Chlorine damage

[cwarrior 14]

Hi all. Been in the business since 1999- 8 yrs in New Orleans; 3 yrs in Florida. I would consider myself a pretty good operator/owner as I try my best to give my customers quality dependable service, operate with honesty and integrity, and take all necessary steps to limit damage to plants/property when performing our services. I need some advice. Since moving to the gulf coast 3 yrs ago, I have had several problems with damaged plants and trees. I recently washed a house using a mix of 2.5 gal 10% chlorine, 2.5 gal H2O, and 1 cup Simple Cherry. Five days later, I pass by the house and notice several oak trees with brown leaves. It doesn't look good. I thought I saturated the greenery good enough. I have never in 11 yrs had damage to oak trees. Is it possible that salt deposits from the gulf make the greenery more sensitive to the mixture? Also, I suspect the green will return in time as I do not think the trees are dead. I am bummed, and my confidence is rattled. Feel like a piece of sh*t. Time to call the customer. Any advice?

Thanks,

Mark

[ValleyPressureWashing 14]

How are you applying the house wash mix? If my calculations are correct, that mix shot straight on the house with no additional dilution is 10% chlorine (I could be wrong) but most house wash mixes seem to be from 1.25-2% chlorine. I'm not sure about the area that you live in pertaining to the gulf salt.

[cwarrior 14]

I am downstreaming the solution.

Thanks

[Mike B. 14]

Hey Mark, I've been in business since 1999 also. I have never had plant damage using the same mix as you. i am not sure what happened, did you rinse after washing? I have burned plants preforming roof cleaning, even with pre-wetting, rinsing during and after applying the cleaning mixture.

[Chris Tharpe 40]

We have been burning the grass up like a drag strip at this one property. Its really hard to keep from it when the hydrants won't flow enough to use a garden hose and hose sprayer to water the land with. Its one of those soft-wash only jobs where the customer made it mandatory and the surface is aggregrate thats requiring about 4-6% sh on the wall to get it clean. I hate it for them but they were warned

[ValleyPressureWashing 14]

Doesn't sound like the mix was too strong so I would just tell the customer that sometimes certain plants and trees act differently. Tell them you will come back to look at it in about 3 weeks, that way you can tell if the leaves are growing out or if the tree is dead. I suspect the tree is ok.