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

[Mike Williamson 198]

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

wierd...

Are you ordering that same injector? They do have some cheaper ones, but I prefer the performance of this model, and the fact that it's SS.

I do want to say thanks for getting me to look at their site....they ARE cheaper on cox reels, and free shipping....I'll save at least $100.00 in shipping and product cost on the three reels I was going to order elsewhere.

[Jarrod 22]

could be. I ordered s SS model 3 yrs ago & it failed in 1 month.

[Don Phelps 85]

I'm not sure whether this is true in your case or not, but for some companies that sell SS fittings. The 'SS' stands for 'somewhat stainless' as we like to call it. If it's not true 316 grade stainless steel, it won't last. There are lower grades out there (imported from China) that get passed off as true stainless. One use will usually tell the tale.

[Mike Williamson 198]

I'm not sure whether this is true in your case or not, but for some companies that sell SS fittings. The 'SS' stands for 'somewhat stainless' as we like to call it. If it's not true 316 grade stainless steel, it won't last. There are lower grades out there (imported from China) that get passed off as true stainless. One use will usually tell the tale.

Not sure what grade the fittings are that I get from espec, but I've had good luck with them. Even the ones I use on the shurflo chlorine setup hold up well, and when can get a 3/8 coupler for $2.00 as opposed to $8.00 elsewhere, I don't mind swapping them out every few months.

Maybe I'll order a few of the good ones and see how long they last.

[Mike Williamson 198]

could be. I ordered s SS model 3 yrs ago & it failed in 1 month.

As long as you're flushing it out, these should last quite a while, and they sell rebuild kits for them when they do stop working.

[bforbis 14]

I use both ESPEC and Hgher POwer for supplies. What I have found out is that at ESPEC uses imports for their hoses unless you specify. The lead timeor backorder you experienced was from overseas shipping.

I ordered 200' hose from Higher power, specified Goodyear product and got it in a couple of days.

I am sure that almost any supplier may substitute and a lot comes from overseas. When ordering we should ask where things come from and if substitutions could or will be made. I have also recevied different products (ie: QC fittings ) within the same shipment. Some from China, Taiwan)