X-Jetter

[Degraffreed 21]

This question is for all my X-jetters doing housewashing.

On a typical( if there is such a thing) home, with light mold/ mildew on it. Approx. 1500 square ft two story, all vynil siding.

How many gallon of chems would you use to clean a home of this size?

Mixture consist of 12% sh and your favorite soap detergent?

I guess gpm is needed here also. 3000 psi and 5 gpm if you need all the variables..to make your decision.

five gallons

Ten gallons

15 gallons

DeGraffreed

[Degraffreed 21]

Jeff,

I got your call. My thoughts exactly. Just was wondering if I was wasting chems vs decreasing labor. You help answer my question.

Jeff, Why so much SH in your formula?. Whats your Gpm? Mine is 5gpm and I use about 1gallon of 12% and 1 gallon of powerhouse, xjet with biege orfice, I think its 13:1 could be wrong on that one. I am always looking a ways to decrease labor hours. Againg thanks for the call.

DeGraffreed

[PressurePros 248]

DeGraffreed, I'm surprised you get effective mildew reduction with that ratio. I mix my chems in a 25 gallon tank as follows:

5 gallons 12% hypochlorite

5 cups cleaner

X-Jet on, no proportioner. I can do two houses the size you mentioned on one tank full.

[PLD 14]

5 to 25 mix? I typically run 5gal to 15gal for a 2000+ house. On that 1500sq.ft'er I would use right at 10 gallons.

Anyway, please check my math for me.

12% * 5 NaHCl to 15 mixture = 4%

4% * 2:1 (XJet no proportioner) = 1.33% on the wall.

Sound right?

If so, you are having good success with 0.8% to the wall?

[squirtgun 122]

2-5 gallon buckets of housewash(2 gallons 12% chlorine,1 1/2 gallon citracleen,4 oz foamer the remainder water in each bucket) xjetted with no proportioner.On a vinyl house I would also add 4 oz of wet wax.

On a house with light mildew/mold we might have a couple of gallons left over.

[PressurePros 248]

5:25 = 1:5

I think that is pretty much the standard ratio everyone uses and is very effective for 9 jobs out of 10. More than that and I find the returns diminish.. window streaks, spotted foliage and heavy fumes. I never actually broke down the actual percentage of NaHCL hitting the wall. I can't look at a wall and say, hey that requires a 1.286% concentration of pure sodium hypochlorite and then go through the incurrent math equation. But I can look at a wall and think, that kind of substrate usually requires an extra gallon of 12% in the mix.

So if I am reading your post correctly, Phillip, you use 10 gallons of 12% SH on one house? What kind of dwell time do you use? Have you ever had problems with warping the landscaping?

[rknight68 14]

I think he meant he would use 10 gallons of his solution on that 1500 sq ft house

[svp07 14]

Scott,

If you get this how much citraclean are you using per 5 gal. I did not understand your mix. I have been using the following per 5 gal. bucket: 1 gal 10%, 1/2 citraclean, 1 cup foam, the rest water. X-jetting with no proportioner I see the mildew melt away from green to white, even on bad houses.

[squirtgun 122]

Steve,

1 to 1 1/2 gallons of citracleen.We have tried the weaker mixes but find that it doesn't work as well for us.I adjust the mix depending on the mold/mildew growth on a house but this is usually our starting mix.

[PLD 14]

So if I am reading your post correctly, Phillip, you use 10 gallons of 12% SH on one house? What kind of dwell time do you use? Have you ever had problems with warping the landscaping?

I don't need no stinkin' dwell time! The mildew starts abandoning the house while I'm unrolling the hoses. :)

Seriously though, 10 gallons of housewash mix containing about 3 gals of 12%. Dwell time is about 2-3 minutes.

[aph111 14]

where do you guys order your foaming agent from???

[JohnW 14]

Degraffreed,

Check your private messages, I sent you one the other day, but I don't think you realized it.

Thanks,

John W.

