Covering Plants

[Mike Hughes]

I wanted to quickly address something that Roy brought up in another post. He said:

"I do try to cover plants... customer see's me protecting their plants and they smile. "


I just wanted to point out that you need to be careful what you use to cover the plants. On a hot day, if you were to cover them with plastic or something that won't breathe for too long, it just might kill their plants.............no smiles then!

Personally, I do not cover plants when house washing, I just keep them wet.

What do you use to cover plants??

 

[Larry L.]

<b><font color=green>I did as Roy does,it also shows professional.I used painters drops and the cheap tarps you find at discount stores.I did one side at a time if alot of small flowers where planted around it as to not let the covering do damage in the heat of the day.
Keep up the good work Roy as in word of mouth goes along way in this trade.

 

[Power Clean]

Mike,

You're exactly right about the heat on the plants and grass! Before I do anything, 1. I completely soak two sides of the home the plants and surrounding areas. 2. place 2-4 mil plastic over the plants. 3. wash two sides of the home or whatever I have covered. 4. wet the next side of home and plants etc. 5. then rinse the washed side. 6. remove plastic covering those plants. 7. rinse plants. 8. wash the next sides....... and the process goes on til fiinshed.

Yes you do have to be careful with covering plants. Plastic can act like a magnfiying glass and it doesn't take long to cook the plants. I do sometime use cloth if in direct sunlight or 1 mil plastic. Never are the plants completely wrapped, I always leave some areas open for breathing. like on box woods etc. the front side is always open....

Also, don't leave plastic on grass long.. I did make that mistake ONCE, by forgeting about it. Didn't kill the grass but it sure did turn brown.... you don't notice it until 1-2 days afterwards.

It takes me about 2 1/2 - 3 hours to wash a 4000 sq ft home of which I could have done in half the time. If the owner ever ask's Do I have to cover the plants? I will answer, not necessarily, but i like to make sure! They like that.

good luck on your washing people... these are my thoughts.

roy

 

[Larry L.]

<b><font color=green>I did the same but later on I started soaking the smaller plants after I removed the cover,not before.If they where any shock to the smaller plants it seemed they came out of it quicker.My thinking was it buildit up more heat if watered first and when uncovered it seemed to hurt more if more water was added.But thats my thinking and most of the time it ant right but a little steam bath makes me wil't even if the windows are open.

Hey do you charge more if the house has those shinny bushes with shinny leaves dat has a needle in each tip of the leaf,I think a fellow should ,heck I can still feel what they feeel like

 

[Glenn]

Well I do like Mike does, I don't cover the plants. Mainly because I don't use anything that would damage them if it got on them. I wet before and after just in case. Even when cleaning roofs without gutters where I use stronger concentrations of chem, I don't cover. I feel that covering them will do more damage than not. This has worked for me in the past and I will probably continue untill I have a problem. I would think covering them would send up a red flag to the customer that you are using dangerous chemicals? Who know's. If that works for you then keep doing it.
Glenn

 

[Power Clean]

i understand fully what you guys are saying... but we have as i'm sure you too, have people going around advertising any size house for $90. i called him one day for my neighbor actually, and asked him some questions.

1. what cleaners does he use? bleach only!
2. does he protect the plants? no
3. does he clean gutters? nothing will get gutters clean
4. does he wash the brick? no (i wonder why)
5. does he provide a contract? no
6. how long will it take him? he answered he does 15 a day (whew, i couldn't do 15 in three days, to old! LOL)

so, if i can present the customer with my offer, they seem pleased. but if i could do 15 a day..... heck, i wouldn't do it, i'd hire someone to do it for me and still make a killing!!!

this is my bigger picture/

good luck guys and thanks for your input.

roy

 

[spraymasters]

We do not cover plants either except when we are working with deck material. We wash the plants down good. Do one side or two sides of the home. Then rinse. At that time we also rinse the plants down again. Never killed a plant yet....****knocking on Mike's Head*****[boing]