Pressure Wash Or Softwash?

Anybody know if its possible to combine the two methods? Enviro Spec sells an Allison Super Suds Sucker that gets up to a 33% chemical draw and this is almost exactly the ratio of 12.5 SH to water in popular roof mixes. So is it possible to downstream a strong enough mix? I know its probably more ideal to have a dedicated chem pump, but I think there might be advantages to ds like if you show up to wash a house and upsell the roof, but all you have is your pw with you.


Here is a hint on how to get the chem strong enough if you dont have a dedicated pump. Use 2 super sud suckers inline with a jumper hose(4ft) in between and you have got plenty of chemical to treat roofs. You can turn your pw throttle down to the pressure you need to get the roof coated. Secret is out!! You accually have to cut the mix because its too strong strait.
 
Do you have a picture James of your setup?


Here is a hint on how to get the chem strong enough if you dont have a dedicated pump. Use 2 super sud suckers inline with a jumper hose(4ft) in between and you have got plenty of chemical to treat roofs. You can turn your pw throttle down to the pressure you need to get the roof coated. Secret is out!! You accually have to cut the mix because its too strong strait.
 
This sounds very interesting. With the super suds sucker, the best ratio I could get is about 13:1 so if my math is correct that makes 7.68% of solution hitting the surface not calculating the strength of the SH. This is just the % of the chemical being pulled hitting the surface.

Not sure how to calculate the rest but if you could get 7.68 out of both injectors at the same time that would give you 15.36% chemical hitting the surface.

The tricky part is if you are using 12.5% SH and the system can pull 15.36%, how strong is the mixture hitting the surface.

I am guessing by your post James, it is strong enough to clean both tile and shingle roofs using 12.5% SH?

Thanks.
 
Here is a hint on how to get the chem strong enough if you dont have a dedicated pump. Use 2 super sud suckers inline with a jumper hose(4ft) in between and you have got plenty of chemical to treat roofs. You can turn your pw throttle down to the pressure you need to get the roof coated. Secret is out!! You accually have to cut the mix because its too strong strait.
Chris,
We have never cleaned Tile roofs before. We dont have them here in NJ. When We first started doing roofs we used a double SS system. I use dedicated pumps now unless we have a very large area roof. We used straight %12 SH and our surfactant which seems to be about %30-40 total solution on the roof surface. Worked great Very fast!! But make sure your groung guy can keep up. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the info James.
 
Here is a hint on how to get the chem strong enough if you dont have a dedicated pump. Use 2 super sud suckers inline with a jumper hose(4ft) in between and you have got plenty of chemical to treat roofs. You can turn your pw throttle down to the pressure you need to get the roof coated. Secret is out!! You accually have to cut the mix because its too strong strait.

Man the PW guys don't want these softwash guys to know this.
 
This sounds very interesting. With the super suds sucker, the best ratio I could get is about 13:1 so if my math is correct that makes 7.68% of solution hitting the surface not calculating the strength of the SH. This is just the % of the chemical being pulled hitting the surface.

Not sure how to calculate the rest but if you could get 7.68 out of both injectors at the same time that would give you 15.36% chemical hitting the surface.

The tricky part is if you are using 12.5% SH and the system can pull 15.36%, how strong is the mixture hitting the surface.

I am guessing by your post James, it is strong enough to clean both tile and shingle roofs using 12.5% SH?

Thanks.


My Enviro Spec Allison Super Suds Sucker gets about a 20%+ chemical draw. I like that it has different nozzles based upon how much water your pump puts out. Maybe your pump puts out a different volume of water than mine.

James, why the 4' jumper hose?
 
Your downstream injector will pull chemical better/easier if you have a short jumper hose installed as opposed to having the injector attached directly to the pump.

My Allison Super Suds Sucker is hard mounted about 5' away from the pump. I do not know the draw rate but I have mounted a 2nd Allison Super Suds Sucker on QD's and plugged in to my original and they both had strong suction. I have never pursued this as I did as a desperate attempt to clean a stubborn mold stain in stucco that the first Allison Super Suds Sucker injector would not clean.
 
With the different orifices that come with the SSS, I think I have the orifice for the 3-5gpm machine in the injector.

My Hotsy puts out 5.6gpm at 3000psi, checked it after I had it re-packed last year, twice.

Over time the orifice gets worn some and that will affect how much chemical it pulls and at that time the orifice or injector needs to be changed out.

I use the QC's so I can install it when needed as it does affect the surface cleaner with the injector installed so when not needed it is on the trailer out of the way.

I need to try out JV's way when I get a chance, sounds very interesting.
 
Right now I have the 8gpm cold and the 5.6gpm hot water Hotsy and the 5gpm Hot water Landa skid on the old trailer.

I have not moved rigs around yet due to looking at box trucks right now.

Once I get the box truck here, the newer 8.5gpm Hot water skid will go into the truck and probably the 8gpm cold also.

The brand new trailer that is here will get the Hosty and Landa Skids with hose reels and tank from the old trailer then I will just sell the trailer to make room.

Work has been slow with all the rain we have had in the past couple months but the grass is sure getting green and the algae will be here quickly.
 
Work has been slow with all the rain we have had in the past couple months but the grass is sure getting green and the algae will be here quickly.
<blockquote><strong>
<img src="http://emoticon.activeboard.com/39216?AWSAccessKeyId=1XXJBWHKN0QBQS6TGPG2&Expires=1332288000&Signature=WbyxpG0F4MABAHnt6swZDLD3YgQ%3D" border="0" alt="katy memorial roof cleaning & Power Washing" title="roof cleaning" /
></strong></blockquote> It has rained over 13" here since the beginning of the year and we need it bad like you too. Yes the rain will bring work also.

Lets us know when you get the new truck.
 
I am looking at a couple there in Houston, I might do the test drive next weekend when I am there and put the deposit then during the next week fly up there to drive it home.

This will be mostly for fleet washing but I can add another hose reel under the box, throw some detergents onto the truck and it would work out great for house washing also if needed.

Wish I had a small motorcycle to ride up there, could put it in the box for the drive home.

Not sure how much taxi cost from the airport to different parts of Houston, guess I will find out when that time comes.

Marcus, who are some tank suppliers there in Houston that have both the totes (I have seen some guys selling them on craigslist) and the large round tanks that sit flat that have the opening off to the side like what they have on farms? I might pick them up while there in Houston for the drive back home.

Thanks.
 
I am looking at a couple there in Houston, I might do the test drive next weekend when I am there and put the deposit then during the next week fly up there to drive it home.

This will be mostly for fleet washing but I can add another hose reel under the box, throw some detergents onto the truck and it would work out great for house washing also if needed.

Wish I had a small motorcycle to ride up there, could put it in the box for the drive home.

Not sure how much taxi cost from the airport to different parts of Houston, guess I will find out when that time comes.

Marcus, who are some tank suppliers there in Houston that have both the totes (I have seen some guys selling them on craigslist) and the large round tanks that sit flat that have the opening off to the side like what they have on farms? I might pick them up while there in Houston for the drive back home.

Thanks.

Chris, call me when you know let me know when you are coming, if I am available I can pick you up and take you where you need to go. Save you some cab fare, cause it's expensive round here.

Here is where I get my tanks here in Houston...http://www.plasticstoragetanks.com/ but there are many otheres. I use them because they have great service. Never really checked price comparisons with others here. I pull up, they grab the tank I need, fit it I want it, and off I go.
 
Some in the industry swear that Softwashing is buyer Beware!!</SPAN>
I have never posted on your site before, I’m Greg and my company is Neighborly Services. I am currently considering changing my name to Neighborly Soft Wash, for several reasons including search engine results. I use pressure where needed at different levels depending on the job, there is a balance between chemical & pressure concentration for almost every situation, IMO. I don’t like the idea of being grouped into one method of cleaning.</SPAN>
Thanks for bringing this up, I am now reconsidering my name change. Is softwashing beware an industry thing between commercial & residential guys? Is there a perception amongst consumers that soft wash companies are limited to chemical cleaning?</SPAN>
Thanks for any advice.</SPAN>
 
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Chris, call me when you know let me know when you are coming, if I am available I can pick you up and take you where you need to go. Save you some cab fare, cause it's expensive round here.

Here is where I get my tanks here in Houston...http://www.plasticstoragetanks.com/ but there are many otheres. I use them because they have great service. Never really checked price comparisons with others here. I pull up, they grab the tank I need, fit it I want it, and off I go.

Thanks Doug, I appreciate that.
 
I dont see how mounting the SSS away from the pump helps it draw more. I have one mounted 15' away from an 8gpm pump and it drws less than ones I have mounted on the pumps of two 4gpm machines.

Not sure of the mechanics of how all that stuff works but I tried a jumper right off the burner and it did not pull as well as it does after about a 12' jumper from the burner right where I can connect the jumper to either of several different hoses or hose reels. I have tried connecting the injector after 100', 150', 200', 300', 500' away from the trailer and it pulls good, did that last year with a couple of apartment complexes, The larger of the two is where I had to have 1250' of pressure hose to reach around the building after obstacles and away from the parking lot (could not take the truck and trailer on the grass close to the building so we had to string out a lot of hose to get the job done).

There are so many different variables involved in the injectors, how they work, hose length, injector size, brands of injectors, orifice sizes, etc..... once you get something that works, it is nice.
 
I have never posted on your site before, I’m Greg and my company is Neighborly Services. I am currently considering changing my name to Neighborly Soft Wash, for several reasons including search engine results. I use pressure where needed at different levels depending on the job, there is a balance between chemical & pressure concentration for almost every situation, IMO. I don’t like the idea of being grouped into one method of cleaning.
Thanks for bringing this up, I am now reconsidering my name change. Is softwashing beware an industry thing between commercial & residential guys? Is there a perception amongst consumers that soft wash companies are limited to chemical cleaning?
Thanks for any advice.

Like companies and people, there are many, many opinions out there for just about everything.

A lot of the public has never heard of soft washing, power washing and pressure washing so you just never know and you would not want to limit your service ability by customer perception by the name of your company.

I would not use softwashing in the name unless a lot of customers know what it is, maybe they do, maybe they don't.

I have asked people that don't know me or what I do what they would do about stains on their house that should not be there, how they would clean them or who they would call and a lot of people I have asked don't know what to do or who to call so unless your customers or potential customers know these terms, you would be taking a chance.

With the name "Neighborly Services" I would not have a clue of what services you offer and would probably continue until I found a service with the name that had something to do with power washing or pressure washing but that is me.

If I had to guess what you do, I would guess that maybe you would be the "welcome wagon" for new families moving in, or maybe a handyman, painter, people that help people move in/out of houses or other things like that because you don't have anything to do with "cleaning" or words like that in your name, but that is my thinking.

Without having to list all your services on every piece of paper that you hand out, website, ads, vehicles, etc.....it might be hard for people to know what you do.

Now, if you were to make a little change like this: "Neighborly Cleaning Services" or "Neighborhood Cleaning Services", then now you would be associated with people that clean stuff but still not exactly sure what but now you are on the right road. They could call you and find out if you can help them with their cleaning project, just my opinion.

You can offer all kinds of services with no-pressure cleaning all the way up to high-pressure cleaning and not be limited by your name in a customer's eyes, that is until they know you and what they do, most are not mind readers or have time to read every bit of most of our websites when they are looking to have something done.

Hope this helps.
 
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