house washing with deck cleaning

[JohnW 14]

Hello all,

Most of you know me from elsewhere, as I haven't posted much on here, but for those that don't, I've been pressure washing part time for 2.5 years, residential and commerical.

My question is this, whenever I bid a residential job, I'm often asked about cleaning the deck. I don't currently have the knowledge to do a proper deck cleaning, so I usually try and educate the homeowner from what I do know and tell them that applying heavy pressure to a deck isn't the proper way to clean it and then I go on to let them know there is a right way, but I don't offer that type of cleaning.

If you were a part timer like myself, would you try and learn the proper way to do decks and add that as a service or would you try and sub the work out to someone else or what? I'd just like to get some feedback on this if possible.

Thanks,

John Werling

Superior Pressure Washing

Fayetteville, GA

[plainpainter 217]

Huh?!? People are asking you to do more work, and you want to leave money on the table? I am a painter by trade - and I'll pressure wash anything if people ask me to. Start lo-tech, Bleach and TSP - I make tons of money cleaning decks with those chemicals. Some people here prefer more "appropriate" cleaners - I am sure you have seen those threads. But whatever - cleaning decks ain't no big deal - whatever chem you choose. Just pre-wet the deck, mix your chemical in a 5 gallon bucket, with a deck scrubber in hand - dunk, and then apply chemicals and scrub, do an area the time it takes you 20 minutes to apply and scrub with. Then with a pressure washer - wash off the area you just cleaned - and move on. Once you have done that with the whole deck - come back and rinse everything again, and then again. And voila you have pressure washed a deck.

-plainpainter

[PressurePros 248]

You can also use a "more appropriate cleaner", spray it on and wash it off with low pressure. No scrubbing. I love how someone is here less than a month and refuting technique from professionals he knows nothing about. Plain, with all due respect, your technique is antiquated.

[ken wiggins 14]

DETAILS PLEASE, I a'm interested in the more appropriate way ????????

[Barry M 73]

If you want details use the 'search function' it works great. I bet you won't find anything about dunking a deck scrubber. Maybe to save money you could just buy a toilet scrubber for a buck at the dollar store.

[PLD 14]

Hello all,

Most of you know me from elsewhere, as I haven't posted much on here, but for those that don't, I've been pressure washing part time for 2.5 years, residential and commerical.

My question is this, whenever I bid a residential job, I'm often asked about cleaning the deck. I don't currently have the knowledge to do a proper deck cleaning, so I usually try and educate the homeowner from what I do know and tell them that applying heavy pressure to a deck isn't the proper way to clean it and then I go on to let them know there is a right way, but I don't offer that type of cleaning.

If you were a part timer like myself, would you try and learn the proper way to do decks and add that as a service or would you try and sub the work out to someone else or what? I'd just like to get some feedback on this if possible.

Thanks,

John Werling

Superior Pressure Washing

Fayetteville, GA

John,

Sub it out to me. I'll pay you a nice commission, and you can get paid for doing nothing!

Philip

[seymore 90]

Cleaning and sealing a deck is SOO easy and yet be so hard if it's not cleaned with the right products for the job at hand.

There are some basic cleaning steps you always take to properly clean the job.Old stain on the deck well use a stripper "let it dwell 15-20 min" keeping it wet to remove the old stain.You then p/wash it off using low pressure to not damage the wood more than it already is.Once you have remove the old stain you now apply brightner/neutralizer "acid wash" to the deck then rinse.Now if you have mildew on the deck you use a bleach and soap mixture to romove and kill the mildew.I don't always use oxalic after bleaching but some guys do.You do not want to mix the oxalic and bleach together !!

I will use a bleach solution on non stained decks that are just grey/mildewed let it dwell then p/wash it off.

Staining a deck is yet a whole new book i could type by itslef but if you can't find the help you need from the previous post in the search...

Feel free to call me anytime i'll help ya figure out what you need to do to get

the job done the right way..:cool:

Whewww i think i'm still high from the 30 gallons of bleach i sprayed today cleaning 2 cedar houses i stained 8yrs. ago..:cool::headspin: :groovy: :lgbonk:

[plainpainter 217]

Are you saying, Ken, nobody scrubs anymore? LOL - when you go to a car wash, and use the pressure washer - how come it doesn't get off all the grime? Until you agitate the detergents with a scrubber of some sorts and then rinse, then and only then does that thin coating of grime come free from the car finish. Why would it be different with decks or siding? Maybe that is the reason why I am so succesful in removing that artillery virus from every house I pressure wash - no matter if it's been there for a month, a year, or whatever. After applying the chemicals - I scrub every square inch, and to me that's a better job!

