Gum Busters

[Mark Gallison 14]

We remove a lot of gum when we clean concrete but sometimes the amount of "Hot" water we use is too much water for the situation. I have seen info on a unit from gum busters?? Anyone familiar with this or have similar equip. They claim you can clean gum all day and use only around 8 gallons of water and it doesnt leave the noticable clean spot and usually removes the shadow as wel. You do have to run a generator if not able to hook up to AC nearby??? Any comments?

[squirtgun 122]

Mark,

Jon Chapman has experience with the gum buster equipment.

[K.J. Pressure Washing 14]

I'm sure Jon will elaborate, but, from what I know he quit the franchise.For some areas, like you mentioned , it's the only way to go , outside of scraping the gum off!

[Aplus 525]

I'm interested in hearing what he has to say as well. I've been asked to service some Starbucks for gum removal, and I can't seem to find a time when there are no people there! They are open 24/7, and have a WiFi network, so students and others are there all the time. I can't haul out equipment and start flooding hot water all over with that much traffic.

[One Tough Pressure 580]

These work pretty well. Could help get some interior residential for you folks that have a real winter. http://www.prestoss.com/catalog/i8.html

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I've been asked to service some Starbucks for gum removal, and I can't seem to find a time when there are no people there! They are open 24/7, and have a WiFi network, so students and others are there all the time.

We have run into this before. There have to be periods of less foot traffic. The manager should know when they are least busy. Also we used traffic cones and caution tape and sectioned off areas to work, then moved cones, and did the other area. Even in the least busy time you still get foot traffic.

Hope this helps.

Beth :cup: <--- starbucks!

[Mark Gallison 14]

Im looking at this as something I could set up with my staff and they could carry in any vehicle and not have some of the safaty and noise issues related to a big hot water PW unit... I hope Jon contacts me Im really curious about what he ahs to say..

[Larry B 55]

I saw this in action on the discovery channel on the "Dirty Jobs" show. There is a company in NY that uses these and does it all day long. Looked very interesting and unobtrusive.

[Mark Gallison 14]

Hey Larry

Thats where I first saw it as well.. That show is so cool.... They charge 40¢ sq ft depending on the amount of gum that wouldnt be to bad for a large account but I think that the prices could be adjusted for smaller jobs to make it profitable but still reasonable for the PM. I have sent two emails and left two voice mails for the company to get info on franchisee's but havent received any responses?????

I did get somew othyer info that said something to the effect that the compny sets you up with a van and four machines but didnt say anything about other fees... I would think thre would be something out in the market place that is very similar to get started without that huge investment. I just want to add it as another entity to our company.

[Mark Gallison 14]

We have run into this before. There have to be periods of less foot traffic. The manager should know when they are least busy. Also we used traffic cones and caution tape and sectioned off areas to work, then moved cones, and did the other area. Even in the least busy time you still get foot traffic.

Hope this helps.

Beth :cup: <--- starbucks!

I hear ya but one of the probs is that when we spot clean gum it leaves such a "clean spot" that it can looks as bad as the gum. Sometimes the PM or owner doesnt want the whole sidewlk clean and then there is the matter of finding room to park and relocate PW if needed and such, but I see ya workin

[Aplus 525]

We have run into this before. There have to be periods of less foot traffic. The manager should know when they are least busy. Also we used traffic cones and caution tape and sectioned off areas to work, then moved cones, and did the other area. Even in the least busy time you still get foot traffic.

Hope this helps.

Beth :cup: <--- starbucks!

Well I did try asking about slower traffic times, and it's between 2-5am. I'll be danged if I'm getting up and hauling all my equipment around at that time for an hours work!

I'd gladly do the cones/safety tape thing, but I can't find a place to park close enough. It's not easy to find a spot to tuck in 40 feet of truck & trailer.....:)

I phoned the pm and told him if he wants all the concrete cleaned, no problem, but it's not worth it to do just the gum removal.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I am one who cannot see the benefit of only removing the gum and leaving the rest of the concrete dirty. To me it is just doing half the job and I dont bid these. The whole enchilada or nada. Otherwise, like Tony said

Well I did try asking about slower traffic times, and it's between 2-5am. I'll be danged if I'm getting up and hauling all my equipment around at that time for an hours work!

