First Solo Housewash

[PatrickM 14]

Hi Folks

I washed my first house solo and thanks to on and off board support from all of you there were no big surprises. I do have some questions about the little things though.

I was disappointed with the reach of the X-Jet (M5). On the top 3 feet or so of the peak of a 2 story house the stream broke up into a fine mist. Covering this area with mist meant dumping tons of chem on the lower portions of the house which did not need it. Worst of all the peak did not look as good as the rest of the house. Any tips on getting just a little more reach out of an X-Jet? Also any tips on slowing down the draw on the X-jet? I went through chems way too fast. I know some of you use the proportioners but most don’t seem to like them.

The gutters on the north side of the house were completely black. Brushed on some gutter zap and rinsed it off and had shiny white gutters. On the south side of the house the gutters were not nearly as bad, more of a light gray color. Two applications of gutter zap with longer dwell time didn’t touch them. They are still gray. This side of the house is in strong full sun all day. Is the dirt "baked on"? Any tips on how to handle this? I’ve also seen it suggested here to get a 28’ pin lock pole for brushing gutters but can’t find one anywhere. Any suggestions on where to look and how much they should cost?

This house had a full covered porch with round columns, gingerbread moldings and lots of nooks and crannies. A lot of it couldn’t be hit from the ground with a wand so I took a spray bottle of housewash up on the porch and rinsed with a garden hose. Worked well (sometimes the low tech solution is the best) but wondered if anybody had a better idea.

And finally I used Barlox as my soap. The folks at Xterior tell me it’s also great on brick. Has anyone used it for brick and what kind of results did you have?

This was my own house and all in all it must have come out pretty good. My wife has been pushing hard for me to paint the house. She took one look and immediately said "now you don’t have to paint the house."

Thanks

Patrick

[Don Phelps 85]

Personally, I like both the xjet and downstreamer, but I think some are skeptical about the downstreamer possibly because they've tried the cheap, low volume ones that usually come with the machine rather than a higher grade stainless steel unit with a 20% draw rate. It's been my experience that the good ones work just fine, and the cheap ones are just that----cheap! As previously stated, we use the xjet too and have success with both.

[Mike Williamson 198]

Personally, I like both the xjet and downstreamer, but I think some are skeptical about the downstreamer possibly because they've tried the cheap, low volume ones that usually come with the machine rather than a higher grade stainless steel unit with a 20% draw rate. It's been my experience that the good ones work just fine, and the cheap ones are just that----cheap! As previously stated, we use the xjet too and have success with both.

That WAS a higher grade stainless steel unit that came with my machine, wasn't it?? :lgkick:

[bforbis 14]

All Seasons Exteriors, Inc.

Pressure and Roof Cleaning

Equipment Sales and Service

That WAS a higher grade stainless steel unit that came with my machine, wasn't it?? :lgkick:

BUSTED......Guess you didn't get that memo!

[Barry M 73]

I was disappointed with the reach of the X-Jet (M5). On the top 3 feet or so of the peak of a 2 story house the stream broke up into a fine mist. Covering this area with mist meant dumping tons of chem on the lower portions of the house which did not need it. Worst of all the peak did not look as good as the rest of the house. Any tips on getting just a little more reach out of an X-Jet? Also any tips on slowing down the draw on the X-jet? I went through chems way too fast. I know some of you use the proportioners but most don’t seem to like them.

Patrick, I use a 4 foot wand with the x-jet and have no problem with two story houses. If there is a high dormer or a basement walkout in back that makes it almost 3 stories I'll climb up on an 8' step ladder and x-jet will reach, no prob.

You do have to move at a steady pace while soaping up a house with the x-jet. I start on one end of the house, I make sure my chem hose is tied off to the bucket and that I have plenty of untangled chem hose laid out and that nothing is in my way and once I here those chems shoot out the x-jet I start moving. Sometimes I go so fast that I'll come back the opposite way even faster and hit it all again. I've never missed a spot like someone else posted, you can plainly see the soap on the house and you would no if you missed a spot. On a good sized house I might use 2 five gallon buckets of house wash, and 2/3 of a bucket is water anyway so I'm really not using that much chemical. I never tried to downstream so I won't bash it.

Some gutters never come completely clean. In my opinion Gutter Zap is overated. It's also too expensive when you are first starting out. Just my .02 cents.

[Mike Williamson 198]

All Seasons Exteriors, Inc.

Pressure and Roof Cleaning

Equipment Sales and Service

BUSTED......Guess you didn't get that memo!

HUH? What memo??

[Don Phelps 85]

That WAS a higher grade stainless steel unit that came with my machine, wasn't it?? :lgkick:

Yours was the ultra trick 10,000 psi titanium prototype that came absolutely free of charge with an 8gpm skid that most only dream of having.

:lgmoneyey

[Mike Williamson 198]

Some gutters never come completely clean. In my opinion Gutter Zap is overated. It's also too expensive when you are first starting out. Just my .02 cents.

I prefer Gutter Shock...in my experience, it works better, though as mentioned, you DO have to be careful with how strong you use it, and on cheaper gutters/fascia.

