Pams Pressure & Clean

Don, Yes you can, and yes he is......:):):) Ain't America Great ???

James, This particular house would have been fairly straightforward to hand brush as it was a single story ranch on flat ground with excellent accessibility all around. Paul's estimate is in the ball park in that we could have accomplished this add-on service in about 2 hrs. on this house. For this client, we would have added $175 to the price of the wash for hand brushing. Similar to Paul, we also used a butyl mix on this home. FWIW the color of the vinyl that we experienced is about the same color of baby blue as you see here before you on the color scheme of this website.

I did a house the other week that had a considerable amount of oxidation. baby blue/ blueish grey colored house, vinyl siding, about 10 yrs old. (cheap siding and I believe that it has something particularly to do with the blue end of the color spectrum...read that from Rod some time ago in reference to aluminum siding..I'm guessing that it's potentially the same or a similar issue with cheap vinyl.) I purposely did NOT attempt to remove the oxidation. Just washed with the wand as good as it would get. I avoided brushing as this would have equalled doing the entire house to get it all to match. The client was not interested in a price for hand brushing a 2200 sq. ft. house. End product was a clean house with some apparent oxidation, but overall looked pretty well, although I use a somewhat different house wash mix than some so it might have a bit to do with the final product.

FL, Howdy.. Born and raised just outside Ithaca.. Will be home for about a week over the labor day holiday. Going to stay near my brother's house in Watkins Glen. Anyway, Now that you let us know it's a wooden shingle roof, this changes the game significantly. Your price MAY (depends on some different factors) have just gone up exponentially... Cleaning agents, brighteners, sealers, and methods all change quite a bit with wood shingless vs. asphalt shingles. Having never done a shake roof I cannont comment on the exact and proper method, but I have read a ton on this bbs and others and they all seem to tell me that it's a big time different game altogether.. I do not mean in any way to slam your abilities, but you might be well advised to bring in someone with experience in wooden roofs as a consultant/advisor/mentor. Pay them their fees and keep a cut for your self, then stick to them like a shadow to learn all you can. That's my 2 cents worth anyway... Oh yeah, bleach and sodium hypochlorite are the same thing. one is the proper name for the other. FWIW, the bleach you get in the store is anywhere from 4-6% sodium hypochlorite and the pool chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, shock, or whatever else it is called by just about all of us runs anywhere from 10% to 15 %. Same stuff, just WAY stronger...

www.math.com OR www.ask.com then type in either 'ratios' or 'percentages' in the search box

I am a former professional auto technician. That means that so far I work on everything myself. I say so far, because I have not had the need to rebuild the pump. I am told that there are some special tools required. It seems that a set of seal pullers or a slide hammer is the ticket. If so, no sweat.. after abunch of years as a knuckle buster, I have accumulated a bunch of shiny doo-dads that do neat things with mechanical type stuff. Jon, as far as relocating your oil filter it's not such a big deal, although finding an off the shelf part may be problematic at best. Once the proper components are obtained, I can't imagine that it would take more than an afternoon to be completely done with it. Shoot me an e-mail or call me on the phone and I can get into greater detail than I can here...

Ryans pricing is about right in this area. Although you might be well advised in this case to get a roofing contractor to determine whether the roof can actually be cleaned or whether or not the roof needs to be replaced. If there is substantial moss accumulation, there is a good chance that the shingles or roof sub structure are shot and quite possibly leaking...or both... It might also be advisable to get some kind of waiver in advance due to the poor condition of the roof, especially now that you know an insurance company is involved.

Sloppy painters suck! In addition to what has already been said about how to clean them, you should offer the Project Manager a deal... one price for the windows that the painters destroy because of their laziness...and another price for the normal windows. It is standard operating procedure for tradesmen in the construction industry to clean up behind themselves. Although a lazy superintendent can make or break this issue.. If you are getting paid to clean, fine.. but if you are actually doing the painters' job by cleaning up what he is too lazy to mask off or otherwise protect.. you NEED to get paid for it. As for exactly what to charge for windows, we are likely not a good measure as we tend to get well over the 'normal' rate espoused here and on other message boards. We belive that this is because of: a) our quality b) our professionalism c) percieved value by the client d) our professional relationships e) our sales ability For example, we were recently asked to bid a final clean job for a client on a commercial building remodel/restoration project. As a part of the bid process, we were asked to clean an original window of the structure for the architect, the owner, and the GC to approve. BTW, it was a flat glass storefront window that was about 100 yrs. old and had been painted over about 50 yrs ago. The GC told us to "Do the best you can and if the glass breaks, don't worry about it.. we need to see how clean they will come to see how many we need to replace." We successfully cleaned the glass to 100% perfectly clean and all parties were thrilled. None of the windows in the building had to be replaced due to lack of being able to clean or by being broken during the cleaning process. (Some of the windows were broken during remodel) As a result, we are currently in negotiations to have the maintenance contract for the building owner on both the interior and exterior. The short story is that we were not, and curently are not the lowest bidder on the job. We did get and complete the final clean job and are currently the frontrunner for the maintenance contract. Stick to your guns, get your price, then blow them away with quality and you'll have more work than you can stand. Respectfully, Pam N Cujo

Ryan, Cleaner Times magazine has published this info before.. I'll look in my files and see if I can get it for you if you want. Perhaps it can help with getting you started on the path.. Cujo

Used fire hose cut to desired length and filled with sand (any sand will do.. Home Depot sells it cheap) is one of the easiest methods I have heard to create a berm or dam. Use in the field seems pretty self explanatory, but since you asked... just place it so that it diverts or holds water where you want it to go..

