John Orr

I'm somewhat confused, does PWNA CURRENTLY require proof of lic/insurance? I don't recall seeing any mention of these on the membership application.

Did I miss something? Does PWNA now require proof of licensing and insurance for all members? Frankly, any PW org should - if they want to truly represent the professional pwers.

I refer to my "chemicals" as my "cleaning solution".

A few years ago, I was washing a house while the owner was away. It had high, 3rd story dormers. In order to check the windows, I had to cross the street - bu I did - and they were all closed. Apparently, while I was washing, the son came home and opened the window in his room on the 3rd floor. I never noticed. (I noticed the son return, but didn't notice he had opened the window.) Later that day, I get a phone call from the mother wanting to know what I am going to do about her carpeting?! Argh! Fortunately, I had heard about carpet dying. I called a local company (Rainbow) and they went out and re-dyed the carpet in the area under the window and it only cost about $100. Its not whether we make mistakes that counts, its how we deal with them.

Crown, Did you get set-up as a distributor? Just curious if they are OK to work with.

My favorite use is to clean round stepping stones. Hardly any mess and trims the grass at the same time!

Try calling your local YMCA and ask who they buy their pool chems from. They are most likely local. Last year, my cost on 12.5 went from $1.25/gal to $2.50/gal. I have heard that it will be going up again. 15 gal barrels are almost too heavy to move - I use a small 4 wheeled cart and a plastic rotary pump from Northern Tool to transfer.

I hope John explains why he deleted his post. This thread has been very positive with no bashing of anyone.

Today sure made up for it though! 78 here in Chesapeake. (Tomorrow: 60 in the am and 40 in the afternoon!)

WaWa probably makes the best sub. I also voted for White Castle - there aren't any here in VA, but I grew up with them in NY. As a matter of fact, my mom was a car hop (on roller skates!) at White Castle in the late 50's. "Buy 'em by the sack-full!"

I think the key is ... if its too far to drive, how much to fly? Chicago, Atlanta are great hubs with low fares from just about everywhere. Will most of us not spend the money on airfare? If so, then Atlanta would probably work best. When? For me, August is probably the best time. I am usually a little slower in Aug. I slow down in Feb too, but finances are better in Aug.

Well, well, well! My question seems to have hit a few nerves! For those that were wondering, I posted this poll. I wanted to guage peoples' reaction to MY idea of starting a new org. My reason for posting on this bbs is that Beth and Rod seem to have their act together, have been active in other pw organizations (lol), and truly seem to care - not about money, but about this industry. It would seem logical (to me) that they be involved in any new org. P.S. I am not a customer of TGS and have never even used a product that they sell or promote.

Who wants to travel to Memphis?! Most (it seems) of us are on the East Coast. Memphis is too far to drive and too expensive to fly. Unless you are an Elvis fan, there's not much to do in Memphis. (Been there!) An event such as this (and I agree, Not hosted by ANY org.) needs to be someplace neutral and unless its in Las Vegas (cheap airfare and PLENTY to do) or someplace on the East Coast, I don't think enough of us would attend.

Beth and Rod, May I suggest that now is the time for the the creation of a new pw org? With your creation of the e-zine and the apparent self-destruction of the other org, it would appear that the stars have aligned. A few suggestions for the new org: 1) $99/yaer dues for contractors with up to 2 or 3 employees 2) Require verification of insurance/licensing to maintain membership (I am a ServiceMagic contractor and they do this - it keeps out the "riff-raff") 3) Include subscription to e-zine in membership 4) New Org to sponsor regional events 5) Create a logo that will look really good on our business cards/signs/stationary/websites 6) Have TGS host an org forum - rather than create a new bbs. Open to all, but require all who participate to identify names/locations I do not know if you guys are up to the challenge, but I truly believe that the above suggestions would attract many of us that would not join the other org. They address several of the specific objections to the other org and offer several additional benefits. P.S. Maybe a poll to guage reaction?

