New House Cleaning?

[kinnaman 14]

I have a friend asking me to pressure wash new houses before they are sold to clean up thier appearences. Driveways and about four feet up all the way around the house to remove dirt and construction mud. These houses are all brick or stone. What type of chemicals do you recomend? What would you price something like that for?

Thanks!

[PressurePros 248]

:sinister: Pure dihydrogen monoxide is excellent for removing mud

[squirtgun 122]

PressurePros,

You know dihydrogen monoxide in the wrong hands can cause a great deal of damage.I do agree it is great for removing mud when used properly.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[One Tough Pressure 580]

This stuff is great, I never do a job without it.

[Adrian 155]

Hey Scott , is dihydrogen monoxide good to go for the Georgia red clay as well? I have never used it and have always used good ole sh12 with alot of effort. What is the mix ratio? Does it have to be pumped through a sprayer full strength or can I run it through my xjet low flow nozzle?

Thx

[squirtgun 122]

Ken,Alan and I are just having some fun.

dihydrogen monoxide = H2O(water)

Check this link out

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/dhmo.htm

[Adrian 155]

Had me goin'. good one!

[PWkid 79]

Ken,Alan and I are just having some fun.

dihydrogen monoxide = H2O(water)

Check this link out

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/dhmo.htm

I was hoping someone would tell him.

[PLD 14]

:sinister: Pure dihydrogen monoxide is excellent for removing mud

BE VERY CAREFUL!!! Every year, many people die from inhaling dihydrogen monoxide. It's also reported to be a large part of the problem for masonite disintegration. I personally have seen dihydrogen monoxide cause the structural support of homes (and even bridges) fail catastrophically.

P.S. Dihydrogen monoxide was linked to the deaths of Mary Jo Kopechne and Natalie Wood. It has also been cited as a contributing factor in the sinking of the Titanic.

[PLD 14]

On an even more trivial note:

Did you know that you can actually die from DHMO poisioning? And no, it's not drowning. Drinking excessive amount of water (quite hard to do) severely dilutes the electrolyte levels in the body and causes a condition called hyponatremia (i.e. water poisioning). Mild hyponatremia causes intoxication (why have I been buying beer?!?). Severe hyponatremia causes cerebral adema and can lead to brain damage, paralysis, and sometimes death.

[RyanH 14]

On an even more trivial note:

Did you know that you can actually die from DHMO poisioning? And no, it's not drowning. Drinking excessive amount of water (quite hard to do) severely dilutes the electrolyte levels in the body and causes a condition called hyponatremia (i.e. water poisioning). Mild hyponatremia causes intoxication (why have I been buying beer?!?). Severe hyponatremia causes cerebral adema and can lead to brain damage, paralysis, and sometimes death.

Which is why drinking deionized or distilled water is a BAD idea.

[squirtgun 122]

On an even more trivial note:

Did you know that you can actually die from DHMO poisioning? And no, it's not drowning. Drinking excessive amount of water (quite hard to do) severely dilutes the electrolyte levels in the body and causes a condition called hyponatremia (i.e. water poisioning). Mild hyponatremia causes intoxication (why have I been buying beer?!?). Severe hyponatremia causes cerebral adema and can lead to brain damage, paralysis, and sometimes death.

Several college frats have been put under the microscope in the last several years for making pledges drink excessive amounts of water.There have been a few cases where kids have died from this form of hazing.

[Adrian 155]

Man you guys are evil lol. you must think I'm an idiot after that! evil evil evil.

But I should know better and learn the short names on the chemical table.

But..... I do remember back in my younger days as an emt in Austin that I learned it would take approx 3 gal of DIHYDROGEN MONOXIDE for a human to drown from the inside out and it does not take place entirely in the lungs. Inadequate perfussion is the cause of death. 3 gallons everything swells on the inside due to saturation.

good one guys!!!!!

I don't think anyone has answered Kinnaman's question though........other than just using water.

try some 12% sodium hypochlorite ( really strong bleach) on the bricks and flatwork Kinnaman, run it through your chem injector or downstreamer or xjet or mjet or pump spray it (whatever you normally use to make chems go airborne) on the surface and exterior. Cut it down a bit so you don't burn the foliage.

As for pricing, forget the guy is your friend and charge by the square ft. or the job, whatever you feel comfortable with. I have been corrected in the fact that it is not very good etiquette to discuss pricing on the forum as prices vary geographically.

This shouldn't be any different from any other flatwork or resi job that you normally do. If you are only going to be cleaning 1/2 a house price accordingly if there are multiple houses. if only 1 house each trip, bump it up a bit for the time involved.

One advantage is that since they are new homes and have not been sold yet, at least you won't have the customers foot up your rump while you are there onsite.

[RyanH 14]

Bleach is inneffective for mud and dirt. With the GA red clay, I've found greased lightning to work pretty on small-time applications (garage doors, vinyl at the 3 - 4 foot height, etc.). I played with different types of chemicals but found that the most effective way for me (on vinyl) was to spray the lightning, brush, then rinse. Very quick and effective. But for brick and stone, I've had fantastic success with Ken's suggestion: "Pure [water] is excellent for removing mud"

[Adrian 155]

good to go. Disregard what I said kinnaman. Ryan knows, I was just trying help.

I would trust his input anyday. Where can one find greased lightning at?

[John Doherty 126]

Ok, back on tropic, I do these all day long, hot water is a must. Here in CO that's all you need, I've heard of guys in Ga dealing with that mud using muriatic.

Remember, these sites must have a NPDES permit and are open to random inspection, you must recover or contain! A $10k fine is a bummer and it's twice as bad when they give it to you and the builder, then the builder comes after you for their fine.

