john@AEC

Hi Kory Any chance of a photo? Is it just the oil stained area that is discoloured, or the area that you cleaned? Is the concrete weathered, with exposed pores, or steel finished and smooth? Do you have hot water? How long was the oil there before you could clean it? How many times did you degrease and p/w? My guess is that the discoulouration is deep in the concrete, more oil will rise over time, so cleaning again in a week or two may be useful. If the discolouration is still obvious then ReKrete (or similar) may be helpful. Failing that... tell them to learn to love it.

Thanks for the info. The science behind it is very interesting, and I'll have to do some local product/supplier research and testing. While I love the way that Sodium Hypochlorite works, I hate smelling of it and the other issues.

G'day I'm in the process of putting together a large quote (my largest by a long way), and am considering asking for a deposit to cover most of the up-front chemical/equipment hire expenses. The job total is about $10,000 and I was thinking of 40% ($4,000) to be paid 14 days before I start, the client is a large national company who will probably take 30 days from end of month to pay (at best), so even if get an account with suppliers it will be due before I receive my payment. Has anyone done this before? were there any problems? Thanks, John

G'day I'll second Johns comment about the ball, the Stainless Steel or Chrome covered (which mine came with) don't last more than a few hours with the 12% chlorine. I've found that the ball pits and corrodes, and you know this has happened when the ball jams and no chemical is drawn in.

G'day I just got back from a weeks holiday - took the first half to unwind... Check this out (on google earth) for a nice spot to unwind 28 05' 25.58"S 153 27' 26.82"E John

too true!:sunshine: :island: :cool:

* now that's more like it... :island: ...when I retire....

G'day Wally (or should that be Wally's master...) I clean gutters as part of my ALL EXTERIOR CLEANING business - hadn't intended to when I started, but people kept asking me to.... Some days it's easy money... and other days... my record is 7 1/2 hours to remove leaves etc from gutters, they were full and piling back up the roof, it was all wet & decomposing, with plants growing in the gutters. But, back to your question, You need - waterproof/cut resistant gloves; a scoop that will fit inside the gutter; a scraper and a brush (all available from Bunnings); also need a garden blower (get a Stihl as they have the best warrantee for commercial use, but can be hired for first few times); have access to a safety harness etc (usually called a "roofers kit"); you may also need a large bucket and/or (stock feed) sack to put the rubbish in if you have to scrape it out by hand and the owner doesn't want you to throw it over the edge (because of gardens, or may be it is very wet and muddy). If it's dry - get on the roof and blow it out with a blower, there may be sticks in there which need to be removed by hand. If it is wet - get on the roof (though some prefer to use a ladder, just don't try and reach too far) and use hand in glove, scoop and scraper. Either dump over edge for clean up later (my preference) or place in bucket or bag. The water and mud that is in the gutters will make a mess on edge of roof and face of gutter, so you will need the hose/broom to clean this. There are many types of "gutter guard" available, while owners hope that they are no maintenance the best are "regular maintenance" and the worst are "worse than useless" as they trap leaves in the gutters and/or need to be removed to clean the gutters. Find out what types are used down your way so that you can explain to owners what is needed and why it is going to take so long/cost so much. There have been a couple of jobs recently where I've had to pass as the roof was too high/steep or no safe harness tie off points. I don't like just leaving people in the lurch, and I want them to remember me as someone who knows his stuff and is helpful, so I directed them to a company called "gutter vac", they specialize in gutter cleaning with an enormous (truck mounted) vacuum cleaner. I don't worry about giving jobs away as it's a job I can't do and gutter vac is expensive for the jobs I can do, and I still get to clean the rest of the house, as well as be remembered for solving the owners problem. Gotta go, time to cook pancakes for breakfast... John

G'day Brett As Mike says- just push the s/c wheels over the edge, it will happily ride on the brush/skirt. or should I say G'duy Brutt Us Muke suys- just push the s/c whuuls uvur thu udge, ut wull huppily rude un thu brush/skurt.:lgwave: How's the weather over that side of the puddle? good weathwer for fush & chups LOL!!!:sinister: Cheers John

Can't believe it, but I did it... Last week I did half a shopping centre walkway (the end with the water tap!) and this morning I went back to do the other half. Got myself up early, drove 35 min across town and on site at 4:30 am (and 8 oC - it's winter down here). It's a good job, not big, but no hassles and PM accepted my price straight up - and the last job I did they paid quickly! An easy, stress free $100/hr gross. But there's no tap at this end of the building. 20 minutes of walking through the gardens, upseting the neighbours' (large, loud) dog, pacing out the distances from the other tap, shivering, swearing, more walking through the gardens, shivering.... and back in the ute... and drive 35 mins home and back into bed. Not enough hose! I've been planning to buy a long, large diameter water hose.... and extra HP hose.... and a brain.... I can't believe I didn't check for enough taps.... D'oh :lgbonk:

G'Day Dave I've cleaned a few of these (shade cloth is a woven/knitted synthetic, quite open so that lots of water>dirt>mould>plant sap>bird droppings can get in and stay in....). They are usually stretched very tight, so would not take down as very difficult to put up again, also would need a very large and clean area to wash/rinse on. I have used a stronger than normal house wash mix (cloth is all synthetic so won't bleach) and high pressure wand from underneath, but I would love to try hot water. Examine the condition of the material and edge stitching before you do anything, as some are made (much) better than others and they do break down over time - esspecially the stitching. If they are looking faded and stretched, with loose/undone stitching be very cautious/gentle/quick to leave. You need to be carefull with the pressure as too much will stretch the cloth, and if the pressure is uneven the cleaning will be uneven, leaving light/dark patches. I found, with 15 l/m @ 3600 psi and 15 degree tip that I needed to get quite close - about 30 - 40mm from the cloth. I've used a ladder to get close, but it is very slow, so I'll invest in a couple of extensions next time. Don't use a turbo nozzle as you can't get even pressure all over the cloth, and the vibrations from the pulsing (from the piston pump) can loosen/tear the stitching when you do the edges. Oh, and be prepared to get very, very wet!!!! and don't promise to get every stain out - I'd rather leave a stain than a hole in the cloth from too much pressure.

Crikey, the courtesy of connection is cancelled. Crumbs... Moriarty, confound this clan of chivalrous and clever cleaners, they are in cahoots! their campaign of calumniation has climaxed in our canny, callous and catty career of chaos culminating in our own catastrophe... :sinister:... Come old chum, let us clamber a circuitous course to our citadel of chicanery and closet ouselves to coalesce our copious collection of crafty, curious, corrupt and contemptuous characters... :hmmm:... Capers of our cantankerous cabal will continue to call :sinister: , to circumvent the clandestine claque with a capricious caricature, a courageous charlatan - to collapse and control this cheap caucus. Comprehend! we will circulate this club and I certify that our continent will be chronic!!!! :seeya:

Thanks Don Amazed at the price $57.99... they're over $200 by the time they get down here. I'll try and permanantly mount mine and have an extra container of water just for flushing. Cheers John

G'day Don I've read some of you other posts about this (and that and the other) and must say thanks for being so open about what works. (Sucking up complete so onto question LOL). I'm putting together another electric pump setup (for sodium hypochlorite - about 3 to 5%) and am having trouble finding out what is the best material for seals etc. Both Shurflo and Flojet have some models with viton/viton, is this what you use? is there something better? Teflon is extremely good, but nobody makes seals with teflon (too brittle), have you (or anybody else for that matter) tried spraying seals with teflon ? Thanks in advance Cheers John

G'day Dave (if you thought you post was long, you should read this reply!) I live in the sub-tropics and all nearly all my houses are painted (acrylic) weatherboard or champherboard (sp?) which has some (or a lot of) oxidation. Comparing it to leaving a car in sun for years and seeing the faded paint which needs polishing helps. I've got into the habit of telling people the worst - lots of oxidation and it will need to be brushed/hand washed. If it's an over the phone quote I ask the home owner to check if there is any white powder on their fingers if they rub them over the paint, or if I'm there I check in several places around the house and show the owner the white powder amongst the other dirt and mould. The exception is the house that is so covered in mould that the paint hasn't had any sun/oxygen to break it down. But how to get it off.... as Jarrod says - you need a brush, a soft long bristle brush and a long pole (I have a painters extendable pole - about 4m) and a large ladder. It can be a long, slow, back breaking job but it's the only way to get it off (of course now that I've said that there will be lots who have an easier way.... ). Brushing the paint is like polishing the car, only a physical rubbing will do it. This is the same for a colorbond steel roof, high pressure water will get some of the oxidation of but not all. I'm not game to use high pressure as I'm too worried about damaging the paint and shooting water up between the boards which usually have gaps between them because of warping over the years (many of my houses are over 30 years old and not very well kept, some are 80 to 100 years old). Use the same house wash mixture you would normally use and rinse as you normally would. I've lost more than a few jobs explaining that it will take a full day to hand wash - to remove the oxidation - but as always, some people care about their home and others don't. Now, what was your question...? Should you charge more? of course! how much more? if it takes twice as long, then twice as much is a good start. May be a bit less as there's less driving around, only one quote etc. Cheers John