Cold Water Unit

[mountain view]

Ok, I know that a hot water unit can do more than a cold one. My question is; just how much can a newbie do with a cold water unit, flat surface cleaner, and chems? I will be targeting primarily residential customers. I want to work my way into this without dropping a ton of scratch right up front.

Thanks.....Pete [whatup]

 

[mountain view]

No info from anyone?? [1010101]

 

[john orr]

As long as your pw is at least 4 gpm, you should be fine. I think most of us started with cold water units.

 

[mountain view]

Thanks John. I just don't want to overwhelm myself with complexity of jobs or financial burden.

 

[Sonlight]

I started with a 2400 PSI 2.0 GPM machine that I kept in my van. Mind you I am primarily a window cleaning contractor but I had a few customers that wanted small areas cleaned. I did one whole house that was DryVit and paid for my machine. I continued making money with that little gadget all summer just by doing small areas like patios and lawn furniture and front porches.

This spring I purchased a cold water unit at 3700/4GPM, a 5X8 trailer, 275 Gl. water tank, X-Jet, turbo nozzle, water broom, 350 ft. garden hose and various accessories. Total cost = $1,975.00 My first job this year was for a window cleaning customer who wanted her pool house, furniture, concrete patio and horse corrals cleaned. the white vinyl fencing was the really big part of the job. Almost a mile of fence to be cleaned inside and out. I made 1,800 on that job. The second job this summer was a metal building and parking lot that I made almost $2,000 on. The point is, if I ran the whole rig over a cliff tomorrow, I haven't lost a penny.

Mind you, I am already an established and respected window cleaning company, but I think you could have similar results. I am by no means an expert but I read these forums extensively and stick to professionally manufactured chems and follow the instructions meticulously. I also am very cautious not to get in over my head. If I think a situation is questionable, I refer the customer to a "big dog" power washer in the area. That way I am just skimming the cream off the top. So go for it, but be careful, you can do it.

Steve

 

[mountain view]

Great Sonlight, that's just the kind of help I needed! The rig looks very cool, just the kind of thing I was thinking about. As long as the machine and chems will allow me to get good results, I can take care of the rest. I have the kind of job now (airline industry) that allows me to have 3 or 4 days off a week. With that schedule, I want to try and work my way into this field without giving up the security of my current job (in theory at least). I, like most of you, want to own my own business. Doing power washing seems to fit with my strengths (customer service and playing with pressure washers) and will, I hope, bring in some money to the family cauffers. I'm going to start local and small. We'll see where I can take it from there.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. [tie]

 

[Cat Powerwash]

I have been in business for 5 years and own three cold water units. They work fine for all residential work. Make sure you use the right chemicals and you will be fine. I have learned alot from this site that made my life easier and more profitable.

 

[buffamoose7]

I'm currently trying to make the same decisions. I just want to mainly do residential work, basically just concrete driveways, sidewalks, and whatever else i'm capable of doing. I think I've made up my mind on going with a cold water pressure washer and I'll use the right chemicals but I hadn't really considered a surface cleaner until I started reading all the posts on this site. Is that going to be something I must have or can I do this job with just the wand and chemicals? This is a just a side job for me, I don't plan on doing this the rest of my life, so I didn't want to dump a whole lot of money into this yet but if I find out I need to get a surface cleaner in order to maximize profits then I'll get one later on. Did most of you pros start out with a surface cleaner or not?

 

[Cat Powerwash]

I'm currently trying to make the same decisions. I just want to mainly do residential work, basically just concrete driveways, sidewalks, and whatever else i'm capable of doing. I think I've made up my mind on going with a cold water pressure washer and I'll use the right chemicals but I hadn't really considered a surface cleaner until I started reading all the posts on this site. Is that going to be something I must have or can I do this job with just the wand and chemicals? This is a just a side job for me, I don't plan on doing this the rest of my life, so I didn't want to dump a whole lot of money into this yet but if I find out I need to get a surface cleaner in order to maximize profits then I'll get one later on. Did most of you pros start out with a surface cleaner or not?

I purchased a 24 " surface cleaner this year and was money well spent. If you are planning on doing a lot of flat work, It is definetly worth buying. Cuts your time in half and no more zebra stripes! I hook it up to my 3500 4 gpm machine and works great.

 

[buffamoose7]

OK thanks, that's just what I wanted to hear. I'm also running a 3500/4.0 gpm machine and I had been wondering if that was enough water flow to properly use the surface cleaner. Good to hear it works, thanks again.