JD

[wesley 15]

Try hot water along with acedic acid for the red clay. Ga. red clay is the worse.

[Pams Pressure & Clean 64]

In the Metro, new home P/W ing for smaller tract style homes (1500-2000 sq ft) generally goes for anywhere from $75.00 to $100.00 per unit.

For this price you will be expected to power wash the home, the drive, the walks, and the garage. All mud, dirt, and debris (sheetrock mud, paint, etc) needs to be gone when you are done.

You will need hot water, good soap, acid, a surface cleaner, and incredibly honed skills to be fast.

You will then need to wait anywhere from 2 weeks to 30 days for your money, depending on the builder.

You will need CGL and Work Comp, or you will have to pay the builder 15%-20% of what you earn for him to cover your comp.

If you are willing, there is more than enough work out there at these rates to drive you to bankruptcy in fairly short order.

[John Doherty 126]

Cujo,

They expect the house exterior done also? For that price? We don't have that Ga clay here, so it can be done with no acids or soap, garage must be cleaned out and swept and water must be avail. when we get there.

These take about 45 mins ea. but we only do the flatwork. Anything that adds more time we charge for. If we had to spray down the exterior I'd probably want $150-$200, I don't even know how much if they wanted a full exterior wash.

[Celeste 341]

Cujo echoes the procedure that we have in NC as well, although we get a little bit more. The quantity is what drives their prices down so you have to be very efficient when doing these types accounts. They can be very lucrative - we have an entire subdivision that is being built. For $145 they get the vinyl rinsed, the sidewalk, driveway, garage floor & back concrete pad washed. If there is brick, we get an additional piece of change for cleaning it. When you can knock out 3-5 in a day, it turns out okay.

Celeste

[Mike Williamson 198]

Which is why drinking deionized or distilled water is a BAD idea.

Been drinking distilled/purified water for years...I get plenty of minerals from other sources (which is all distilled water is...water without the additives)

[cleaningman777 14]

Hi everyone!

Please help! I'm just getting into roof cleaning so I can use all the help I can get. I called our local pool supply store today to find out if they had any 12% clorine? The lady told me they had a product called "TURBO SHOCK" which was 78% strong. If I wanted to get 15% strong, she told me to mix 1 lb. of Turbo Shock to 5 gallons of water. The price for the Turbo Shock is $2.95 for 1 lb. or $14.99 for a 5 lb. container, which the 5 lb. Turbo Shock would make 25 gallons of clorine liguid.

Am I on the right track to try this on black molden roofs with a little soap in it? Please let me know if this is the right thing to get?

Question 2:

I'm a big fellow and I don't want to get on

roofs. How hard would it be to stand on the ground and wash the roof using a fire nossle? I've heard of a fire nossle, please explain what one looks like, and how hard it would be to soap, then use the fire hose nossle to wash

the roof the ground? How good of a job could I do using the fire hose nossle?

Thank you so much!

GOD Bless!

Cleaningman777

[PressurePros 248]

Turbo shock is probably calcium hypochlorite and will not work effectively. There are a few guys that do everything from the ground, but in my opinion, you have to get up there sometimes. One example of a fire hose nozzle looks like this

[Mike Williamson 198]

Hi everyone!

Please help! I'm just getting into roof cleaning so I can use all the help I can get. I called our local pool supply store today to find out if they had any 12% clorine? The lady told me they had a product called"TURBO SHOCK" which was 78% strong. If I wanted to get 15% strong, she told me to mix 1 lb. of Turbo Shock to 5 gallons of water. The price for the Turbo Shock is $2.95 for 1 lb. or $14.99 for a 5 lb. container, which the 5 lb. Turbo Shock would make 25 gallons of clorine liguid.

Am I on the right track to try this on black molden roofs with a little soap in it? Please let me know if this is the right thing to get?

Ditto what PressurePros said...I don't believe Calcium Hypochlorite is as effective, and it is harder to rinse. Check with your local pool suppliers, chemical suppliers, agriculture suppliers, hardware stores, etc...to see if anyone carries liquied pool shock. You can use bleach, full strength, but it isn't as easy to use simply because of the packaging.

Question 2:

I'm a big fellow and I don't want to get on

roofs. How hard would it be to stand on the ground and wash the roof using a fire nossle? I've heard of a fire nossle, please explain what one looks like, and how hard it would be to soap, then use the fire hose nossle to wash

the roof the ground? How good of a job could I do using the fire hose nossle?

Thank you so much!

GOD Bless!

Cleaningman777

How big are you? I'm 275lbs and I don't think twice about getting on most roofs. I don't do barrel tiles, for obvious reasons, but I can do just about any shingle roof a smaller guy can do.

Lots of us rinse from the ground, and with the right equipment (a roller pump or similar setup (I belive Mel (PWKid) has a very nice high quality pump setup) you can apply your chlorine from the ground. Many of us use a shurflo pump to apply from the roof and then rinse from the ground. You CAN use this type setup to shoot from the ground, but it is time consuming and wastes a lot of chlorine. I've done it a couple times on roofs that were just too slick or steep to walk, but I don't suggest it for most roofs.

Whatever you do, if you're uncomfortable on roofs, take it slow and don't put yourself in a position you're not comfortable with.

[Celeste 341]

Cleaningman....do a quick search for North Carolina Pressure Washers on this bbs - you'll find a thread about a Round Table on September 24 :) Put your info on the thread and I'll add you to the list! It will be well worth your time to attend.

Celeste

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Cleaningman777

Please do not hijack threads.... we encourage you to start a new thread in the roof cleaning forums that is specific to the topic you wish to discuss. Let's stay on topic please.

Thanks! :groovy:

Beth