Gutter Cleaning Results...

[Guest rfitz]

Well after 2 full days of testing, here are my findings,

1st Tried washing with house wash, no better,

Then tried gutter shock cut 50-50 not worth the effort,

then bought Krud Kutter at Home Depot worked good (not great)

Then tried X-jet gutter shock full strength, dwell 30 sec, 1 min 5min 10 min

not clean at all...

Finally, brushed Gutter Shock Full strength, dwell 30 seconds to 1 min

if you dont rinse within 1 min, gutters actually look worse, cant let

gutter shock sit more than 1 min after brushing, rinse rinse rinse...

So my findings are as follows, if someone wants gutters completely

cleaned, all streaks,dirt, mildew etc.. removed

My price will be $1.75 a linear foot and that is not making a ton of money

after you add in chemical cost and time to clean, so if someone has

200 ft of gutter, which is not alot, there price would be $350.00 and that

is for the gutters alone, that doesnt include price for housewash, ...

otherwise you will not make any money washing gutters,

I probably will not even offer this in my house washing estimate

in the future, actually I will point out in my bid, gutters will be washed with

same chemicals as with the house, and how they turn out, they turn out..

I will not offer any type of results to expect, othet than dirt and mildew

removed... from gutters, but still will probably need to be hand brushed

if they want them to be totally clean

Just Thought This Would Help when You are Bidding Gutters....

[Lenny Schrec 14]

That sounds kinda of high for cleaning gutters. When you were doing your test did you do each test on dry gutters or did you do it on the ones you just got done rinsing. I have not used any gutter shock but I here other guys say it is good and right up there with krud cutter. I use gutter zap mixed at 2 to 1. sometimes 3 to 1 when I am going to brush them.

Good luck finding some one to pay that much. I think I only paid $2 a foot to have new gutters installed a couple of year ago.

Take a look at this post on this board

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=410

[Guest rfitz]

Hi Lenny,

Thats my point, I will bid so hi on the gutters, they wont want me to do that,

but I had a person call me out to bid on a job and they had cleaned

a 2 ft section of their gutters, the section of course that was real close

to the deck so they could reach it easily, maybe 6.5 feet off the deck.

Anyway, I said if you started cleaning why didnt you just finish,

they said this little 2 ft section took us 45 minutes to clean, and it was

real clean, they did a good job..

my point being if they knew how much trouble it was, then maybe they

will agree or not with my price, either way is fine for me, because

after experimenting, I really dont see the market for this, the homeowner

will not pay in most cases for this, or they will spend a whole weekend

and opt to do it themself, I dont get alot of calls for housewashing/

gutter cleaning anyway, so I guess my market is decks...?

And that price is going way up as well, I was charging

$1.50 a sg ft to clean strip and seal, now that price will be

$1.00 a sq ft to clean $1.00 a sq ft to strip and $1.00 a sq ft to seal

Im not in this biz to lose money, and I am finding any less than this,

and I might as well go back to getting a job...

[Aplus 525]

I always include exterior gutter cleaning with every house wash I do. I've never had anybody ask for a gutter wash without also doing the whole house.

I always plan on having to brush the gutters, but sometimes the gutter zap does the trick by itself, without brushing.

Man, if I could get say $250 for washing a house, plus another $350 for the gutters, I'd be a happy power washer.

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Tony,

Does sound kind of weird, but my sister just had me do her gutters and not the whole house. Her house is gray and has white gutters, so they looked really bad in comparison.

[Howard 50]

I always include the gutters in my price on houses. It used to take quite a bit and they never would get really clean. That is until I found a product that really, I mean really works. I'm not sure what the rules are here plugging products, ( I don't sell it just use it) so if anyone wants to know just email me and I'll pass along the info. Or if Beth says its ok I'll post it here. I cleaned a house and gutters just the other day and the owner even said "Those gutters won't come clean, don't worry about it" after I was done they looked brand new, he was amazed. Didn't take long either.

