Chems for Decks

[Cannon 14]

I know there are product out there to strip & brighten decks... but does anyone just go directly to a chemical manufacturer and get their own mixture? I think I could get by a lot cheaper if I bought in 55 gallon drums or 50 lb bags of Sodium Hydroxide, Oxalic Acid and Sodium Percarbonate and Sodium Hypochlorite. Is anyone else doing this? If you go this route... how are you mixing the various chemicals? How much water? What other ingredients do you add? How do you apply... sprayer, E-jet, chem nozzle?

[Mike Smith 14]

Watch the raw chems, they are dangerous. I buy pre mixed from a chemical company(s). They are trained and know what reacts with what to make it work. Sodium hydroxide can hurt you bad be very careful. I just find it less hassle to buy 55 drums of chems ready to go but they are highly concentrated and easy to use or mix if they come in a drum kit.

[ron p 500]

if you have the time,energy,and training to mix your own chem's. You are not putting in enuff time in to advance your buissness.

Do you think mcdonald's care's about how to make cheese? NO! they care about selling cheeseburger's.

P.S.

if you do buy and store chem's in this quanity. Please mark the storage with a placquard. Some fireman might have to put out a fire in your garage and have no idea what he's in for.

[MelissaMW 14]

I just can't believe you think this way: if you have the time,energy,and training to mix your own chem's. You are not putting in enuff time in to advance your buissness.

Now I do agree you need some sort of training for mixing chemicals. Don't want to mix the wrong things together. However, if you have the training, and the time and energy, I do not understand how that is not putting enough time into advancing your business. I'd think this would be advancing your business, and putting time into it. Knowledge is good.

[James 625]

Yes , It took 5 years to figure out . I buy bleach in 15 gallon kegs' sodium hydroxide in 5 gallon buckets, phosphoric acid in 5 gallon . Most deck cleaning distributors just want your money. So they sell pre-carbs and alot of filler. You can buy the pre- carb stuff yourself in large lots.

[MelissaMW 14]

We personally do not use bleach to clean decks, but we do make our own deck cleaner. Please do not ask me what is in it, my husband makes most of the soaps and cleaners we use. I don't ask what's in them, unless I'm on the job and need to know what type of clothing to wear. I don't want to get hurt. Yes, he tells the employees what type of clothing to wear on a job. We even supply most of that clothing and protective gear for them.

I think the bottom line is: You need to know what you're mixing and if it's compatable. You need to know what the chemical does, and if it can seriously harm you. Knowledge is the key to it all.

Not to mention, buying in bulk can save you money. It can also save you money if you know how to mix what you're wanting to use and what you have found works best for you!

[James 625]

It takes time and practice.. Good luck ?

[MelissaMW 14]

I wouldn't say practice. But it does take time to learn what you're doing. As I said before, you do not want to mix the wrong things together. You need to research and learn what you're doing.

[Littlefield 65]

In the interests of human safety and business sense, I would discourage mixing your own chems, Sci. Many ready made chems can be had for less than $1.50 a gal. At that price, even if you are very busy, your not saving much even if its given to you for free, and time ain't free!!

Not being a chemical engineer like my cousin, I still know that the active ingredients in a formula many times don't show the real picture of what the product will work like. There are many other ingredients that perform specific tasks, such as surfectants for example.

I know its fun to play with making the prefect knockout formula, but I have to agree with Ron P. spend the time and few cents you save on learning marketing for winter. :)

[Aplus 525]

Ditto to what Rich said.

[ron p 500]

chem's should be less then 10%[more like 5%] of the cost of any est.

the only exception would be the actual coating[paint,sealer,protectant,ect...]

chem cost's are just added to the bottom line.

With that said, i still mix soda ash,surfacent and percab bleach as my cleaner. I dont make stripper.

all the rest of what i use are mix kit's for truck washing,house washing,and homeowner flatwork.

[Cannon 14]

Ron P,

Do you thing McDonalds doesn't try to lower their inventory cost whenever and where ever possible.

[James 625]

The more you learn, the more you earn. Practice, knowledge and a couple years work will help. Deck chem's after awhile are pretty easy to figure out. Cleaners ,striippers. and nuet (acids). Everything is based on dilution . This take's practice and many strip jobs.

Masonry I buy pre-mixed, and house wash stuff I buy chem's and add bleach.

[ron p 500]

cannon, i did'nt say that micky d's wouldnt look for the best price on cheeze. I said they dont care about how to MAKE cheeeze.

Mcdonald's has "food broker's"

these broker's locate and contract diffrent seller's/mfg of food stuff's and sell it to mcdonald's.

Mcdonald's dose'nt own a bakery,a cheese factory,cow's,a farm,ect......that's not their buissness.

Preparring and selling food is their buissness.

They do it very well.

putting 1 extra katsup package in every bag would cost micky d's about 1.3 million dollar's per year.

They dont care who make's it. Just about who give's them out.

If your stripping 100 deck's per year, then become a dealer for a deck stripper and get better priceing.

[RyanH 14]

Being a chemical engineer myself, I can certainly attest to the fact that simply knowing the active ingredients listed in a chemical can NOT tell you how to reproduce it. It can, however, go a long way towards helping you to find alternates. For example, many of the roof cleaners I see in stores have the same active ingredients in them as common household bleach. The difference has already been stated: the roof cleaner may contain a surfactant or other detergent to help loosen the dirt.

That being said, there is a certain benefit to knowing how to mix your own chemicals. You may find a certain optimal strength in a chemical for a particular task you are performing. A very good example of this is in gutter cleaning. I have read about many people using many chemicals, but I found something called Purple Power to be very good. It had a few drawbacks, however. It had a tendency to remove weak or old paint. I then tried Greased Lightning. EXCELLENT STUFF!!! However, it costs twice as much as the purple power. So, I played around with a mixture of both and water until I found a strength that worked and cost me about the same amount as before. Now, if I were to really research the components of both solutions, I could probably identify the stuff that actually cleaned the gutters and buy that and mix with water. That way I'm not spending $7 per gallon for a solution that works well on gutters, but also acts as a good degreaser, stain remover (clothing), blood remover, etc.

They say that knowledge is power, and in this business I am learning that knowledge is far more powerful and useful than ignorance.

Ryan H.

[Mike Williamson 198]

I agree with Melissa...IF you know what you're doing, and IF you can get results you're happy with by mixing your own chems, then there's no problem.

However, if you are messing with stuff you don't understand in order to save a few bucks, you're not so smart.

As far as the idea that if you're mixing your own, you're not spending enough time on your business is crazy. Once you know what you need to mix to get the results you want, it is simply a matter of obtaining the raw materials, and once you get them mixing them. It isn't like we're talking about spending hours each week mixing your chems. I make my own deck wash, and I'm happy with it. I don't make my own brightener, since I'm not happy with the results I got when I did. The mix formula I use for cleaner I got from the Chemistry Store's website. You CAN save some money doing it yourself, but you're certainly not going to get rich.

By the way, it is percarb (Sodium Percarbonate), not pre-carb.

[James 625]

you said it; the Ry Man......