advice for SCARED STUDENT!!

E

edmontonWasher

New member
Hi everybody, I'm 20 years old and a university student in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada), and I decided to start a little summer business...pressure washing. I just bought a 3000 psi and 4 gpm cold water pressure washer, but I'm really worried I've gotten in over my head. I have some jobs lined up and I have some serious questions that need answering, so if anybody has the time...please help me out!

1. What pressure should I generally clean siding, fences, decks, etc at? I want to do a good job, but I DONT want to damage anything, any advice for pressure level and avoiding damage?

2. Should I use chemicals when I do siding, etc? Mild ones of course, and env. friendly, but some people say plain water should do it, others say spraying on chemical first is essential to doing a good job. any insight?

3. How long does it take to do a single level average house? A semi truck? maybe a time/squre foot indicator would be good.

4. Should I invest in a surface cleaner? I think i'm going to, cause I think it will take forever otherwise. any advice on what to watch out for?

5. I've been browing through some posts, and I don't know what "2-stepping" is. a description would be great.

6. Someone was talking about "blue water filters" that you can put over storm drains when you're cleaning fleets, are those effective and are they expensive?

7. I'm getting an extension wand, I think it will save me time from using ladders. anything to watch out for?

8. I've heard talk of "upstream" and "downstream", i'm pretty certain I know what you're talking about, but if you feel like answering go ahead.

thanks so much, ANY advice would be great, even if it's only on one question.

thanks for your time,
Brent
 
First off you should use chemicals for all of your cleanings.

you will find the more you do house cleaning the faster you will get. Take your time and do the best job you can.

A surface cleaner will save you a ton of time.

If you get a extention wand, get the Extend-a-wand from Beth and Rod. I have tried the other wands and they dont come close to the Extend-a-wand.

This business is a lot of work, but with time it gets easier. You will find the more you do, you will get a system down and can make up time. Remember time is money!

Good luck!! I hope this helps.
 
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There are a ton of chemicals out there for different applications. I can't speak for everyone here, but normally for houses and decks, most people use a sodium hydroxide based cleaner. It needs to be diluted and downstreamed/upstreamed for your specific applications. There are plenty of folks that sell these chems. and can give you specifics. You can go to the distributor area here and ask away.

I don't use an extenda wand. Lots of folks here swear by a product called the X-jet for applying chems to high places. Just put in a search for X-Jet and you will see what I mean.

As far as pressure goes, I use very little. Probably 1500 psi is as high as I ever go. The chemical is what does the work, and you are just basically rinsing it away. The best way to control your pressure is with your size of orifice of your tip, and not by adjusting your unloader. This will sacrifice gpms. Keep your machine cranked all the way up, and get a larger orifice size to lower the pressure.

For a nozzle selction chart, click
here and select nozzle chart from the menu. For your 3000/4gpm machine you would need a size 6.5 orifice for 1500 psi. You can get 40 degree, 25 degree, and so on in a 6.5 size orifice. Also, Steve Rowlett, the guy that runs that site is a great resource for chems/advice. Keep browsing this site, and you will be overwhelmed with info. Hope this helps.
 
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Thank you everybody for answering. I basically get the point that chemicals are necessary, and I appreciate the advice on nozzle size to avoid sacrificing gpm. I'll look into chemicals here, but I still have three important questions:

1. x-Jet or extendable wand? It seems to me like the X-Jet would be simpler, cheaper, and faster....any comments? At this point I'm thinking of going solely with an X-Jet.

2. surface cleaner or not? somebody mentioned that I could use a rotary nozzle to speed up the regular process. I'm assuming it wouldn't be as fast as a surface cleaner, but would it be adequate to get the job done relatively faster? and would it do a good job? I'm not positive how much surface work I'll be doing so I'd like to refrain from buying one right now.

3. Should i consider stripping anything if I'm using a cold water washer, or should I leave that to someone else. or could i use chemicals for that too?....most importantly I dont want to damage anybody's property.

thanks so much for responding, if you could once again I would GREATLY appreciate it.

-Brent
 
Brent,

if you ask your questions seperately in their respective forums, you will get more responses, and more direct answers to each of your questions.

Welcome to the board.
 
If your going to do house washing I think you will need both the X-Jet and an Extension Wand. I just recently got to use a Corless Extension Wand and I will be saving for that now it is so much lighter and more sturdy then the one I have now. Glenn sells them and its worth every penny. As for stripping I think you should get a yr under your belt of doing house washing and concrete before you tackle the wood care market this is just my opion of course I think you need to get to know your machine and its abilitys before you do that because wood is very sensitive and is easily damaged. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Brent, X-Jet will get chems up to the high spots, but you'll have no pressure to rinse. When I say rinse, I mean pressure rinse.

Extenda wands are great.

Stripping is fine with a cold water unit, thats what I have. for wood, I recommend HD-80 for stripping, And I've used Tmberbright, and timberclean for neutralizing and general cleaning. Beth and Rod also sell brightening and cleaning solutions that I'm sure a great, just haven't used them yet.
 