It's not all that expensive when you consider how far it goes. It DOES work, though as you mentioned, some gutters will never come clean, but that's usually because either they've been re-painted with the wrong paint, or they're cheap and you can't get them clean without removing paint. I'd say you NEED a product like GS, zap, or castrol superclean...This is the type of thing that many pressurewashers don't know about, so they don't bother getting the stripes off the gutters. It is an area that can set apart a newer company from the rest.

[bforbis 14]

I have had really good sucess with Enviro spec product cleaning gutters. Either "Ripper" or the Power stroke ( I really think they are the same thing according to the MSDS sheets) and it is a BUNCH less expensive than GUTTER BURN.

I have not had a gutter that did not come clean yet and I have had some prettty bad ones this summer. I never had any issues with damage to finish as I saw with Guuter burn zap stuff.

I pre-wet the gutters either with my house wash or water and brush on the ripper or PS. The absolute most neglected gutters I have to brush twice, most are good to go after the first application.

The castrol super clean, as pruchased in the store is a good product, although I believe it is chemically similar to ESPECs product

[PatrickM 14]

You ought to go spend a day with Roger and Celeste (providing, of course, that they're willing!) one day when they're doing housewashing and see what a good downstreamer can do!

quote]

I have spent the day with Roger on a new construction brick house and have been after them to let me tag along on a wood job. Would rather save their expertise for demonstrating the harder things. Besides, I now have Rodney's house to practice on :lgsideway

I do want to work my way into downstreaming but notice that everyone does it a little differntly. There are very few choices with an x-jet which makes it perfect for the beginer. The fewer variables the better till you get some experience.

Patrick

[Mike Williamson 198]

and it is a BUNCH less expensive than GUTTER BURN.

I never had any issues with damage to finish as I saw with Guuter burn zap stuff.

Any product when not used properly and carefull can cause damage, and that goes for Gutter Zap. I don't think it's appropriate to bash someone's proven product simply because you don't like the price, or because either you used it too strong, too long, or on cheap gutters.

It just isn't nice.

[bforbis 14]

Mike Williamson

North Florida Pressure Washing

Gainesville, FL

352-213-7765

oneness@gator.net

Any product when not used properly and carefull can cause damage, and that goes for Gutter Zap. I don't think it's appropriate to bash someone's proven product simply because you don't like the price, or because either you used it too strong, too long, or on cheap gutters.

Mike,

Your perspepctive taken under advisement, however it was not my intent to "BASH" anyone. My apologies if that's the way it came across.

I do have issues with claims some make of their products performance and in this instance "touchless" comes to mind. I used the product exactly as recommended and in reduced concentrations over several locations. Initially on my own home and they are not cheap gutters. Neither was the dwell time more than 2 minutes in one particular case.

What I did find was that when the dillution was appropriate not to damage the finish, the concentration was not adequate to do what was advertised on even moderately dirty gutters.

These were my observations/tests using measured amounts of chemcial over timed dwell in comparison testing. I think if you review this and many other posts, views are similar of this product and others and people share opinions and observations based on thier experience.

[Steve Kiser 14]

GUTTER BURN.

Sorry for the stupid question here but is that a reference to gutter shock?? It works like a champ for me every time.

[Mike Williamson 198]

Sorry for the stupid question here but is that a reference to gutter shock?? It works like a champ for me every time.

No, I believe he was referring to Gutter Zap, but my point was not that zap work wonders, but rather there might be a better way to say it than to call it "Gutter Burn".

[bforbis 14]

there might be a better way to say it than to call it "Gutter Burn".

Mike.....You are absolutely correct. Poor choice of words and not necessary

[Barry M 73]

I prefer Gutter Shock...in my experience, it works better, though as mentioned, you DO have to be careful with how strong you use it, and on cheaper gutters/fascia.

It's not all that expensive when you consider how far it goes. It DOES work, though as you mentioned, some gutters will never come clean, but that's usually because either they've been re-painted with the wrong paint, or they're cheap and you can't get them clean without removing paint. I'd say you NEED a product like GS, zap, or castrol superclean...This is the type of thing that many pressurewashers don't know about, so they don't bother getting the stripes off the gutters. It is an area that can set apart a newer company from the rest.

I knew I would start something when I posted gutter shock is overated! I also knew Mike would be the first to chime in...lol

Sometimes I like to stir the pot a little. I take back my comment on it being overated, that was dumb to say seeing I've never used it. I do know that just getting started part-time last year I couldn't afford it compared to purple power at the local Walmart. Mike has told me before that if I wanted better results I had to pay a higher price for the good stuff. I will probably try it out this year and when I have questions about it I know Mike will be my go to guy.

[Mike Williamson 198]

I knew I would start something when I posted gutter shock is overated! I also knew Mike would be the first to chime in...lol

I agree that to say a gutter product is "touchless" is overstating...I've used both GS and GZ, and neither are touchless in every case. I think GS is more effective, and is "touchless" in more cases. With GZ I had to brush most of the time, with GS I have to brush about 25% of the time.

