screen enclosures w/pine needles

[CCPC 26]

I have to do a pool screen enclosure tommorow that has a lot of pine needles sticking through the screen. Whenever I have done these in the past, I have blown them out from the inside with a wide angle tip, but this is a very time consuming and tedious task with a lot of back forth motion for every square inch. I was wondering if anyone has a better method they could share with me or just an improvment on the way that I have been doing it to help speed up the process.

I hate doing enclousures with pine needles in them worse than anything else that I have done thus far in my business. I'm almost tempted to start turning down jobs like these.

Any input, advice, or coments will be much appreciated.

[RyanH 14]

Set the whole lot on fire and save the wide angle for putting the fire out when the rest of the structure is on fire.

I've had moderate success (relative to your method) at blowing across the surface from the topside and a very small angle (almost parallel to the surface). Do it in short bursts so the moving vapor does the blowing, not large amounts of water. This usually helps to lift the needles out. This doesn't get 100% out, but it can reduce it substantially. Then go from the bottom and get the rest out. A leaf blower *may* work, but I've never had too much success with that.

[Chappy 138]

I did one screen enclosure that was full of oak pollen, very similar in that it works its way into the holes and just doesnt blow out. the roto jet did wonders. it works like a tornado and just twists them out. cant see why it wouldnt work on pine needles.

the homeowner said that he just had his lawn guy blow as much off as he could, and I probably couldnt make a difference. His screen was spotless when I got done!

[CCPC 26]

Well, that went like crap. I spent almost two hours of tedious work and still could'nt remove all of the pine needles. But, the customer was happy with it, and he did give me a twenty dollar tip to show his appreciation. I still need to find a better and faster way.

Jon, would'nt using a rotery nozzle on a screen enclosure cut a hole through it? How far are you holding it away from the surface?

Ryan, I thought about torching the joint somwhere in the middle of my second hour when my shoulders felt like they were going to explode. But, the guy was super nice so I did'nt.

Thanks for input fellas.

[Chappy 138]

I held it as close as 2 feet. If a screen is going to tear, it will tear with any tip held too close. I did blast one screen out, but the homeowner said it was very degraded. what I look for now is whitish spots on the screen, that tells me it will probably tear.

[Mike Williamson 198]

Damn....wished I'd checked the boards earlier...was busy upgrading my system to XP Pro.

The best way I've found to do this is to use a large zero degree nozzle. I use a size 20. It seems to work well for driving the needles back out, or breaking them off so the outer part flies off and the inner part drops off. It does take some time, but you can get all the needles off. It is the same tip I use to rinse while washing houses most of the time.

I never tried the rotary tip..someone suggested it, but my method seems to work fairly well.

Well, that went like crap. I spent almost two hours of tedious work and still could'nt remove all of the pine needles. But, the customer was happy with it, and he did give me a twenty dollar tip to show his appreciation. I still need to find a better and faster way.

Jon, would'nt using a rotery nozzle on a screen enclosure cut a hole through it? How far are you holding it away from the surface?

Ryan, I thought about torching the joint somwhere in the middle of my second hour when my shoulders felt like they were going to explode. But, the guy was super nice so I did'nt.

Thanks for input fellas.

[CCPC 26]

Thanks for the suggestion Mike. You don't rinse houses with the x-jet nozzle?

[Mike Williamson 198]

Thanks for the suggestion Mike. You don't rinse houses with the x-jet nozzle?

It depends on what I'm washing. Usually I rinse with the zero tip, or with a 2515 tip. Sometimes I rinse with the Xjet, if it is an easy rinse. The one thing the zero tip is nice for is removing cocoons, wasp nests, and cobwebs, especially on 2nd story eaves that are hard to reach.