-plainpainter

P.S. I did say it was his choice what chemicals he chose. And perhaps your methods are less antiquated - but to most people that don't have unlimited funds, but do have a pressure washer {cold-water}- a 5 gallon bucket and a deck scrubber is a good cheap method to get going.

[seymore 90]

Are you saying, Ken, nobody scrubs anymore? LOL.

I still scrubb while the stripper is dwelling well it gives my helper something to do while waiting :cool:

[PLD 14]

Why would it be different with decks or siding?

Several reasons:

First, we were talking about decks. And stripping a deck is a ablative process. That is, a small layer of the substrate is being removed intentionally as a normal part of the process. To compare it to a car, you would be talking about washing the car before stripping the paint. And obviously, there's no point in that...

Also, cars are a different animal. The experience road grime, oily tire spray, exhaust polutants, and other things that a house never sees. The paint on a car is designed not to oxidize and slough off. House paint does.

Finally, the cleaning processes/tools may look the same, but that are very different. You do not wash your car with the same chemicals or level of agitation that you wash a home with. Ever washed you car with 2% bleach? Butyl? Hydroxide? Citriclean?

By brushing, you are definitely offering a value added service. The house is definitely cleaner to some degree. Ken's point was that chems have improved to the point that you can get very close the same result w/o brushing. Today, most homeowners would much rather pay my rate for 98% and non-brushes, than your rate for 100% and brushed. And if you brushed rate isn't at least 2x my non-brushed rate, IMHO you need to re-evaluate your business.

[PressurePros 248]

If you don't have the money for proper chemicals, you absolutely need to re-evaluate your business plan.

[JohnW 14]

Guys, thank you for all the replies, I'll work on it. Seymore and Ken, thank you for taking the time to write all that out, gives me a lot more to go on. Phil, I'll be in touch with you as well.

Thank you,

John Werling

Superior Pressure Washing

Fayetteville, GA

[JohnW 14]

Huh?!? People are asking you to do more work, and you want to leave money on the table? I am a painter by trade - and I'll pressure wash anything if people ask me to. Start lo-tech, Bleach and TSP - I make tons of money cleaning decks with those chemicals. Some people here prefer more "appropriate" cleaners - I am sure you have seen those threads. But whatever - cleaning decks ain't no big deal - whatever chem you choose. Just pre-wet the deck, mix your chemical in a 5 gallon bucket, with a deck scrubber in hand - dunk, and then apply chemicals and scrub, do an area the time it takes you 20 minutes to apply and scrub with. Then with a pressure washer - wash off the area you just cleaned - and move on. Once you have done that with the whole deck - come back and rinse everything again, and then again. And voila you have pressure washed a deck.

-plainpainter

Plainpainter,

I'm not looking to leave money out there untouched, but at the same time, I know there's a correct way and an incorrect way to do things. I'd prefer to learn the correct method, rather than tearing something up that someone has paid good money for. I appreciate the reply.

John

[Jimmy M 14]

it sho gotta be tough scrubbing all them pickets!!!!!!!!

[bforbis 14]

I know there's a correct way and an incorrect way to do things. I'd prefer to learn the correct method, rather than tearing something up that someone has paid good money for.

THANK YOU!

[Crownroyal 14]

What do car washes have to do with deck cleaning? Nothing. Everything has different ways to be cleaned. If you really wanted to talk about clean next time you sit down at a restaurant think about your dish’s that where just pushed thought the washer that uses only soap and water pressure…..

I think maybe painting is easy money all you need is roller, paintbrush, and a paint tray and bam you’re a painter EASY WORK. If you think something’s easy think again.

We know our trade and you know yours. A jack-of-all-trades a master of none I would say. If you want to learn keep searching the posts for more information. TGS is here to help.

If you don’t have the knowledge to do our line of work your not getting ALL OF THAT MONEY ON THAT TABLE.

Most of us Power washers have to see painters under pricing and leaving jobs done incorrect. So next time the homeowner or property owner calls a power washer they wonder why it cost so much more. Well we use the right cleaners and equipment and process to do the job correctly and with a high concentration on quality. Thanks to some painters mistakes I charge 3 times what I would normally to fix their problem.

I’m sorry but most not all painters know how to operate a power washer from (lowes) but that’s mostly blasting a house or property and then painting it, so if they’re is anything on there you never could get off you just paint it. I started power washing for about 10 different painters in my area and I know the short cuts they take and just not knowing right from wrong. The owners were all amazed on how we charged and how we cleaned that’s why they now use us. We prep better than they even could ever imagine.