On the local news, they said he was a window washer - working alone - which sounds much more likely than a pressure washer. Interestingly, while I rarely do any work down at the oceanfront, I have a commercial job scheduled (only 2 stories!) just down the street from the same hotel.

Ryan, Have you tried adding a rinse aid (cold water) to your mix? Better yet, add a liquid wax and wash and rinse the house with warm water. As long as I am using city water, I do not leave streaks or spots. It isn't always perfect, and I don't charge extra for it, but my customers are VERY pleased with the results. I have a number of customers that used to schedule their window washing after their house wash - no more.

Pressure hose/fittings Wrenches Fuel - gas and diesel spray gun tips teflon tape tips and bars for your surface cleaner chems

Have you tried leaving that spot bare for a few days to allow it to dry thoroughly? The spreading of the stain makes me think that it is a moisture issue. (Vinyl flooring will discolor when saturated.)

Adding Amway products to your line-up?

I have an '04 Ford E 150 van. I added a bench seat and installed the bulkhead behind the bench. Line-X in the back allows me to rinse it out as needed. I added a 14' tube on top to carry my 40' Coress. Shelves in the back give me a place to put all my "stuff". I pull a self-contained trailer (200 gal, hot) that I can unhitch and store in my garage. A small, ceramic heater keeps the chems in the van from freezing. Prior to the van, I had a '96 Dakota SLT, which carried everything, but it never looked neat. The van always looks neat. (And its secure.)

John T, I truly wish you guys well, my only point being that this whole situation could have been handled MUCH more diplomatically. You must admit that closing the bbs was a rather draconian measure - sure to stir feelings. If there is some super-secret great news forthcoming, why get everyone so riled up just before announcing? At any point, an official mention of this news could have been made, as well as a request for patience. This would have at least allowed many of us to adopt a wait and see attitude. Personally, I feel that there is a need for an organization such as PWNA, though I have always felt that the dues should be lower - especially for one-man shows. As I mentioned in a post on the PWNA bbs, I believe that the creation of a contractor-centered magazine would be a great idea. While I enjoy Cleaner Times, they are geared toward manufactures and distributors and offer little in the way of info for the "great pressure washed masses". I hope things work out for PWNA, and I look forward to hearing the "news" and how it may affect my business.

Henry, My point was that I, as a "non-offensive" contributor, thought that I was contributing to the common good. It all just seems so insensitive to those of us that contributed our time and efforts to be excluded for reasons that don't include us. IMO, all they had to do was to edit or delete offending threads or posts. That is the way most bbs's deal with this type of problem. No one ever said they wanted to delete their posts.

"... The total PWNA members who will have access to Vendor posts is in the 400 range. So the Associate members have lost 2/3 rds of the online audience they once had...." What they lost was the 900 potential members. As I recall, the vast majority of posts were from non-members. I predict a very lonely bbs. I have removed them from my favorites and have added their url to my junk mail filter. As a contributing non-member, I feel somewhat used. According to the last email I will accept from them, they plan on using the wealth of knoweledge they have obtained from people like me (mostly non-members) to create a "library" to make themselves appear useful. A BBS is a community of like-minded individuals. To be unceremoniously kicked out of that community, with no cause, offends me - as it should any member (or former member) of that communitty. Whether you were a member of PWNA or not, you had a stake in that community and suffered a loss when you were evicted. I'm sure that the 900 prospects will remember this treatment. R.I.P. P.W.N.A.

It never occurred to me to ask HD to honor the warranty on the backpack sprayers. I use the exclusively for stripping, neutralizing and sealing/staining decks. (A different sprayer for each.) I usually leave the chem/stain in the sprayer without cleaning and have very few problems. If I get 1 year out of a $70 sprayer, I'm happy.

Muzzles are for dogs. If they were afraid of being "bitten", all they had to do was shorten the chain.