We are bidding some commercial properties for a client and among the items we are adressing is that several of the buildings are Synthetic Stucco with fabric awnings. Now, in and of itself, the synthetic stucco is no sweat and we have developed a great brew for cleaning it under low pressure, but the fabric awnings are something that we have not done yet. Now, the question.... 1) The goal is to be able to clean the stucco AND the awning without taking the latter down from the former.. Speed and client budget dictate that we MUST accomplish this goal. Most of the buildings are ok but a few are quite heavily stained with dirt, mold, and black streaks (stucco AND awnings) 2) Our standard solution for synthetic stucco involves sodium hypochlorite and a butyl cleaner (All Brite or Power House from Sunbrite Supply), with the S/H hitting the surface at about 1 1/2 % to 2%. Would this strength of S/H adversely affect the fabric, or more importantly, the color? 3) We have experimented with citrus based cleaners (RPC 226 Citracleen from Rowlett Chemicals) on some homes, and are considering the same for these structures. I am guessing that it will be fine on the stucco, but wonder about the awnings. 3) I know I can mix a percarb with the butyl, but at what stregth would a percarb need to be to effectively clean both the stucco and the awning? 4) What about mixing the Percarb with the citrus? Appreciate any responses... Cujo

We have a client that has a commercial property that has been attacked by a vandal and a spray can. Synthetic Stucco, tan or stone in color, blue spray paint... We clean a fair amount of synthetic and do well with it using our low pressure and the proper chems, but have never attempted removal of something like this. Any ideas from the more experienced, or is this a case of paint over it and hope for the best? Pam & Cujo

That's what I was afraid of... The owner has not really said alot about it, but I know that the question is on the horizon and I wanted to have the best possible answer. Which in this case, seems to be what I was thinking.. "We can try, but don't expect dramatic results.." Thanks Jim, Cujo

I don't know the brand name specifically Jim, but it is a safe assumption in this region to say yes. It is a skim coat mortar finish on foam/mesh backer. The structure is fairly new, and unlike some of thier other properties has had no touch up painting that I am aware of, so again it is a safe bet to say that this is the original stained mortar finish.

Down south is a bit vague for a location, be that as it may... The butyl based cleaners and sodium hypochlorite that I buy are fine when mixed. The downside is that you didn't mention a specific supplier or product so I can't say for certain if this is the correct answer for your application. I can say that my house wash blend is excellent and provides me with many repeat customers and referrals. Cujo

it's also cheaper (by weight) for your supplier to ship you a bag of powder than it is to ship a jug of liquid...Might be easier on HazMat shipping regs in some cases as well...

Sure... The direct line is 770-277-6363 They have a toll free number, but as I'm local, I don't ever use it and don't have it handy.. (I keep them in my speed dial, so it's easy to look up) PS: Tell em Pam & Cujo sent ya... They'll add 10% to your tab :):) Cujo

Ryan, That is for 12%. I say 12% but the actual % could vary up to as much as 15% or as low as 10% according to the shipping label. This is not the fault of Sunbrite mind you, this is just the same label that everyone is supposed to apply according to the MSDS I have read. It apparently is quite difficult to maintain an exact percentage due to the breakdown of chlorine due to time, heat, and sunlight. To that end, Sunbrite Supply is very honest with us as to what we are getting. FWIW, we have NEVER had a dud load from SS. always fresh stuff, and always a great price. Sunbrite Supply ROCKS !!! they are honest, affordable, and great folks to buy from. As far as the BioLab option goes, I wish you luck. As you would know, that one warehouse that burned is but a small piece in their real estate holdings in the Conyers area. Save for the lawsuits that the ambulance chasers are already clamoring for, BioLab will walk away from this relatively unscathed. A sizeable hit in the wallet, but that's what insurance is for :) BTW, if you do get the hookup with a gig at BioLab, I'd be interested in discussing buying your customer/contract list. Pam N Cujo

Ryan --->> Here's Your Atlanta Connection ..... I might be off a bit cuz I haven't looked at the sign recently,(I gotta have it, and they always treat me right so I don't really look the price too much) but last I seem to remember, Sunbrite Supply in Lawrenceville, Ga. was selling for $1.40/gallon in 15 gallon drums. I think there is a drum deposit too, but no biggie since you swap an empty for a full one each go round. As far as price increases go... there was a HUGE fire here in Conyers a couple of weeks ago (you probably saw it on the news) at BioLab. A 200,000 sq ft warehouse full of powdered pool chlorine went up in a nice cloud of smoke and chlorine gas. The folks at BioLab said that during this time of year, that much stock in that particular distribution center was about a two week supply... Could be why you guys are seeing a spike in costs.

Paul, As a real newcomer to the business we would be very interested if you would be willing to share what system you are using for tracking. Did you set up your own db? or are you using a commercial package like Quickbooks or similar? We have so far been relatively successful in bidding and winning a fair majority of them. But a good tracking system is something we have been racking our brains on. Setting up the particulars seems to be the toughest part.. Any tips are appreciated.. Pam & Cujo

As a newbie to the business of pressure washing for fun and profit ;), we would like to learn as much as possible so that we may be the best we can be. Quality sells, and we want to sell alot! Before getting into wood for paying clients, we would like to experiment on something a bit less conspicuous..namely our own deck/home The home is approx 25 yrs old, 1400 +/- sq ft, and had been kept up poorly before we got it several years ago, but since then has been cleaned and stained. It is a pre-fab home with cedar siding. We built the deck about 3 yrs ago and stained it after a few months. Pressure treated pine. 12' x 24' ft We would like to clean the house and strip/reseal the deck. Any good tips / products / methods that you might suggest? Also, are there any suppliers who offer trail samples for just such a purpose? BTW, we are in the sunny south so heat, humidity, and scorching sun resistance is priority. Thanks for any and all... Pam

Anyone ???