I used to paint but I found that I was more knowledgeD in the cleaning aspects of industrial, commercial, and residential so I stuck with that and focused on my profession. If I ever branch off I will hire a new division to my company and will hire trained professionals to handle that end of the business. Being a leader you should know how to lead and if you don’t know something, hire someone that does, then educate your brain and gain the knowledge to better equip yourself.

IF A PROPERTY OWNER CALLS ABOUT PRESSURE WASHING OR DECK RESTURATION PLEASE CALL A PROFESSIONAL IT WILL MAKE YOU LOOK GOOD GIVING THEM A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL AND NEXT TIME THE PWER MIGHT CALL YOU WHEN THEY ARE ASKED FOR PAINTING JOBS. NETWORKING IS KEY.

That is all.

Dan

Dagan

NN VA

[Mike Williamson 198]

Are you saying, Ken, nobody scrubs anymore? LOL - when you go to a car wash, and use the pressure washer - how come it doesn't get off all the grime?

Car washes are set up so that your typical ignorant car owner doesn't kill himself or damage his vehicle using industrial strength cleaners. There ARE fleetwash chemicals that will take every bit of dirt and grime off of a vehicle without touching it with a brush, but they are intended for use by professionals, not your typical vehicle owner.

There are methods and chemicals for deck cleaning that are intended for use by educated and experienced professionals who know what they're doing and how not to harm themselves or the deck, and then there are methods and chemicals that are designed for use by your typical homeowner so that they don't harm themselves or their deck.

If you choose to stick with the latter because it is cheaper and/or easier (don't see how, but ok) that's fine, but most of us prefer to learn the easiest and most efficient way to do things. Could I scrub every house I clean? Sure! I'd have to charge a lot more, and my customers, for the most part, aren't going to pay that just to keep me busy for 5 or 6 hours doing a 2 hour housewash. They want it to look good, they really don't care if it is 100% sanitized.

BTW, it is artillery fungus.

[plainpainter 217]

I know it's artillery fungus, for some reason I write down virus.

As for scrubbing - I have performed a bunch of tests with picket fences.

I made a mixture of TSP and sodium percarbonate - and applied it to a really bad fence with lots of lichen and stuff. I think the strength was about 8 ounces of S.P. and 4 ounces of TSP per gallon. I scrubbed half of the fence, and then reapplied again with a garden sprayer to the whole fench, and again scrubbed the same area. After all was said and done - an hour went by, and then I rinsed the fence with a garden hose, I just wanted to see what I could do with chemicals in the absence of pressure.

When I started to wash off the area I previously scrubbed - all the nasty stuff just came off effortlessly, no need for pressure washing. And what was revealed was this beautiful cedar wood - the part that I had also applied chemicals to, but didn't brush, nothing came off - it looked the same as before. So what can you conclude from this? I think the above strength of chemicals is pretty spot on. I didn't use bleach, and was able to kill all fungus, lichen, moss, get rid of all dead wood fibers with just scrubbing and sodium percarbonate. If the chemicals are suppose to do all the work - how come the other areas of fence I didn't scrub, nothing came off?

-plainpainter

[Barry M 73]

If the chemicals are suppose to do all the work - how come the other areas of fence I didn't scrub, nothing came off?

-plainpainter

Uhhh, maybe lack of knowledge?

[plainpainter 217]

Ok, say it's a lack of knowledge. I mean that was the reason I performed this test - was to see what would work and what wouldn't. I made a mixture of 8 ounces of sodium percarbonate plus 4 ounces of a Sodium Metasilicate type of TSP to one gallon of water. Isn't this pretty much in the ballpark of what I have been reading as to what people use on weathered wood that has no sealer? This mixture was applied by a garden sprayer - so that was the strength that was applied to the cedar picket fence. The combination of this chemical in addition to scrubbing - made for a perfectly clean fence with just the use of a garden hose to rinse. Without scrubbing - nothing came off. Another section - I used no chemicals, but used a pressure washer at about 3-4 inches away to get the same results as scrubbing with chemicals and hose rinse. Seems to me had I applied these chemicals, didn't scrub, and then pressure washed - I could have convinced myself that the chemicals did all the work.

-plainpainter

[seymore 90]

I made a mixture of 8 ounces of sodium percarbonate plus 4 ounces of a Sodium Metasilicate type of TSP to one gallon of water. Isn't this pretty much in the ballpark of what I have been reading as to what people use on weathered wood that has no sealer?