I understand about starting out, either part time or full time, and having to watch pennies! Heck, some of us are still watching pennies.

Does the purple power work on gutters? If so, and if it works well, then hey, it's cheaper! But if you're having to brush most gutters, I'd suggest giving GS a try. As has been mentioned, just be very careful with strength, and with the amount of agitation when you do have to brush.

I've gotten to the point where I won't even try to get the streaks off of the aluminum fascia wraps in some neighborhoods where I know they're cheaply made.

I hope I didn't come across as confrontational! I've been doing my best to think before speaking!

[CCPC 26]

Personally, I like both the xjet and downstreamer, but I think some are skeptical about the downstreamer possibly because they've tried the cheap, low volume ones that usually come with the machine rather than a higher grade stainless steel unit with a 20% draw rate. It's been my experience that the good ones work just fine, and the cheap ones are just that----cheap! As previously stated, we use the xjet too and have success with both.

That's exactly what I use when I downstream, the cheapy one that came with my machine. Even though I will still primarly use my x-jet, I would still like to know where I can buy one of these stainless steal better quailty downstreamers. I would probably use it more often if I had one that put out a higher % of chem.

[CCPC 26]

I agree that to say a gutter product is "touchless" is overstating...I've used both GS and GZ, and neither are touchless in every case. I think GS is more effective, and is "touchless" in more cases. With GZ I had to brush most of the time, with GS I have to brush about 25% of the time.

I understand about starting out, either part time or full time, and having to watch pennies! Heck, some of us are still watching pennies.

Does the purple power work on gutters? If so, and if it works well, then hey, it's cheaper! But if you're having to brush most gutters, I'd suggest giving GS a try. As has been mentioned, just be very careful with strength, and with the amount of agitation when you do have to brush.

I've gotten to the point where I won't even try to get the streaks off of the aluminum fascia wraps in some neighborhoods where I know they're cheaply made.

I hope I didn't come across as confrontational! I've been doing my best to think before speaking!

Both methods work fine, like you said, its just personal preference. I downstreamed for two years before I even new what an X-jet was, and it wasn't so bad, but to me, wasn't so good either (but of course, I was using the crummy one that came with the machine).

[Jeff 232]

I just dont understand, I now use RPC Gutter Shock its cheaper $$$ than Gutter Zap but I had great results with Gutter Zap. Hell Ive screwed up a gutter or 2 with both products. But I think both are great products

[Mike Williamson 198]

That's exactly what I use when I downstream, the cheapy one that came with my machine. Even though I will still primarly use my x-jet, I would still like to know where I can buy one of these stainless steal better quailty downstreamers. I would probably use it more often if I had one that put out a higher % of chem.

I got the ones I'm using currently from envirospec...I think it's called a "bleach injector" or something similar in their catalog. Close to $50.00 a pop, but they work.

[Jarrod 22]

www.higherpowersupplies.com

good site for injectors and lots of other toys.

[Mike Williamson 198]

www.higherpowersupplies.com

good site for injectors and lots of other toys.

Yeah, but expensive. I've priced lots of stuff from them, and they're always higher than most.

This is from their site...

SKU: VM-360505

MSRP: $99.89

Savings: $20.39 (20%)

Price: $79.50

This is the same injector that I ordered from espec for $50.00.

[CCPC 26]

Funny, I was looking at that exact injector in Dec., I think from the sale they had in Dec. I can't remember what their sale was on it, but I was considering it, but didn't buy.

E-Spec is like a necessary evil, I hate their customer service, but still order things from them sometimes because its hard to find a better deal on some stuff when their running a sale.

I ordered 200' of hose from them in Dec, 2 weeks later, I contacted them wondering why I hadn't recieved my hoses, They told me they had to be back ordered and that it would be another week. So I waited another 2 weeks called them back today and was told they were not going to get them in until MARCH! Needless to say, I was a little agravated. If I needed the hoses in March I would have ordered them in Feb or March. I wasn't as iratated about the back order as I was to the fact that I wasn't informed of this when I ordered them.

[Jarrod 22]

wierd, I never pay more that $25 for mine.

[Mike Williamson 198]

Funny, I was looking at that exact injector in Dec., I think from the sale they had in Dec. I can't remember what their sale was on it, but I was considering it, but didn't buy.

E-Spec is like a necessary evil, I hate their customer service, but still order things from them sometimes because its hard to find a better deal on some stuff when their running a sale.

Well, their prices in the 2006 catalog have gone up drastically, so I will be buying from them when their sales fliers come out, if the prices are still good. I made sure to place a large order before prices went up.

I agree, a necessary evil. On some parts, like stainless QC couplers and plugs, their sale prices just can't be beat. When I'm ordering 200 pieces, $3.00 or more dollars difference in price is a big deal!

I've gotten just a bit of attitude from the sales people about problems with my orders (I fax them in, so there is no question what I meant to order). So far, I've not had any errors on the orders, but a couple backordered parts. No problem, but you're right, they don't bother calling. Overall, I haven't had any experiences with them that make me not want to order from them, other than the 2006 prices.

I ordered 300' of hose from them on 12/30 and got them on 1/3