EFC-38 mix ratio for X-JET

[yazbird8 17]

I am doing a cedar shake home tomorrow and the home is probably a 2 million dollar home if I was to guess...The shakes are on three sides and the front is stone........The shakes are in great shape with the exception of some woodpecker holes in a few spots (not my problem). But there is a semi bad mildew problem on the rear of the home and also on one side......I will also be doing their deck which is nothing more than a strong dose of EFC-38 and a neutralize/ brighten/ rinse/ seal job. I will be using Ready Seal for that part.........Now the house is my big concern...I plan on mixing EFC-38 at 8 ounces to the gallon of water, mixing in a little house wash and some Dawn for extra cling and injecting it with my M5 X-JET......Then I will neutralize/ brighten and rinse..........My question is this........Does this mixture sound strong enough to remove the mildew? How long should it dwell?........The customer is semi retired and has built more than 1000 homes in the town that I target (very wealthy area) and is still buiding homes ocasionally...........This guy is a fantastic fella and I think that doing his home to perfection could be a possible home run for me in the future........Oh yah, I own a 4000psi/ 4 gpm machine

Stephen Andrews

POWER WASHING

HOME & PROPERTY

CARE & MAINTENANCE

[RPetry 564]

Hey Yaz!

Good to hear from you again. I cleaned some nasty cedar shakes on a foul gazebo roof about a week ago. There shoud be a thread on the the wood section somewhere. The original pic is scary. Anyway, these things were very bad, 18 yrs of mildew, mold, and the friggin' mushrooms were growing out of them. I used straight sodium percarbonate on them at 8 oz./gal. Not real concerned about dwell time, kept it wet. Would not let it dry overnight without PW but some of the stuff you read can be a bit much. Anyway, worked well, and have done the same treatment before. Brightened with citric @ 6 oz./gal. I'm sure that EFC-38 or any percarb cleaner would be fine.

Someone else may help with an X-jet application. I have no idea.

I'm sure you know, but take care on the angle of attack when hitting the shakes with your PW. Friggin' things can be bad news.

Knock the socks off this customer! Best regards.

[yazbird8 17]

Hey Rick,

Ya, I saw those funky cedar shakes on your gazebo job. Great results as always. I actually did a bid last week on a gazebo and deck combo with a large bar under the gazebo. All cedar and the roof was loaded with the same gumbo...Anyway, I digress.....It's funny but the owner actually said he has been using bleach on the place for years but is letting someone do the work since the house is so big......He said he would have no objections if I used it myself.......So, I have that as a backup. I'm just afraid to turn the cedar white and not be able to correct it......I'm still hoping someone can address the X-JET ratio issue since I don't use proportioners...

Stephen Andrews

POWER WASHING

HOME & PROPERTY

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[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Leave the Dawn out of it. It is not compatible and will create some hazardous fumes.

Try palmolive instead.

Rod!~

[RPetry 564]

Yaz,

A homeowner has been using BLEECH! for years and the cedar has not fallen apart? Shocking. Wonders will never cease.

I do not know about cedar and BLEECH! other than maintenance with RS. Do not think it will turn the cedar white, only oxalic or citric can do that in my experience. Anyway, probably best to talk to Jim or Shane. They are the directors of the board of the BDA and have years of experience.

I'm a percarb and citric advocate unless the wood has a paraffinic oil in it. Good luck on the bid. I do not have any idea what a proportioner is.

BTW, just listened to "Elephant" by the White Stripes. For rockin', Pink Floyd is history...! See 'ya.

[yazbird8 17]

Thanks Rod and Rick,

I'm still looking for the Sodium Percarb to water ratio when X-JETTING for killing mildew and mold on cedar shakes though.......Anybody?...Please....Please....Please.............Oh ya, the owner is tapped into a well with hard water (I guess meaning a high iron content) which is unusual in this area......Any advise?

Stephen Andrews

POWER WASHING

HOME & PROPERTY

CARE & MAINTENANCE

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Run your water through a softener filter.

For EFC-38: mix in warm water at 12oz/gal then downstream with your x-jet/m-5 which ever you have. Allow dwell time and possible additional applications in heavy accumulation spots.

Rod!~

[yazbird8 17]

Thanks Rod,

About 5 dry cups of efc38 per 5 gal. of water. Add a little house wash and a little Polmolive dish soap.....I'll try 2 cups dry citrolic to 5 gal. of water for neutralizer/ brightener.......Any need to rinse??.......

Stephen Andrews

POWER WASHING

HOME & PROPERTY

CARE & MAINTENANCE

[PressurePros 249]

Stephen, I think you are going to be unhappy with your results. Here is why..

a) Even with Rod's suggestion (a good one for the strongest possible product) and a little dish soap your cling will be nowhere near long enough to take away heavy mold. You may be looking at 3-4 applications of EFC to get it all melted enough to wash away.

b) You have to wash every inch of siding by hand.. as in, up close and personal. The X-Jet is going to give you amateur results. It may be okay to apply chemical but you can't rinse with it on this type of job.

A two million dollar home should have a high quality restoration. Something of that caliber in the 4000 s/f range you would need to charge $8,000 + for a clean and seal. A housewash might be $800. Totally different jobs obviously.

If the shakes are in good shape and you are not sealing, AND customer won't mind slightly whited out siding, you are better of spraying bleach on them.

[yazbird8 17]

Thanks Ken,

I am going to try the Sodium Percarb on the one story cedar shaked car garage first before I try to tackle the huge house (this boy aint climbing no ladder for this home). A 12' step is it.......If I don't get the results I want on the garage then I will recommend switching to bleach/ soap/water combo then rinse with citrolic..........Ok bleach guys.......Can I get some help on ratios using regular store bought bleach to water for my X-JET?........SIDE NOTE.. can I leave the citrolic neutralizer/ brightener on the shakes after I apply it?.........Will the citrolic help hide the "bleached out" effect since it brightens the wood anyway???

Stephen Andrews

POWER WASHING

HOME & PROPERTY

CARE & MAINTENANCE

[PressurePros 249]

The bleach heads say no brightener is needed but I am unsure why they say this as pH balancing is just as important as making something look clean. I will tell you, too strong of a mix of acid will whiten the wood also. I have cut my dilutions of Citralic wayyyyyy down.

[yazbird8 17]

If I go with the percarb bath and then a citralic bath, do I need to rinse (other than the windows) with water or can I leave the citralic on?..........If there are any bleach guys who use an X-JET and bleach for cedar shake homes I'd love to here from you too..........

Stephen Andrews

POWER WASHING

HOME & PROPERTY

CARE & MAINTENANCE