Rod~

[Mike 64]

I dont know why people cant walk 2 feet to the left and throw their gum away in the trash can and not spit it on the ground. I am interested in learning more about gumbusters myself, the webpage is not very imformative.

[Aplus 525]

I am one who cannot see the benefit of only removing the gum and leaving the rest of the concrete dirty. To me it is just doing half the job and I dont bid these. The whole enchilada or nada. Otherwise, like Tony said

Rod~

Rod,

What the pm told me was that the cleanup crew in the store comes out with a brush and some soap/water to clean up the heaviest spills and such. But they can't do a good job on the gum removal.

I apologized while telling him it's just not cost effective for me to go out and just remove gum, especially at the rate they want to pay for it. He didn't get mad or anything, just maybe a little disappointed. Oh well, he still calls me 2-3 times a year to clean the concrete around the dumpster and the shipping/receiving areas, so I guess he got over it.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Tony, I hear you....

One reason (there were several) why we gave up kitchen hoods so quickly was...working in the middle of the night....ugh.

Beth

[Chappy 138]

I am one who cannot see the benefit of only removing the gum and leaving the rest of the concrete dirty. To me it is just doing half the job and I dont bid these. The whole enchilada or nada. Otherwise, like Tony said

Rod~

Ditto. Thats why I added Pressure washing to the GumBusters work, Still there are some clients that insist on PW themselvs so I just do the gum.

mark, Feel free to call me at 727-432-2501 or PM me, will be happy to answer questions, and I have another source for the machines that are cheaper than gumbusters. Indentical machine.

[Celeste 341]

Tony Szabo has a vapor cleaner thingie he uses. I'll try to find the link that he posted on another bbs.

Celeste

[Mike 64]

Jon, how much do the machines run? The Gumbusters website is not really imformative.

[squirtgun 122]

This link has machine similar to the gum buster.

http://www.goodway.com/vapor_steam_cleaners/vapor_steam_gum_removal.aspx

[Mike 64]

Thanks for the link Scott, but still no price information on that site either.

[Celeste 341]

Thanks Scott - you beat me to it :) Cool looking gadget, but you are correct about pricing - makes you think it's probably pricey.

Celeste

[squirtgun 122]

Here is another link that has prices.

http://www.gumzap.com/

[Chappy 138]

Gumbusters sells their machines for $5995, gum zap $7995, Goodway for $4995, less if you can talk them down. Goodways is identical to Gumbusters machine, (not the one above.) The one in the link above for goodway is for ocasional use and aimed at the commercial market, not for the contractor and I wouldnt recommend it.

Gum busters was a great concept, however only a few areas have been able to make a go of it as a stand alone business, The guy in DC/Baltimore does great as does NYC, (NYC franchise is owned by the transit authority.)

I have told this to all who call me, make sure you research the market carefully. If your in an area that demands recovery or that PW is a real problem, this machine is great and you can do well with commercial clients.

My initial push was for facilities that did thier pw in house, or had a contractor that used cold water or damaged concrete in thier attempts to remove gum. Since I got my skid unit, almost all gum removal is done as I PW. Got to add alot of those in house guys to regular PW also. Rarely use the gum machine anymore and use it mostly to clean grout.

Again, happy to talk to anyone about this or PM me.

[Mike 64]

Jon, thanks alot for the information! I'm not sure how it would work in small town USA, but was interested in hearing more about it.

[Crownroyal 14]

Well I can add the company I worked for before and my company use goodway products and they perform beautifully. Difference though I use their Speed feed tub cleaner not their vapor steam cleaner. just my 2 cents. =)

[Chappy 138]

Well I can add the company I worked for before and my company use goodway products and they perform beautifully. Difference though I use their Speed feed tub cleaner not their vapor steam cleaner. just my 2 cents. =)

dont know what that is. But you have to have chemical to make the steam work, The steam alone will just produce a gummy mess (pun intended.) Its the combination that makes the gum disolve.