Do the cleaners at the home improvement stores work?

[Dodgefan89 14]

Everybody seems to have different chemical suggestions for cleaning. Up at home depot they have four different kinds of cleaners. (house, decks/walk. roofing and a general purpose kind. They are all natural and i would like to use the natural stuff as my business will be leaning towards green and natural stuff. The chemicals seems so bad just their names alone lol. Thanks, steven

[Neal Forrest 14]

Depends. Do a bunch of reading on this site, and see what DIY chems people in the business have tried and still use. There are some. That said, you will find out that most people need or want more "bite" than the store bought can provide. There are great suppliers and manufacturers that work with the professional cleaners to help solve your cleaning problems. Find one in your area or find one that supports your favorite BB. Good luck from one newbie to another. The learning curve is steep!

[Doug Rucker 31]

Have never found any cleaning product for pressure washing at HD or Lowes to work. Except Bleach.

[pressureman101 60]

i tend to find the stuff at the big box stores like those don't work as well as they claim, at least for the pro use.. the results might be acceptable to the everyday general user which is what those stores are designed for..

[Douglas Hicks 128]

We use a Zep degreaser from HD for some of our degreasing work. But then, we all know cleaing exhaust systems is real easy work

[Washed Up 14]

Think of it this way. Why would you want to use a product that a H.O. can out and purchase themselves at a hardware store. As professional contractors we use commercial grade cleaning chemicals. And as Doug said it best nothing beats S.H. (bleach)

[Dodgefan89 14]

I would like to use bleach. Is there a good mixture for it. Like a ratio 1/10 or something? thanks for the help

[A OK Pressure Washing 14]

Steven,

If you want to be a professional cleaning contractor you have to use contractor grade products. It's that simple!

www.pressuretek.com is where I purchase my chemicals from.

As far as being green and ecofriendly and all that, bleach is all that as long as you mix it and handel it properly.

[Celeste 341]

You'll also learn about bleach strength.......if you're going to buy it in the jugs off the shelf somewhere - make SURE that you go somewhere that it's rotated regularly. Bleach loses efficacy over time and you might think you're getting a jug of 5-6% from the old Dollar store but it could have been sitting so long it's hardly 2% when you pour it...wasting your $$.

[Chuck Bergman PC 18]

Have never found any cleaning product for pressure washing at HD or Lowes to work. Except Bleach.

I agree! I have tried many, but nothing comes close to working as well as plain old chlorine / water / surfactant mixes.

Aprox: 35% chlorine on shingled roofs, 50% on tile roofs and 20% on house walls. Of course, you need to protect plants with tarps or constant heavy watering.