John Orr

Missed mine by almost 40%! The pic for mine is a few years old, and so is there estimate. I checked my Dad's house, and they are off by more than 40%. Cool pics, they're from Google Earth, I believe.

Tom, Here's another tip to shorten your learning curve...Exposed aggregate drives take almost as long to rinse as they do to wash. You will need to actor that into your estimates of price and time.

I added screen replacement as an option a few years ago. I either do them myself ($20 each) or take them to a local hardware store that does them for $15. The screens in your pics appear to be installed backwards. The rubber gasket belongs on the inside - toward the window - so that the screen won't get pushed out from the frame. In your situation, I would offer to go halves with the customer.

Been there, done that! I lost a fair amount of flesh on my lower back. Fortunately, my wife is an RN, so she took charge of the daily bandage changes. Had I not had a nurse at home, I would have required a trip to the doctor. Sodium hydroxide eats flesh.

PLEASE! Wear a respirator - a good one - anytime you use bleach/chlorine in a confined space. Is the customer's HVAC in the basement? If so, make sure it is turned off until the basement has been aired-out.

Prosoco SureKleen (sp?) 600. It works.

Even if that happened ( and at 125 degrees, I don't see how) there are weep holes that would allow for drainage.

I use "hot" water - about 125 degrees. Any more than that and you run the risk of burning the grass with the hose. (Not that that has ever happened to me!) "Hot" water will not harm vinyl siding. I usually apply wax with the wash and it works better with "hot" water. I washed with cold water for a few years and I know that I can get a house just as clean with cold as with hot. The difference is in the speed with which I can clean. In addition, hot water rigs can be impressive. (sizzle sells)

You need to remove the ( ) from your link in order for it to work. I just changed hosts (yesterday) to GoDaddy. I get my url's from them, and have foe 5 or 6 years. Great customer service 24/7. Url's are $8.95/yr and hosting starts at $3.99/mo. By the way, my site is not completely up and running yet. Apparently it takes about 48 hours.

I am SO over steel lances. Its aluminum for me from now on.

Craig, I switched from DR-60 to oxalic acid years ago. I used to drive to Richmond to pick it up. WAY too expensive. When mixed from powder, oxalic is about $1/gal. An added benefit is that you can vary the strength. P.S. If your looking for a way to test oxalic vs, DR-60, HD sells Rust-Aid - about $10/gal.

All better now. Not sure why I had to add /index.htm to the url, but that is what it took.

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll have to check on it.

Personally, I like a 25 for close-in rinsing. 10 to 20 seconds is about right to "clear" the line, but, depending on your mix, it may linger for several minutes. If that happens, you can drop the chem line into your tank (or a bucket with a gallon or so of water, to very quickly clear the chem line. I would also recommend changing-out the ball bearing in the downstreamer to ceramic - they usually come with steel. Also, get a replacement spring or two to have on hand for when it breaks.

Its about 600 miles north of Jacksonville.

How do you know they are bleach-resistant? I didn't see it mentioned in the link. Would you mind washing a house or two and letting us know? I currently use dickies shirts and pants, and they are almost bullet proof as far as bleach goes. What I really would like are hats that resist bleach. Mine are blue, but fade very quickly, so that they go from navy to more of a washed denim color. How are your hats holding-up? John

After washing half of this gutter, I realized I had to take a pic, the difference is so startling. I used Simple Green, one part water, 3 parts SG - applied with a brush. One wipe to apply, then a few strokes to clean and rinsed before it dried.

Actually, I have a feeling, given how easily SG takes these stains off, that I could probably spray it on/rinse it off.

The the house and gutters had already been washed, these stains were from the shingles - about the worst I have ever seen.

Tony, you can wash just about anything with cold water, just slower than with hot.

130 degrees is right about what I use. Yes, it speeds things up - think laundry in hot vs cold water. As for fuel use, in the heat of summer, it depends on several things, including the temp of your water source. My rig uses diesel at about the same rate as gas in winter and about 1/2 the rate in summer. If you have hot water capability, I would say to try it and see for yourself. I didn't have hot water for the first few years in business and I was able to wash just about anything - just slower.

We have been as busy, or busier, than any of the last 6 years. 2 to 3 three houses every day since the first week of March, including Saturday and sometimes Sunday. Normally, it will slow-down from mid-July to mid-August and then pick back up till the end of December - beginning of January.

Have I missed it, or has there been a date set?

I am trying to remain neutral, since I live so close to Williamburg. Having said that...Williamsburg, for those not familiar, is... less than an hour from Richmond, which is on I-95. just around the corner from Jamestown, which celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2007 (remember Pocahontas?) an hour from Virginia Beach an hour from my house (lol) full of outlet stores less than an hour from Norfolk Int'l (!) airport - SouthWest less than 30 min from Newport News airport - AirTran The most important part, to me, about picking a location (and date) is finding one where the most people will be able to attend. (The later in the season, the further south I will want to be.)

It sounds like this will be one heck of a roundtable. May I suggest an itinerary? Fri eve - informal gathering Sat am meeting/discussion Lunch Sat pm product/process demos. Sat night some event or place Not everyone will be able to arrive in time on Fri to participate in formal events. Many will be working during the day, then driving up/down/over. Saturday am can start about 9 and the afternoon session could run til 5. Many will need to leave Sunday, so nothing formal scheduled, though either golf, or possibly actual cleaning session at a home or possibly the hotel to offset costs (?) As far as location, Williamsburg would be nice for me (lol, 1 hour away) though I would travel to AC. Come to think of it, if anyone would like to do a roundtable this holiday weekend, I have a skeleton of a 200,000 sq ft steel building to clean. 35' up, 4 or 5 lifts available. Water on site. Pays too!