Just let me know and I'll pass info along.

Then if you can get 350 to clean gutters and it only takes a few minutes.....well good on ya......

:cool:

[john a 14]

before:

[john a 14]

after using gutter shock 7 quarts in a 5 gallon bucket x-jet.

there was places alot dirty than these but pics didn't come out.

only reason brush was used was to hit the bottom of the overhang at the same time.

[Aplus 525]

John,

Nice job. Gutters and trim that clean are what I expect the results to be. That's how you know you're using the chems right.

Proper chemical selection and application can make house washing a brushless operation.

One of my local competitors states in his advertising that he brushes all siding when cleaning. I think alot of customers may perceive that brushing provides superior results.

After reading the ad, I got to thinking about my methods of washing a house, which are typical of the trade.

How can a case be made that chems alone can do as good a job as brushing with environmentally friendly soaps. I know they can and do, but how to convince the customer?

In order to achieve brushless cleaning, the chems have to be applied pretty strong. For example, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and clorine are common ingrediants in house and trim washing brews, and that stuff is downright nasty.

I can't rationalize to myself that the larger amount of water during the wash will dilute the effects of the chems. The ten or more gallons of caustic spuz sprayed on the house has to go somewhere....I hope not into somebodies well.

[Mike Smith 14]

Aplus, nice you have a feeling of environmental respect. The 10 or so gallons of caustic seeps into the ground followed by 100's of gallons water. It is mass diluted and the dirt, stones, grass etc... all act as a filtering system. I personally feel it is diluted enough to not be harmful even though I am no scientist and cannot back up my claims. Only just a gut feeling that all that water will dilute and the surface soil will filter .

[Guest rfitz]

Well after another failed attempt to clean gutters,

I have decided to remove this from my services,

I figure the extra 2 hours it takes to clean them by xjetting

and then having to scrub, rinse and scrub again and rinse again,

and still they dont get 100% clean, I can double that amount

if I were to wash another house, or deck, If there was a chemical

that you could just spray on and rinse off, and get all the blk streaks

and mold, dirt etc.. gone I would do them, but until there is I wont clean

gutters.. Gutter Shock, is what I am using and it doesnt work that great

and after that cost of that chem, and my labor cost $1.00 a sq ft

I cant see people spending $200 to have their gutters clean,

but if they will, I will tell them I cant get them like new, but I can get them

pretty clean, and leave it at that...Not too mention it is hell on your

neck and back, with a 40 ft brush, and the harsh chems splashing in your face

so for now on, it is strictly houses and decks...

Gutters win.... I quit

[paul-uk 500]

I always include the gutters in my price on houses. It used to take quite a bit and they never would get really clean. That is until I found a product that really, I mean really works. I'm not sure what the rules are here plugging products, ( I don't sell it just use it) so if anyone wants to know just email me and I'll pass along the info. Or if Beth says its ok I'll post it here. I cleaned a house and gutters just the other day and the owner even said "Those gutters won't come clean, don't worry about it" after I was done they looked brand new, he was amazed. Didn't take long either.

Just let me know and I'll pass info along.

come on howard spill the beans then.......

[Guest rfitz]

Hi Paul, please email me with that info, with your cleaning procedure,

and also, is this the same cleaner for houses as well, ? or do you use

a different cleaner for homes...?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Paul... Howard....,

Please post it for all to see. :) Gutters are a sore spot for alot of us.

Beth

[Aplus 525]

Personally, I feel the xjet is not the correct tool for applying gutter cleaner. I know some do with great success, while apparently others are not sharing in the same results.

Gutter cleaner is too expensive to freely xjet, as well as too caustic to be spraying all over everything while trying to get it on the gutters. That's my .02.

I mix gutter zap in a five gallon pail at 1 part gz to 2 parts water. I apply it to the gutters either with a pump up sprayer for single story homes, or via a brush on taller homes. In either case, I use my brush to obtain the best results. I have not yet had a gutter that could not be cleaned.

