Hot water on houses?

[Barry M 73]

I read the article on house washing in The Cleaner Times. Henry Bochman, whom I don't have a problem with and have respect for, said you want to use 130 F hot water to clean houses. He goes on to say that it will increase the speed, and help your detergents to work better. Would the increase in speed be enough to off set the price of fuel to run your burner? Is it cost effective to clean house with hot water? How many of you use hot water on houses?

[John Orr 206]

130 degrees is right about what I use. Yes, it speeds things up - think laundry in hot vs cold water. As for fuel use, in the heat of summer, it depends on several things, including the temp of your water source. My rig uses diesel at about the same rate as gas in winter and about 1/2 the rate in summer.

If you have hot water capability, I would say to try it and see for yourself. I didn't have hot water for the first few years in business and I was able to wash just about anything - just slower.

[Jeff 232]

Heat I dont think could hurt at all, but around here its mainly mold & mildew and the right amount of chem It goes real fast. Now in the north where you might have more pollutants, grime i would think the heat would help more.

JL

[Barry M 73]

Just for the record, I don't have hot water right now. Thanks for the insight John and Jeff.

[A and J POWERWASHING 64]

I just went to hot water this year . And it cleans so much faster thancold water and cost less in soap . the best thing that I have done ,

[Howard 50]

I use around that temp to clean houses. I agree with John, try washing dirty dishes (or clothes) in cold water. Warm water speeds things up and makes for a cleaner product in the end. imo

[Ron Musgraves 240]

I can see using hot water to supply chems. helps some chemicals heat up.

washing would need to be pretty close to have water be 130. about four inches away.

water after about 11 inches is pretty cold.

Hot water is better and more cost effective. the same results can be achived with cold and chemicals, just longer and more expensive.

I have stoped hot water on verticle cleaning, due to fuel costs. I personally did not notice the difference. I will still continue hot with roofs.

Heat doesnt affect my chemicals i curently use on roofs or flat surface.

[Russ Spence 76]

hot is the way ...start using right away....$$$$$$$$$$

[JohnW 14]

I have had hot water from the start. I don't use hot water on houses, I don't really see the need and like Ron said, by the time the water reaches the surface, I'm sure it's not really 'hot' anymore. I do however use hot water on all concrete jobs. We do a lot of concrete washing here and I couldn't imagine cleaning driveways, poolsides, patios, walkways, etc. without it.

John W.

Superior Pressure Washing

Fayetteville, GA

[R L S 14]

I dont ever use hotwater on houses unless its pretty cold. Just an added expense that you dont need.

[John T 744]

Iv'e cleaned houses with Hot and cold. The chemicals are the key and today I never use Hot water on a house because I don't see the need..unless its cold out.....

[Camelot 68]

How water makes the grime come off like butta...

[FCPWLLC 233]

My Hot water machine got stolen. Haven't replaced yet. Chems do all the work and I really haven't missed my Hot water or fuel cost. BTW If you see a Landa SGHW w/24hp Onan mounted to a 6x12 trailer that you haven't seen before, it might be mine.

[zapp 72]

Hmm good thread , Here in the North East , hot is nice for house washing in March and April when theres still snow on the ground, but I can't justify the added expense and the possible killing of fragil flower and plants for the added speed.

What does everyone else do about plant rinsing and hot water ? It doesn't seem to save time if I have to keep shuting off the burner everytime I want to rinse plants and bushes.

[Barry M 73]

What does everyone else do about plant rinsing and hot water ? It doesn't seem to save time if I have to keep shuting off the burner everytime I want to rinse plants and bushes.

Wow, you really have to do that with hot water? That would suck, and cost a lot of valuable time.

[hawk 14]

Like Ron said after a certain distance the water isn't that hot anymore. Have you ever felt the cold mist hit your face. I stand back away from the plants to rinse, probably is like a warm summers rain to the plants.

I have just added a surface cleaner that I backed my heat down to 140, and have keep it there for other uses also. I would like to ask is 200 degrees better than 130 or is that just more fuel. I need to find this article.