-plainpainter

Not for me it's BLEaCh and soap..:cool:

[RPetry 564]

If the chemicals are suppose to do all the work - how come the other areas of fence I didn't scrub, nothing came off?

Because the pressure washer is the "scrubber".

[Barry M 73]

Another section - I used no chemicals, but used a pressure washer at about 3-4 inches away to get the same results as scrubbing with chemicals and hose rinse. Seems to me had I applied these chemicals, didn't scrub, and then pressure washed - I could have convinced myself that the chemicals did all the work.

-plainpainter

It sounds like you applied some pretty good pressure to the wood, do you have any idea what psi you were blasting the wood with? Let me guess, you used whatever tip came with it, right? Do a whole deck with that kind of pressure and you'll damage the wood big time. I only use 800 psi to clean wood using chems and it comes out beautiful. So it seems to me, the chems do most of the work.

Anyway, why do you want to sit here and argue with a whole board. It would be like me going to some paint forum and telling them that my way of painting houses is to use only a 1" brush, and that it's the best way and I make money doing it.

[Limeade 14]

Some of you guys need to come back to earth, you pressure washer things, you don't build rocket ships. If the guy wants to scrub the deck, then let him, it sounds as if some of you are afraid of a little bit of work. When I get my car wahsed, I want hands on it, pressure washing is nothing without a little elbow grease.

[PressurePros 248]

Lime, it isn't about technique. I could care less if someoneone wants to add extra time and energy to their job to get the same results. Concrete comes up much cleaner if you brush degreaser into it as well. To each his own. What makes me raise feathers a bit is when someone whom has no experience with others efficiency and technique and knows no one here from Adam posts in a condescending tone.

It's equivalent to someone from here going to a painter's board and implying everyone there is a chump because he uses latex paint because clearly oil is superior. I know this is a prejudiced statement but I agree with the above poster that talked about painters. Most have little experience with the way a real cleaning contractor performs work. It's blast away and paint over it. When educated to new procedures most are stubborn.

This is the second time I have noticed plainpainter advising newbies to use questionable technique. I don't think he is a bad guy at all, but like I suggested before, he may need to just stick around and read for a bit before giving advice. If after trying multiple techniques and giving them real world tests then posting pictures of experimentation along with intelligent analysis plainpainter wants to come back and tell me my technique blows, I am more than willing to listen.

(Lime and Plain, please fill out your signature so I can stop referring to you by nickname.)

[plainpainter 217]

Shane - I do prefer to use bleach. As I still can't figure out what is so bad about it. Especially when people who bad mouth bleach are strong proponents of using sodium hydroxide - Sodium hydroxide is such strong powerful and very dangerous stuff, I'd think bleach is much tamer by comparison. But I tried the sodium percarb, because I am always experimenting.

Ken - I don't understand why you think I am posting in a condescending tone. I think if anyone is condescending it is the people that bad mouth bleach. Case in point - when everyone talks about how bad the 'fuzzies' are with bleach - well I get those same fuzzies using sodium hydroxide, sodium percarbonate, oxalic acid. Everything I have used makes fuzzies. The only time I have noticed that bleach had a detrimental effect on the stain - was one instance where I didn't rinse very well where the deck abutted the house - apparently my bleach solution got caught up in the shakes, and came back down - and that is where I got stain failure. But I am sure the same would be true with any chemical that I didn't rinse out very well. And I do read the posts here and take home some very valuable advice, and some things I disagree with. And I will take time to fill my signature tonight

Barry - I have several tips, one is very gentle -basically for car cleaning, one is about 45 degree spray and the other is like a 5 degree spray - I usually go with the 45 degree tip. I have a 2900psi 2.5 gallon/minute machine. And I hold the tip about a foot away from the wood when I pressure wash decks - what exactly the pressure is, I haven't sat down to do the math - but I don't damage decks. Typically I use a 5-gallon container, dump a cup of TSP, one gallon of 6% bleach, fill the rest with water from the hose. Then I scrub the deck with that solution - and all I need the pressure washer for is to rapidly rinse the deck. Gets up all the dead wood grain, fungus, and mildew - I basically only need the pressure from a garden hose - but use a pressure washer to rinse faster. I am using the pressure from my pressure washer to lift old deck stains - as it is very hard to remove even with 10oz per gallon of lye. That's because the stain I use is Tung oil based and forms a rock hard surface somewhat like spar varnish - and just doesn't want to come off.

-Dan