Average Cost's Of Chems..?

R

rfitz

New member
Hey All,
Just wondering what percent of your job (house washing) cost's
is your chemical cost's, example if you had a $300 job or
3000 sq ft house to wash, all vinyl, how much would it cost you in
chemicals, and how much chemical would you need for a house that size..
5 Gal 10 Gal ? etc.. at what ratio ?

THX
 
You should be asking what aluminum would cost to clean, I just spent roughly about 25.00 in chem. for a house, but with vinyl its so inexpensive to clean....

Matt
 
I just did a $300.00 housewash job that included about 100' of white picket fence and cleaning and brightening a small deck. The house was hardiboard, and I used quite a bit of chemicals since it was very dirty and the paint was very oxidized. It was in preparation for painting. I got curious about chemical costs and just did a spreadsheet working out the cost per gallon for housewash, wood cleaner, and brightener. I used approx. 15 gallons of wash (because I spilled about 4 gallons by tipping over the bucket with my dang hose...:rolleyes: ) at a cost of $0.78 per gallon, and I used a couple gallons of cleaner and brightener at a cost of $1.40 and $1.02 per gallon respectively.

Total chemical cost for the job was around $16.50.
 
chemical tanks

How about hooking up a sureflow pump on your rig with another tank just for chemicals?

Then you can just switch your hose over to it. spray the chemicals on and switch the hose back to your pump to rinse?
This is what someone suggested I do on a new rig I'm getting. I may not be able to use an x jet for it but with an extendawand I can put the chems where I want and at a mix I'm sure of.
I would think that would cut down on the chemical costs and overspray a bit more but it would add more time to the application.

What works best for you all and How do you actually do it? Chemical mixture and application method I mean. With an X jet do you have to actually power wash the siding or just rinse it?

Henry
 
Henry,

You'll find that when it comes to houses, just throwing it quickly on there with the xjet or something similar is the best way.......Quick! We all know that time is money. Extra cleaning solution costs nothing compared to labor, or your precious time that could be spend on something else.

The seperate tank set up you're referring to would be nice for decks though.

And there's no mystery to the xjet as far as its output............its the same every time..........once you get used to it, mixing your chemicas will become second nature.
 
Mike makes a very good point on time being worth more than extra chemicals. Of course if you want to turn your business up a notch (as Emeril would say), you'll want to hone in on knowing your chemical usage - this would include working ratios and cost per square foot information.

As an example: I purchased some cleaning chemicals that after S&H / Tax cost about $5 per gallon. If I waste 1 gallon per day, 5 days per week, this will become $850 over a 34 week period of time. This amount could pay for part or all of your Liability Insurance (or 123 - 6 packs of Beck's beer).


Regards,
 
I agree with that.............but, for starters its better to have too much then not enough. As time goes on, you get better, more efficient, and develop a better understanding of the minimum amount of chemical required to complete a task.

Paul's got a great point, but you have to crawl before you walk.
 
Crawling is good!

Testing is good!

Calibrating your equipment is good!

Keeping notes and evaluating is good!

If in doubt, more is good (unless there is risk of damage)!


Regards,
 
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