usually agree to a whole house wash after a few minutes walking around and selling my service. I don't do just gutters and don't know if any others here would/do. I've got some citracleen but have never tried it on gutters. I can get PP and a butyl here...the freight charges on citracleen add up to get it here from TN. I find it just amazing how nasty folks will let their house get. As hard as we try, we sometimes cannot change consumer behavior. You may see it too, but I'm finding that up until their first professional wash, homeowners just get used to seeing the webs and funk. Until it's actively brought to their attention with a well-timed call or neighbor referral, they won't choose to clean. I'm not considiering any retail advertising, so all my business is WOM, repeat, signage during a job, or door2door. cheers, /neil

Hey AC - Listen to RyanH. And I'm with him 100% on this one. Go rent a carpet steam cleaner from the grocery store. Works great on getting up dried mud on concrete, drywall putty off OSB subflooring, and a general cleanup prior to padding and carpet going down in a new home. http://www.rugdoctor.com/ Rent first, see if it fits your application, then shop used with your a** load of cash you just made off this new contract. Sounds like you have a great thing going. cheers, /neil

I did this manufactured home yesterday. 2.5 hours for $280. It was creepy crawley especially on the north side. Gutters (in general) are driving me MAD! They seem to take way too much time and scrubbing. I've tried a heavyduty industrial grade butyl degreaser from straight to 1:3 and purple power with various ratios. Still looking....there is no WAY the gutters I see could ever be done without brushing. I did this fellas Dad's house several weeks ago and he footed the bill to have his sons house washed for a birthday gift.

Do you typically quick connect gun to wand or do most have seperate guns with threaded connects for each wand / lance? I primarily use a 36" wand with M5 and a 6' lance. I set up qc's and it's pretty wobbly now compared to a threaded connection at the gun. I can see this adding additional wear and torque on the gun. Thoughts?

Thanks to all who replied. I can now see a whole list of applications using just gun and nozzle. I'm having success getting my local 15% supplier to start stocking SS couplings along with their brass. Tomorrow morning I have a 2-story with full basement and sloped lot. This is about 38ft to the peak, so the QC's on the 3' and 6' plus me and the M5 should get me to the top. Here in the mountains it's rare I get a flat lot and most have finished basements. I may still look into Steve R's new Magnum wand. I haven't heard of anyone on here that uses one regularly. I'll be at the upcoming NC/SC/GA roundtable that Celeste is doing and looking forward to meeting, learning, and getting hands on with the stuff there. TGIF /neil

Thanks Russell. I'll get there! /neil

The offer appears to be missing three zeros. Jon I'm curious, too. Since this appeared to be a well-established business with a solid nationally recognized brand position, a multiple of 6 to 9 times EBITA would have been a starting point. $15K/mo net is a $2.5 million dollar a year business assuming a net profit of say 7% on revenue. A 7% NP margin is healthy across the franchise spectrum. $180K offer for $215K/yr in earnings...I'll take 3, please. $1.29M to $1.93M is my online, anonymous, don't-know-nothin'-else-about-PP's-deal offer! Unless it was Curves and included hidden closed-circuit TV....that would have value :)

First post. TGS seems to be full of great guys and gals...I'm looking forward to learning and growing good friendships here. I'm in home healthcare full time and currently do an occassional residential house wash. I plan to continue to do 6-8 houses a month max. I have a housewash recipe question and a M5 question. As for my wash mix...all I smell is chlorine. I'd prefer my clients smell more of the wash detergent and less in-your-face-i'm-using-bleach smell. Current 5gal recipe is 1.5 gal 15%, .5 gal "Big G" butyl cleaner/degreaser (#4532), 3 gal water. I added more Big G but got way too soapy and hard to rinse. Would you recommend a more fragrant wash mix? Has anyone heard of or used "Big G"? The label states 10:1 to 25:1 as varying dilution rates. Being new to chems, should the wash have a similar TTW consistency as a soaped up car doing a hand wash job or is that too soapy? I'm using an M5 no proportioner w/ ~60ft of draw line, Simpson 2400psi 4.5 gal cold water machine. I have to say i'm not overly impressed with the distance of the M5. Although it was windy yesterday, I couldn't reach the top of my 2 story with full basement. Most of the homes in my area are 3 floors on sloping lots. I see a 24' extension wand in my near future. I could reach fine in rinse mode dialing the M5 open, although when pulling chems my distance was greatly reduced. Is this typical? I also had a hard time drawing chem when dialed all the way open. The short-range fan is wonderful and pulled chem nicely. I plan to get in touch with Xterior tomorrow to inquire more. Thanks in advance. With more practice, T&E, and hanging around here I'm sure it'll come together. Cheers... /neil

ClassicPW - Could you please expand on this statement for me... My machine is 4.5gpm. What method of lower pressure are you using to hit 40 ft up w/o extension wand? Thanks in advance.

Thanks Scott. In talking with my local chem supply house they said this butyl would be fine for house washing. I was thinking Big G at $6/gal would be a suitable replacement to a citricleen or powerhouse etc and I could get it locally, a big plus. I think they primarily work with contractors doing commercial flat work with hot units. Right now I'm using purple power, but will try this butyl 1:1 head to head and see which does best. Thanks again.