Mike Hughes

Hello all, I googled somone and stumbled upon The Grime Scene. It's been years since I was here, but I figured I'd just say hi. I even updated my 11 year old avatar photo! I hope all is well and you all have a prosperous year.

The big 4-0 was this past September. I spent the morning of my 40th birthday in the Emergency Room with a kidney stone. That went away after some convincing, and all is well. My boys are 14 and 9 now........which is hard to believe. I stopped pressure washing in 2005 and switched to the HVAC business. I am in sales of residential HVAC and doing very well. For a couple of years I was a technician as well, but I enjoy sales more. Jim, I recognize your photo.......I hope all is well with you.

That's cool, John. Dave Olson was a tresure, not just a Treasurer. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a PWNA convention..........and we spoke on the phone once or twice.

You're going to pay no matter how you go about it. Peachtree charges, from what you're telling me......................Quickbooks charges based on the literature I receive from them. Alternatively, I use Paychex to do my payroll............which I believe is even more money. I prefer to pay them a little more and get it done quickly, and correctly. Good luck.

The question was about staining, not washing. I do use extension wands to wash sometimes though. As far as staining, we prefer to lean over and do as far down as we can, then reach the bottom part either by standing on the ground or a small step ladder.........depending on elevation. Scaffolding would be great as long as you can set it up and move it quickly.

i havent played it much..........no time. But what i enjoy about it is its a quick, fast paced game that lets you take your mind off other things for a minute or two...... My compliments to Everett.........47000 on spaced invaders..........i tried it for a little while but 47000 seems like it would take a half hour!

My favorite is the Chopper game. I have this arcade installed on my bbs.........glad you liked it, Beth.

Either that, or ........pay cash.

Exactly. Compact, manueverable, billboard possibilities, and nice flat walls to hang stuff from. I think it would be perfect for a deck maint. truck.

One of the most solid extension wands out there is the Extend-A-Wand.............simply based on design. A lot of poles flex too much, which makes them hard to control when fully extended. The Extend-a-Wand, when fully extended, flexes at least half as much as some wands I've used in the past.

If your buying new, I think the coolest vehicles are those mini box trucks..........they are box trucks without the dual wheels in the back...........almost the same size as a van, but you have a roll up door and walls you can actually hang stuff on. I think they're ideal for light duty use. I want one for a deck cleaning/sealing truck.

Yea, thanks a lot Ford..................I'll look forward to that one too.........

Thanks. I'm told they wore out because the factory ball joints can't be lubricated. Aftermarket ball joints can, and therefore are expected to last longer. Plus, I plow snow with the truck.........so the front end takes some serious abuse.

I bought my 2000 Super Duty used in November 2000. Got new car rates on the financing since it was current model year. Its an F-250, SuperCab, with a long bed. No major problems to speak of, except for worn out lower ball joints in the front. Just turned 60K the other day. I had financing approved to buy a new truck when I stumbled upon this one on the side of the road. The guy was just putting the sign in the window.........bought it the next morning. It's an XL.......no powers..........but if I bought new it would have to have power locks and windows............that just drives me nuts not having them. I like not having carpets, however.

I dont know the market there, but there is not likely to be year round work in residential pressure washing in ohio. You could branch into gutter cleaning to fill in some gaps.........but there is Jan and feb and at least the first half of March that residential washing will be slow. Commercial work, such as fleet washing and flatwork (sidewalks) would smooth things out for you, but may require a hot water washer (more $$).

I use a shur-flo set up just like Brian. I prefer the "Deck Hand" sprayer........but a lot of people make their own spray systems for less money.

Good to see you!

Sounds "just plain nasty" to me. Did you wear a respirator?

Why did they not want the brick cleaned as well?

Spoken like a true Califonian! They have trained you well.....:D

Wow......I hope they are insured well.

I just figure it will go up 30% every year till we're all out of business. Same racket with health insurance. Might have to start shopping around there also..... We're in the wrong business.........

I did the same thing. I would consider doing commercial windows though, but I don't go after it.

I dillute it usually about 2 to 1. Depends on how bad the gutters are, and outside temps. On hot days it works better. I apply it with a solo pump up sprayer. I find that it is not necessary to pay particular attention to the gutters on some houses..........lately we've only been using the zap on perhaps 35% of our house washing jobs. If I were to use it every day, I'd probably use a pole/brush to apply it to the second floor, rather then climbing a ladder with a sprayer. Xjetting it is a total last resort for me.........it just wastes product and gets it all over everything, including yourself if the wind is just right.......... No, I don't brush.

Been full time since the day I started............Feb 2, 1998.