Superior Pressure Washing

Atlanta, GA

[Degraffreed 21]

Squirt,

Do you perfer Citracleen over Epecs D-limolene? Have you used D-limeolene from them since they are close to you? Does Citracleen have a Butyl based degreaser in it to help with gutter cleaning? I am thinking of purchasing some items from Steve soon. Fill me in if you can.

Degraffreed

[squirtgun 122]

We have never used D-limeolene we used homebrews before we found RPC chems.You will not be disappointed with the way citracleen works(it contains sodium metasilicate).When we come aross gutters we do them in a seperate step.

We use purple power(butyl) for gutters but Steve Rowlett sells a butyl base called gutter shock that works great.

[Mike Williamson 198]

Squirt,

Do you perfer Citracleen over Epecs D-limolene? Have you used D-limeolene from them since they are close to you? Does Citracleen have a Butyl based degreaser in it to help with gutter cleaning? I am thinking of purchasing some items from Steve soon. Fill me in if you can.

Degraffreed

I used Espec's d-Limonene for a short time before I, like Scott, tried Steve's chems. There's no comparison.

I have a 1/2 a drum or so of it if anyone wants to come pick it up.

It's a little more the 1/2 the cost of citracleen, but, IMHO, that's the results you get too.

[svp07 14]

I bought foamer from Hotsy last year. A little expensive at $120 for 5 gallons super concentrate. Anyone have a cheap source for foamer?

[Barry M 73]

where do you guys order your foaming agent from???

From Steve at RPC ($10.50) a gallon.

[svp07 14]

Thanks Barry,

That helps a lot.

I see it is an alkaline foamer...any problems with using this in a house wash brew or any problems with material damage on a house (aluminum, glass, vinyl, steel, etc.)?

[tropical wave 22]

From Steve at RPC ($10.50) a gallon.

how far does a gallon go? 1 cup per 5 gallons? something like that??

[squirtgun 122]

We use about 4oz to 6 oz per 5 gallons of mix when we use the RPC foamer.If you order from Steve he will give you the suggested ratio.We have been using the same gallon for a year.

[Mike Williamson 198]

We use about 4oz to 6 oz per 5 gallons of mix when we use the RPC foamer.If you order from Steve he will give you the suggested ratio.We have been using the same gallon for a year.

some folks use the foamer every time...I only use it if I'm using the wet wax, since the wax cuts down dramatically the foaming ability of the citracleen.

[JohnW 14]

I use the foamer from Steve too, works great and I'm still on my first gallon as well, for about a year now.

John W.

[PLD 14]

Are you guys dealing with something besides surface dirt and mildew? I was using butyl and later butyl caustic in my mix. For kicks, I switched to 1qt laundry soap (per 15 gal) and I saw almost no difference in results compared to butyl. Customers still complement on how good the house looks.

It doesn't appear to have affected work time either. Just spray as much as you can work without drying (often the whole side), drop the soap line, and rinse from where you started soaping. By the time I get back to the start point (3-5 minutes), the light-medium mildew/algae is gone and the heavy mildew is brown and can be rinsed easily with an x-jet closeup (fan) tip.

Anyway, the bleach is getting the mildew. If there is no soot, grime, etc. why the heavy degreasers?

[Mike Williamson 198]

Are you guys dealing with something besides surface dirt and mildew? I was using butyl and later butyl caustic in my mix. For kicks, I switched to 1qt laundry soap (per 15 gal) and I saw almost no difference in results compared to butyl. Customers still complement on how good the house looks.

It doesn't appear to have affected work time either. Just spray as much as you can work without drying (often the whole side), drop the soap line, and rinse from where you started soaping. By the time I get back to the start point (3-5 minutes), the light-medium mildew/algae is gone and the heavy mildew is brown and can be rinsed easily with an x-jet closeup (fan) tip.

Anyway, the bleach is getting the mildew. If there is no soot, grime, etc. why the heavy degreasers?

Not sure what you're referring to...Citracleen isn't a heavy degreaser. It is a soap designed for housewashing, and designed to mix and work well with chlorine.

[Barry M 73]

Does everyone up sell the wax with an extra charge? If so how much more on the foot do you charge?

[CCPC 26]

What does Citracleen work out to in cost per gallon?