Need wash mix advice

[Need wash mix advice]

ok, washed the house on Saturday. I used 3 gals of 9% bleach, 2 cups of cascade, 1 large squirt of dawn. I downstreamed with my 2.8GPM 3000psi machine with a push/pull soab nozzle. Here is what I learned:

* I couldnt reach the peaks with my nozzle, barely reached the tops of my 2nd story windows. Any reccomendations given my machine specs?

* I learned how important it is to hold the bleach mix on the surface, my mix was running off too fast. I may break down and buy the simple cherry or equivalent.

* Rinsing was a pain, I need a different rinsing nozzle or something. A garden hose reached higher than the washer.

* my house is spotty the next day. The trim, where I could reach, looks great. The hardiplank has dark/light spots. I figure it will even out after a couple of rains, blaming it on poor rinsing. Next time, I'll do it when lots of rain is forecast.

* cascade did good job on lower windows, upper not that great but better. May need an extension brush or something.

I saw a set of 2 story soap nozzles at HD, are they worth it?

Thanks for everyones help. I want to wash it again in a couple months, but want to be better prepared. Any suggestions? Should I get an xjet? A soap shooter? What can I do to rinse better? How can I reach the gable peaks with my current machine?

[Need wash mix advice]

Hey Jivewalker better idea! This will give you a little better results I think. Go to Lowes or similar and get a product in the paint department called TSP SUBSTITUTE it is a sodium metasilicate based product and will give you better results than common soap powder.

Pat Norman 663-316-7685

I will get that today! Thanks again Pat! Should I stick with the two cups you suggested or a different amount? Should I worry about glass with this?

[Need wash mix advice]

Just get a five gallon bucket put 4 gallons common bleach two cups of Cascade and a squirt of Dawn, top off with water and downstream it on your siding. Wait about 10 minutes and begin rinsing. With that small a machine only wash / rinse one side at a time. You don't want the soap mix drying on the siding and windows before you rinse. Don't get too close to the siding or windows with high pressure. Contractors use a myriad of spray nozzles to keep the fan pattern and pressure just enough to effectively rinse.

Pat Norman 663-316-7685

Pat, are you talking about the regular old Cascade powder or the liquid? Sorry, there's so many different types, want to do this right.

[Need wash mix advice]

You are not alone...most people outside of the professional cleaning contractors aren't savvy to the tips and tricks. I'm sure most of the contractors that began from scratch as opposed to having worked for someone else also assumed that pressure was all you needed....I did.

Today.....I don't clean anything without some sort of detergent blend and in some cases, I don't use pressure at all.

Here is an unedited video of us cleaning the side of a 2 story house in about 10 minutes. You can see the detergent do all the work. We use rinse tips and you could stick your hand in front of the tip and not break skin.

We did this demo with one machine. As you can see, it took about 10 minutes to do this side. We usually roll with 2 machines....one soaping and one rinsing and can clean a 2 story home like this in a little over an hour.

Cyclone, Great video! If you don't mind me asking, what mix do you typically use for your house wash? Have you done hardiplank? Would you use the same mix on all building materials? Thanks for the reply!

[Need wash mix advice]

Most of my experience is in a commercial setting, big buildings, but I am by no means a pro at pressure washing. I'm a pro at managing and maintaining big buildings and the associated systems and equipment. I rely on people that are specialists such as the people on this forum and highly respect the advice. I've been around a lot of people who think they are pros at lots of different things and the truth usually comes out when they can't walk the talk. In the Facilities world I have to know a lot about a lot of things, but don't have to be a specialist at any. Anyway, I'm going to try the mix Pat Norman suggested above and hopefully get all this stuff off my house. BTW, in 20+ years, very rarely have I had to use chemicals for washing, usually cold water pressure was enough. Only used chems on grease and oil.

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Most of my experience is in a commercial setting, big buildings, but I am by no means a pro at pressure washing. I'm a pro at managing and maintaining big buildings and the associated systems and equipment. I rely on people that are specialists such as the people on this forum and highly respect the advice. I've been around a lot of people who think they are pros at lots of different things and the truth usually comes out when they can't walk the talk. In the Facilities world I have to know a lot about a lot of things, but don't have to be a specialist at any. Anyway, I'm going to try the mix Pat Norman suggested above and hopefully get all this stuff off my house. BTW, in 20+ years, very rarely have I had to use chemicals for washing, usually cold water pressure was enough. Only used chems on grease and oil.

[Need wash mix advice]

Seymore, been around washers for 20+ years. I'm a professional Facilities Manager. When I started out as a maintenance tech at a shopping mall, I power washed sidewalks, vehicles, and believe it or not the entire exterior of the 30' high mall. I've even removed toilets and urinals from restrooms and power washed them. I've washed HVAC coils with low pressure washers, and I've washed tons of pigeon crap out of many a big box store gutter. I've been around both electric and gas hot and cold commercial power washers by Hydrotek, Landa, etc. I'm past that now and have staff that does it for me, except for my house of course. I bought a craftsman rig with a Honda engine and generac pump on it a while back just to use around the house, it does a good job for what I need. My reason for coming here was to get a good wash mix recipe for my specific house.

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Seymore, been around washers for 20+ years. I'm a professional Facilities Manager. When I started out as a maintenance tech at a shopping mall, I power washed sidewalks, vehicles, and believe it or not the entire exterior of the 30' high mall. I've even removed toilets and urinals from restrooms and power washed them. I've washed HVAC coils with low pressure washers, and I've washed tons of pigeon crap out of many a big box store gutter. I've been around both electric and gas hot and cold commercial power washers by Hydrotek, Landa, etc. I'm past that now and have staff that does it for me, except for my house of course. I bought a craftsman rig with a Honda engine and generac pump on it a while back just to use around the house, it does a good job for what I need. My reason for coming here was to get a good wash mix recipe for my specific house.

[Need wash mix advice]

Welcome to TGS jivewalker please fill out your signature forum rules.

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Welcome to TGS jivewalker please fill out your signature forum rules.

Ok, I'll work on some sort of signature, I must have missed that when I read the forum rules here Pressure Washing and Contractor Cleaning Forums - The Grime Scene - Forum Rules, are there more some where?

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Welcome to TGS jivewalker please fill out your signature forum rules.

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Welcome to TGS jivewalker please fill out your signature forum rules.

Ok, I'll work on some sort of signature, I must have missed that when I read the forum rules here http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/misc.php?do=vsarules, are there more some where?

[Need wash mix advice]

Thank you Pat. I have a push pull soap nozzle that changes from fan to stream. In the past, I used the stream to apply and rinse the high parts and the fan for the lower areas. My only problem has been that my home made concoctions didn't do much cleaning. I will focus on one side at a time, great advice. Thanks again.

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Thank you Pat. I have a push pull soap nozzle that changes from fan to stream. In the past, I used the stream to apply and rinse the high parts and the fan for the lower areas. My only problem has been that my home made concoctions didn't do much cleaning. I will focus on one side at a time, great advice. Thanks again.

[Need wash mix advice]

I have a 3000psi 2.8gpm w/downstream. My house is grey hardiplank with white wood trim. There is green algae on the hardiplank and almost all of the caulk on trim seams and trim itself is stained black with mold/mildew?? I want to wash it the right way and have been doing some reading on the site. I want to spray a mix on, let it sit and rinse it off. Is there a decent mix I can make using household chemicals, or am I wasting my time by not ordering the simple cherry and some pool chlorine? Is there a good basic mix using just household bleach and detergents? I've read a bunch of different ideas. Thanks for your advice!