blackjack21

thank you thank you thank you and thank you

I wet the brick when I cleaned it first, but then I let it dry before I applied the chems thinking the wet brick would weaken the effect of the chems. I wiil wet it from now on I bet; thanks.

I agree with Lance. It's silly (and arrogant) in my opinion to "refuse" to do half a job if thats what they want. They are the customer and you will lose them if you tell them they can't have what they want. we all agree that it's silly to do half a job but if thats what they want, you will be better off giving it to them. Thats sales. If your even half a salesman you should be able to convince them of the benefits of doing a complete job. As far as the neighbors seeing your half ass job, they usually only want half because the other half isn't noticably dirty (it may be noticable to our trained eyes). As Lance correctly points out, sometimes people want the roofs cleaned but not the gutters. Are you going to say no to a $500 roof job because the dirty gutters might make people question your work? The answer is obvious. Blackjack

Anyone??

Thanks Mike. Is hydroflouric the active ingredient in most of these gutter cleaners?

I always tell the customer that i'll give them whatever they want (half a roof,house etc.). I then proceed to show them the benefits of having everything done. 99 times out of a hundred they realize the folly of doing only half and they get it all done. For the one who insists on doing half...I do half. Not at half price...of course. Blackjack

I read in one of my competitors flyers that the black streaks are electrostatic bonding caused by the asphault and tar in the shingles. Am I being dazzled with brilliance or baffled by bull!@#$? blackjack

I'm with you; $12 a gallon sucks. I've just hooked up with a chemist to try and find an alternative to some of these overpriced cleaning agents. I buy oxalic acid by the 50lb bag for $50 bucks. If I didn't do it that way I would be unable to remove well water stains in concrete for my customers. If I tried to charge the $12 gallon my supplier charges for ox, my customers would laugh. blackack

I've seen some threads and talked to some people that say their pressure hoses last one, two years or longer! Mine typically last only a few months. Is this normal? I use a gates hose rated 4000 psi on my 4000 psi machine. Is there a way to get more life from my hoses??? Thanks, Blackjack

Thanks Chris. I have repair kits and use them frequently....too frequently. guess they'll have to do.

I mostly do residential pressure washing and roof cleaning. I have cleaned and sealed a couple of decks that seemed to look good to me. After reading the wood boards here it's obvious I know nothing. I would like to learn about stripping, brightning, wood id etc. I looked into the wrapi school and don't have $3000 to spend. Can anyone recommend a cheaper way of educating myself in wood care. Thanks Blackjack

Thanks guys! I am training a new employee right now. IF he works out I would love to come do some training first hand. I would need to at least make some sort of salary as I can't afford to travel and be out of work for very long.

thanks for all the replies; good thread. I have a double wire hose coming off the hose reel that I'm testing to see how much longer it lasts. It will have to last signifigantly longer for me to justify the cost, and more importantly the headache of lugging all that weight around. I'll post the results when it goes, hopefully 2 or 3 years from now ;) Blackjack