Good work? Or bad work? With pictures

[Limeade 14]

Ok well I did a house, and a portion of a fence for practice and a little side cash.

Here are the pics, I only used dawn soap. Nothing else, so I may have been able to get it cleaner with something else.

My problem is, I was able to get the black crap off, but I'm not sure if the brick itself should look better. I mean when you go and clean a home, one similar to the one I did, does the brick shine brighter or something? lol, I'm still gaining experience.

Critique me.

PICS REMOVED UNTILL I HAVE TIME TO RESIZE THEM

Now the fence I just used soap and water. I know that I should of used a cleaner and a brightener, but like I said, it was a spur of the moment thing. The fence is due for a replacement, so I gained a little practice.

[Limeade 14]

I guess it was bad :lgtear: :lgsideway

[Jeff 232]

Why didnt you use any bleach on the mold & mildew on the brick, it will make your work easier try it

As for the fence soap isnt really going to do anything

The pics look good!! read up on old post and you will learn how to do it easier with greaat results

Good luck and ask questions

JL

[Jim Carroll 14]

dawn by itself is for dishes and windows.

you should have used some bleach with it.

good luck, keep on working at it.

[John Orr 206]

Yikes!! Do you know what type of brick that is? Its called "sand-faced" brick. It is actually red brick with a coating of white. (If you look closely, you will see that you did remove some of the coating.) I have seen entire houses that were "cleaned" and had the coating removed from the foundation all the way around the house. There is no way to fix it once the damage is done. (The customer wound-up removing the coating from the entire house to "fix" it.)

With this type of brick, use much less pressure and for areas with embedded mold, spray a solution of bleach or chlorine to clean. In order to change the pressure, use larger tips, do not adjust the unloader. If you normally use a 25040 tip, try a 25120 tip to reduce the pressure to about 500 psi without reducing the flow. Hot water really helps too.

Also, you really need to use a sodium hydroxide-based cleaner for the fence, followed by a light application of (I prefer) oxalic acid to neutralize the cleaner and brighten the wood. I like to use a 25100 tip for fences and decks.

[Limeade 14]

Thanks, I didn't know that about the brick. But as far as I know, it was like that, but maybe I'm wrong. Also I should have made this clear, I did use chlorine to clean the mold, but I used soap and water to clean the non mold covered brick.

Can you guys post some before and after pictures?

My main thing is this, I just don't know whats clean enough, do you get what I'm saying, what looks great to me, may not look great to more experienced guys, and even scarier is the fact that it may not look good to the customer.

[Jim Carroll 14]

The brick looks fine to me.

[Jarrod 22]

John is right.

[Limeade 14]

OK so can someone tell me how to avoid this in the future? Sideing is pretty easy to do, but with brick there seems to be more of a technique.

I understand that I should use less pressure, but my machine is only 3000 psi as it is. If I bump it down even more I would think it couldn't get that hard stuff off. Now everyone is telling me chemicals, which makes sense for algae, and mold, but can they get off really built up stuff.

For instance not something that is just a color on the brick, but more of a buildup, something thats thick and on there good?

How do I let it "cleaner" sit longer without it drying up also? Do I wet it, or should I put more on.

[Jarrod 22]

Keep it wet by applying more or wetting (misting) with water.

I wash houses with 1200 psi & 8gpm or 5.5 gpm.

What is your gpm?

[Limeade 14]

lol a lot lower then yours, 3.0 GPM is what my machine runs at.

[Jarrod 22]

Well, keep going & when you get a chance - upgrade. We all had to pay our dues.

[Limeade 14]

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[John Orr 206]

Get some larger tips, you'll see that they will give you plenty of oomph (at least as much as you can get with 3 gpm). After washing off the loose stuff, use a pump-up sprayer to apply a 3% solution (sometimes you can use less - you'll just have to experiment) of bleach to all discolored brick/joints. Work you way around the house, and by the time you get back to where you started, all the discoloration should be gone. Re-apply if needed. No need to rinse if you are applying to brick. This is the secret to cleaning brick without beating it - or you - up.

[Limeade 14]

Cool, I will do that. Are you saying that I should focus on the mortor? Either way thanks, I will try this when I practice on the other side of the house.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

A quick fyi, some people actually have paid money to get the white washed look on thier brick and I have been asked by a number of our clients to make sure not to remove it as it is something they like in the appearance.

btw, the brick looked clean and free of mildew/algae which is the brunt of what most house cleaning is about. Good job. My only suggestion is to avoid dawn in most applications. It is not compatible with bleach and will release some noxious gases. Palmolive antibacterial dish soap makes a good foaming agent to add for cling and surface dwell time and works well with bleach.

I use 2oz./5gal of solution

Rod!~

[Limeade 14]

A quick fyi, some people actually have paid money to get the white washed look on thier brick and I have been asked by a number of our clients to make sure not to remove it as it is something they like in the appearance.

btw, the brick looked clean and free of mildew/algae which is the brunt of what most house cleaning is about. Good job. My only suggestion is to avoid dawn in most applications. It is not compatible with bleach and will release some noxious gases. Palmolive antibacterial dish soap makes a good foaming agent to add for cling and surface dwell time and works well with bleach.

I use 2oz./5gal of solution

Rod!~

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense.