Dilute or not to dilute

MattM

New member
Hi, I am very new to pressure washing and I have been reading several posts on various sites about washing solution. As just starting out I have a small 3300psi washer with a cat pump Honda engine. The pump is rated at 2.5gpm with a downstream injector rated at 37.2oz/min. I have Elemonator ordered but in the meantime what soap can be mixed with bleach? Also, with my setup how should I mix 8.25% or 10% SH in a 5 gallon bucket or could I run it straight at those percentages of strength? I don’t want to damage any siding or burn any plants but I want to speed up the washing with less pressure.
 
Matt,
Get something bigger than 2.5 gpm as quickly as possible - you don't have enough volume to get a good rinse. You'll only be able to wash about 10' of wall at a time before you have to start rinsing.

Elemonator is amazing, but liquid laundry soap will work in a pinch. Even Dawn dish detergent works good, and rinses windows nicely.

If you can actually find 10%SH, you won't need much in a 5'er to clean a house. You need to time how long it takes for the "green" stuff to disappear. That will tell you how strong your mix it. It won't be immediate, but it should not take 10 minutes either.

Before you go spraying someone's property, do the following:
1 - purchase liability insurance
2 - educate yourself on when it's proper to use any pressure above 2000 psi, and the importance of an unloader
3 - get a high draw injector (Southside equipment, talk to Russ)
 
Thanks for the advice. I just purchased this pump so if it will get me through this year then I will definitely be purchasing a 4gpm pump. Do you know if the Honda gx200 engine can handle a 4 gym cat pump? I do have an extension wand and I have found it difficult to use fully extended, any advise on that? To me it’s like a pool noodle at max extension.
 
Hi, I am very new to pressure washing and I have been reading several posts on various sites about washing solution. As just starting out I have a small 3300psi washer with a cat pump Honda engine. The pump is rated at 2.5gpm with a downstream injector rated at 37.2oz/min. I have Elemonator ordered but in the meantime what soap can be mixed with bleach? Also, with my setup how should I mix 8.25% or 10% SH in a 5 gallon bucket or could I run it straight at those percentages of strength? I don’t want to damage any siding or burn any plants but I want to speed up the washing with less pressure.

Hey Matt, welcome to PWI. Please fill out your signature. Using that small a GPM I'd start dilute ratio at 70% water 30% bleach and dash of soap. Then adjust as needed from there. Do a test spot to see how fast or slow it is cleaning. How fast it cleans will be determined also by if it's just green algae (fast) or black mold (slower).
 
Matt,
Get something bigger than 2.5 gpm as quickly as possible - you don't have enough volume to get a good rinse. You'll only be able to wash about 10' of wall at a time before you have to start rinsing.

Elemonator is amazing, but liquid laundry soap will work in a pinch. Even Dawn dish detergent works good, and rinses windows nicely.

If you can actually find 10%SH, you won't need much in a 5'er to clean a house. You need to time how long it takes for the "green" stuff to disappear. That will tell you how strong your mix it. It won't be immediate, but it should not take 10 minutes either.

Before you go spraying someone's property, do the following:
1 - purchase liability insurance
2 - educate yourself on when it's proper to use any pressure above 2000 psi, and the importance of an unloader
3 - get a high draw injector (Southside equipment, talk to Russ)

Hey, can you fill out your signature please? Thanks
 
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