Naturally I have some long brush extension poles, and they can get a little unwieldy at times, but like anything else, practice makes perfect.

If I couldn't get gutters clean, I wouldn't offer house washing services, which would be too much revenue to pass up on.

A clean house with dirty gutters is like a clean car with dirty wheels and tires....an incomplete job.

[Guest rfitz]

I originally got into this biz, with the intentions of doing mainly

house washing, but what I have found is this,

I might get 1 call out of 25-30 for housewashing, and the rest is

strictly wood, decks, fences, etc.. and with averaging

over $100 an hour profit doing decks, wood etc.. and the consistency

of work from that market, I might upsell my customers to a housewash

who are wanting wood restored, but Im not seeing that big of demand

for housewashing, and I live in a town of over 2 million people...

and 80% of that have vinyl siding, and most if not all are very dirty,

I just dont get alot of calls on that, and I market them both equally..?

Just my opinion....?

[Aplus 525]

All I use for house wash advertising is an ad in the yellow pages. Sometimes I upsell on deck jobs, but not very often. By the time I'm done, I've already taken all the money off the table...:D

But I do about 15-20 house washes per season, and they make nice fill ins for when the weather doesn't permit other kinds of work.

[Howard 50]

Here goes

I use SunBrites cleaner called "Al-brite" to clean gutters. If the gutters are low enough such as above a deck or such I spray straight out of my pump-up. If I can't reach them I spray the solution straight on my brush (soft auto wash brush) on a 24 ft extension. Pre wet the gutters, brush on the al-brite let it dwell for just a bit, less than a minute. Then x-jet or rinse off. Sometimes I have missed areas and have to re-brush. I have a full face sheild for those high areas where I'm looking straight up. I have yet to find a gutter so bad (not saying it isn't out there lurking) that I can't get it clean. By clean I mean the gutters look brand new. I had a customer who I described in an earlier post had a gutter installer come over to fix some leaks and adjust the gutter. Asked my customer if he had installed new gutters they looked so clean. So there it is, Al-brite not do not undeluted, in a pump-up straight on the gutter and down spout. I will caution everyone, (I've learned from experience) do not put Al-brite on the aluminum facia or gable ends, it will remove the paint. Didn't remove it completely but you could tell it took some off. Fortunately it was on my house where I learned this so all I have to do is listen to the Boss complain about how it looks. But then she says but the gutters are clean so.......

Kinda long post but I hope this helps everyone.

Now if I could get $350 to wash gutters after charging $250 for the house...............thats another story.....:D

:cool:

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

We've got a container of it here Chris gave us last Fall at PWNA. That's good to know. Rod just went down and read the label and it's a butyl based cleaner so yes, it would remove paint. With enough cleanings it will strip the gutters. If you see white runoff or get white on the rag, you're there....

Beth;)

[Howard 50]

Yes I agree, haven't seen that yet on gutters or down spouts. sure did see it on the flashing......quit right away but was too late for that small area...good thing it was my house...

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Howard, dependingon the color, the match can be easy. Head to Home Depot or Lowes, and to to the area with spray paints...check the Rustoleum line. They have glossy, flat, etc... we have matched a couple things that way. HD-80 will do this (remove paint) also, so be careful. Aluminum siding or windows, the paint is too easy to remove.

Beth

p.s. are you sick of this rain yet??? :( If we had known it wasn't going to rain after all yesterday, we could have SEALED!!! ARG!!!

:(

[Howard 50]

Yeah I've got a can in the truck just haven't had a chance to paint it yet..

Tired of the rain?? Ever see the movie "Water World"? Good thing I bought a boat this spring, probably need to start gathering the animals two by two soon...

It didn't rain up there yesterday? It did down here most of the day. Then last night started again with a hard rain about 11:30.

I'm starting to grow webs between my toes. (course it could be moss not sure):D