Personally, I think a person should do they're research before they jump into a business and pretend to be a professional.

College kids around here that buy a machine and go out washing things end up damaging the reputation of our profession just so they can make a couple bucks.

And who do you think the lowballers are?

That's a fact, but nobody seems to want to say the truth.
 
thanks "aplus"...that's some really "great" advice. In fact, maybe we should say that for any profession...nobody should try anything unless they're a natural pro...

That being said, I'm sure you came out of the womb with a pressure wand in your hand, so I wouldn't want to damage your pristine reputation.

That's the biggest load of BS i've heard in my life, if nobody tried anything we wouldn't be anywhere today. How do you think the first people started out? They had to try. And no one around here is "pretending" to be a professional, the only pretending going on is you pretending like you're a big shot, and YOU are the only one damaging the reputation of the industry by being a big A-hole.
 
Code fo Conduct

Brent,

You may not like how the message was delivered but, A Plus makes very valid points. Anybody who decides to get into a business SHOULD research it first. In your first post you stated that you already bought a pressure washer BEFORE you even asked some of your initial questions. Chances are you probably will do some damage with out the proper education. I commend your energy and hope that all goes well. The reason for this reply is however to tell you that just because you are on the other end of a computer it gives you no excuse to call people names like this. A Plus has been a help to this industry and name calling is going to get you no responses. Further , are you going to call one of your customers an ******* because they don't agree with you. There is a common theme on these boards and it is to agree to disagree and still be friends. I suggest you re-think your position. There is really nothing wrong with the pride that A Plus shows toward taking this profession more seriously just as there is nothing wrong with someone "going for it" and having an agressive energy. Again , I hope you do well and wish you luck if you continue to move forward.
 
Brent Brent Brent,

NO business starts without doing due diligence; in other words ALL the research neccessary to know what you are getting into from potential customers, to pitfalls, to methods, to competition, to competition, et al. EXACTLY like you should be doing your work at school, research.

Instead of jumping in with a shotgun to a general forum asking questions specific to several different forums; you will get shotgun answers.

There is a matrix that really does need to be followed; start with what you are planning on cleaning, determine the tools and methods that work, practice, modify and do it again. What you have done is almost the same as buying a machinegun before you know you are dove hunting.

There are many professional contract cleaners on this and other boards that will help someone who genuinely wants to learn and earn. Treat them with the respect they have earned by making a living at doing what you plan on for a summer job (if the snow ever melts there).

Basic research would have shown you there are Canadian manufacturers of almost every product you need; pressure washers, extension wands, chemicals. They all have local dealers like Pumps and Pressure or Northern Metallic Sales who have expertise and knowledge to help you get the RIGHT tool for your job and support the unit with service and advice.

If you go to school with the same attitude as you have presented here then you are doomed to live on Blue and Saskatoon berries and in Cold Lake with all the Air Force weenies (no offense weenies, especially those I know in Moose Jaw getting advanced training).

Heck, if you really want to learn join Junior Achievement and learn Business Basics 101 so your time and questions are not wasted and are more carefully targeted to arrive at answers you can use.

Hope this helps? Cheers.
 
yes, sorry aplus it was a more heated response than I meant. I'm just saying I'm not pretending to be a professional, people know that, and if I want to do some small jobs this summer I think I'll learn a lot without having any dissatisfied customers if I'm careful.
 
What I'm saying is that in order for you to get business, you are going to have to portray to potential customers that you know what you are doing.

You don't want to get your learning experience on a paying customers property.

Of course I didn't come out of the womb, as you eloquently say, with a power washer in my hand.

What I did do was study and research all I could before I purchased a single piece of equipment.

When I finally did invest in equipment and supplies, I practiced on my own home, and concrete, and fence. THen I did some more practice on family members houses and concrete, etc.

Would you like to be treated by a person who calls himself a doctor, but hasn't started medical school yet? Nobody would, and I think your future customers should not be exposed to your practice either.

Of course everybody out here had to learn, and all of us have suffered growing pains, made mistakes, and at one time or another even damaged stuff.

Maybe I was a little harsh the way I worded things, but it's because I have to deal with inexperienced power washers every season, and so many times I have to overcome customers concerns because of previous bad experiences they have had in the past.

Of course I'm defensive of my chosen industry, it's how I make my living and feed my family. Someday, when you enter your chosen profession, whatever it is, you will feel the same way.

Good luck at whatever you do.
 
yes yes, once again I didn't mean to come off that harsh either. point taken, I'll just have to do the best that I can, be very careful, and I've always planned on letting customers know that I'm just learning, which is why I'll charge less and if the job isn't satisfactory...they won't pay. anyway lets just forget this whole thing,

brent
 
If you need some supplies, ie x-jet and flat surface cleaner among other things, check out www.pressuretek.com
the site isn't up completly but you can email him and he will give you great prices, the lowest I have seen yet.
 
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