I started the thread to see how many folks may be interested in learning how to calculate proportions and possibly from there reduce chemical costs = increase profits.
I'll give you another example:
When you do laundry, you have a 50 gallon tub of water (6400 oz.). Directions on Clorox tell you to use 6-12 oz. of 6% Clorox per load. If using 6 ounces, then the Clorox is diluted 1066:1; at 12 ounces it's diluted 533:1. In otherwords the SH is at 0.005% to 0.011% levels after dilution as it works on your clothes. Clorox is very effective as you can see.
When you shock a pool with 10% sodium hypochlorite using 2 gallons in a 17,000 gallon water then the dilution is 8500:1. Even in worst case scanerios where you may be getting rid of algea and use 10 gallons of SH, the dilution is 1700:1. At that dilution rate the effective content is now 0.006% SH.
The next point is that over the past year as I have been reading these boards, I've seen folks using 5.25%, 6%, 10.23%, 12% and 15% Clorox or sodium hypochlorite. The mixes have been anywhere from 1/2 gallon to 2 gallons of different % content sodium hydroxide in a 5 gallon mix where 2 to 4 pails (10 to 20 gallons of chemical mix was used to wash an average size house.
If I use 1/2 gallon per 5 gallon pail and use 20 gallons total on a house that equals 2 gallons of lets say 10% SH. 2 gallons SH at $2 per gallon = $4 per house. If I use scenario 1 above, then the SH is diluted 16:1 at point of contact on house or is at 0.625% SH level. This is 104 times higher concentration than used in the pool example above (at 8 gallons).
Does anyone know what percentage (at point of contact on house) sodium hypochlorite has to be at minimum to remove mold & mildew from siding? I've heard 2% and 3% from a couple of vendors in the past. The last vendor I talked to on this subject proposed 3% (at point of contact) when used with their product.
In otherwords if I use 12% SH, my final ratio should be 4:1-SH.
At 4:1 or 3% effective rate, it's 272 times stronger than the effective rate in (heavy duty) laundry cleaning. What rates are effective for everyone else?
HAVING SAID ALL THAT:
Thru knowing my ratios and tracking cleaning results, I was able to change my detergent ratio from 20:1 to 40:1 . Thats a 50% reduction in 1 chemical being used. My original $10 per house becomes $5.00 per house for a $5.00 savings. If I clean only 5 houses per week for 34 weeks a year, that is a $850 savings.
If I use 1 gallon of SH instead of 2 gallons (without sacrificing time and quality), I can reduce my cost from $4 to $2 per house. This is a 50% cost savings or at 5 houses per week, 34 weeks = $340 savings. for a total of $1190 per year. That's 170 6-packs of Beck's dark beer for me, or pays for my business liability insurance, or pays for my phone bill, internet service bill and still leaves me beer money. Well, you get my point.
I suppose on top of everything else, it would be nice to establish a common language when people talk to each other on these boards - Final ratios (1:15); Sodium Hypochlorite % (5.25%); house size (2000 square feet); dwell times, etc..
Thanks for your time!
but i keep reading it.