Hank

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

On vinyl, we will not use temps any higher than 115* because of the potential for distorting or melting the siding.

On aluminum, we go as high as 150* to help remove oxidation and it helps to get the mildew/algae to come off easier with weaker chemicals including bleach.

Hot water softens water, increases it's solvency and expands the molecules which allows chems to go into solution easily and perform better with less precipitate.

Rod!~

[Paul Kassander 26]

I have been using hot water on homes for years an it works great. I can always tell the second my burner runs out of fuel (thank you for not filling it at the end of the day last user) because I have to use twice the chemical for the same job. Just like rod said.

[zapp 72]

On vinyl, we will not use temps any higher than 115* because of the potential for distorting or melting the siding.

On aluminum, we go as high as 150* to help remove oxidation and it helps to get the mildew/algae to come off easier with weaker chemicals including bleach.

Hot water softens water, increases it's solvency and expands the molecules which allows chems to go into solution easily and perform better with less precipitate.

Rod!~

Ok I understand all of this But don't understand something else If I x-jet my mix 35 ft onto a peak of a house at 130 degrees what is the actual temp at the surface? and after I shoot the whole side, to rinse off the fragil petunias and marigolds what is the surface temp these plants can handle ??anyone ever figure this out? I dont want to experiment on my next million dollar house .

And no one has mentioned what happens when you run HOT hoses across a nice green lawn = Dead grass

I understant that hot cleans better than cold ,and I have used hot when the conditions are right ,but with all the possible things that could die , is it worth the stress or a little more chem ??

[Russ Spence 76]

let me clarify .... i use hot to apply chems to non painted surfaces....i,e. vinyl,any how i use hot sparingly on homes ,most of our problem here is mold and mildew but it is nice to have the hot water and i do love it sooooo much .......i couldnt live w/o it

[Aplus 525]

IMHO, hot water house washing appeals more as a marketing tool. It's easy to build a case for, and sell a wash job on the basis that hot water cleans better than cold.

However, water conditions are different in various geographic regions, which is to say, some areas the water is harder, softer, or has more mineral content. All these things can affect the way detergents perform.

In my location, I can get any house as clean with cold water as I can with hot.

[John Orr 206]

Tony, you can wash just about anything with cold water, just slower than with hot.

[Howard 50]

Ok here is the bottom line with this discussion ColdvsHot. In my opinion is not who is right, more right, wrong or more wrong its just if it works for you do it. My preference is warm, not hot water, I too have washed both ways and yes I get the house clean either way. But my preference is warm water and the small increase in fuel cost I see dosen't effect my bottom line (yet).

[Barry M 73]

I think your right Howard, it's all about what works for you. Hot water is faster and may or may not be cost effective for some. With cold water the same results can be achieved but it takes longer, so again it's whatever you find to be more cost effective for you, in your demographic area. It also sounds like some hot water units don't cost as much to run as others, so that would also be a factor. This is a good thread, I've learned a lot.

[Don Phelps 85]

Ok here is the bottom line with this discussion ColdvsHot. In my opinion is not who is right, more right, wrong or more wrong its just if it works for you do it. My preference is warm, not hot water, I too have washed both ways and yes I get the house clean either way. But my preference is warm water and the small increase in fuel cost I see dosen't effect my bottom line (yet).

That's the exact point I've been trying to get across about several things in recent months. If it works for the company and it works for the customer, that's all that matters.

Advice is one thing. Overbearing attitudes about doing something only a certain way are absurd. Unless safety or legal issues are involved, of course.

[plainpainter 217]

I am confused with this hot water pressure washing - is it the action of downstreaming chems with hot water that you people are talking about? Or the rinsing? It seems to me that by the time you blast the side of a house with hot water - how much time has it really worked synergistically with the detergents to clean your home? The second you rinse - everything that was applied is now on the ground - where is the interaction time that makes hot water so much better? I can understand if you are talking about downstreaming chems with hot water - that makes sense. But hot water for rinsing? What possible effect can that have?

-Dan