New Site....so far!

[5 Star Johnny]

Hey everyone. Just wanted to get some feedback on our new web site. The "About/Contact" page will be up in the next day or so, but hoped to get comments on the present content. Your honest criticisms are welcome. Thanks!

http://www.my-5star.com

 

[Larry L.]

Looks great Johnny,alot of webpages has to many bells and whistles and to me yours is detailed and to the point.

 

[Mark]

Looks good! [hello]

 

[clearview]

looks like you guys aren't using low pressure on your siding. is there some advantage to that?

 

[5 Star Johnny]

Not sure how you can tell what pressure we use by a photo. Depending upon what areas we are cleaning, we will use up to 2500 or 3000 psi on siding. Hot water for detail cleaning, and as low as 1000 psi on sensitive areas such as seams, corners, soffits. Almost always a 40 degree tip, and always pointing downward. Distance from the substrate also varies actual psi to the contact point. We've never blown through anything or caused damage, and all projects are left with satisfactory results. Other than that, I can't really say that higher pressure is a benefit to cleaning anything. Proper pressure is always our aim. Thanks for looking.

 

[PressurePros]

John, you and I have spoken and I doubt neither your abilities as a businessman or your dedication to producing quality work. With that being said, even 1000 psi on siding is too much. With the right cleaners you should be able to use from garden hose pressure to 200 psi to yield the same results you are used to getting.

 

[clearview]

I can tell by looking because your spray is atomizing outward in a wide high pressure fan. I'm looking at the picture of you or someone on a cherry picker spraying siding. Now I can't tell how high up that is, but if it were a 2 or 3 story house, I'd say we might have some time saving tips for you. I never leave the ground on houses like that. Just bleach and rinse. But, the site does look good.

 

[5 Star Johnny]

Ken & Clearview, I would be interested in the cleaning agents you might suggest to produce better results with lower water pressure. I must admit, I have had interest in utilizing an xjet or high pressure chem injector, but have not yet tried these. One of our steps includes scrub brushing the siding, which seems to benefit the entire cleaning process. Unlike other area contractors, our goal is to leave the siding "clean"....not just "cleaner". That's why we charge what we do.

I know a lot of you utilize bleach in your mixes, which I have an objection to. I read a lot of the posts concerning bleach use, and I know there's hundreds of different opinions on this. Cost is not an issue at this point for two reasons. Chem costs are covered in our pricing, and the competitive pool is very small so we don't usually have to "fight" to get work.

The cherry picker? This wall was 35ft. at the peak, huge upscale condo project. We don't normally use lifts on residential type projects, but the decision was made to provide the best access to the buliding, and to reduce ladder work. Thanks again guys!

 

[clearview]

Hey,

Well, I don't really like using an xjet because you have to carry the bucket. I use a longe distance soap tip which can get up to that 35 ft peak you were mentioning. I have a hot water unit so it cleans a bit better than cold water obviously, but I think generally bleach works the easiest. If I'm not mistaken, the general mantra around here is volume over pressure, always. As long as you bleach thoroughly, and rinse even more thoroughly, you should be able to clean very quickly. For instance, I use 12.5% sodium hypochlorite, diluted about one half with dawn tossed in for suds and to add cling time. By the time I've soaped the entire house it's ready to rinse. I use my soaping tip for rinsing and just pull the chemical injector out of the bleach. After I purge the line the house gets a good bath. I did a 3500 square foot house in an hour fifteen using this method and it looked great. This method works well with cold water machines too, it just takes a little more chem sometimes and attention to the gutters I find. Since you don't like bleach, I'm not really sure what to say other than, I used to not agree with it either, but I've found that if you take necessary precautions, it's downright easy to not harm plants. By the time the bleach hits the house, it's below 1% which usually isn't enough to do any serious damage (if my math is right). It would be one thing if you wanted to x-jet straight 12.5% up there (hitting at about 6%). Plants would die everywhere. May I ask what you use for your soap currently?

 

[CaroliProWash]

Hey Clearview - have you tried downstreaming yet?

Celeste

PS - Sorry for the hijack Johnny!

 

[clearview]

if by downstreaming you mean using a downstream injector, then yes I have. I don't run my chemicals through my pressure washer if that's what you're getting at. maybe i'm missing something or you've got a tip for me? thanks.

 

[CaroliProWash]

No chems through the pump!! Our housewash set up means my tech walks up to the house to hook up the water supply. Turns on the machine & uses a soap tip to apply then changes to rinse - no hoses and/or buckets to mess with, just a tip change and collect a check Very efficient, effective and profitable.

Celeste

 

[Tmrrptr]

Great website ! i like it!

r

 

[clearview]

I'm still unclear about how you've got no hoses to mess with. Hmmmm. What am I missing here?

 

[Cat Powerwash]

What type of dowmstream injector are you using? I have been xjetting for quite some time now with a 5gpm landa. Dont you go through alot of hoses doing it that way? I would think you would have to use a strong mix when downstreaming.The mix I use right now is 5gal bucket, 1 gal. 12.5 Pool shock, 1/5 gal citriclean and the rest water with good results.

 

[H2O WASH]

bleach is ok i have something alot better !

bleach ok but you need to mix it for the correct rate, try using a product call powder- house,it a dry powder, you only need to to mix 4 ozs to a gal of water, work well with hot or cold water to remove all molds and stains on an exterior sidings or concrete,plus it easier to tranport then bleach, [white]

 

[H2O WASH]

bleach is ok try this !

try out this product call powder-house, its a dry powder agent, u only need to use 4 ozs to a gal of h2o, it s also easier to tranport then bleach [white]

 

[clearview]

i haven't messed up any hoses yet. i have a landa hot water unit, 3500 psi, 16 hp, 4.7 gpm. all i do is 1/2 sodium hypochlorite and 1/2 water with some dawn added for suds and cling time in the siding in a bucket next to the pressure washer. sure that mix would be strong if I were going to xjet it straight with no proportioners, but it's instantly diluted 10:1 when it reaches the hose. the only thing I ever replace is o-rings that get cooked from the hot water. the injector is just as standard as they can get, and is non-adjustable. i stick my downstream injector hose in the bucket and leave it there. i use a zero degree soap tip instead of the xjet ($9 dollars vs $140). this gives me a good solid stream of soap that doesn't atomize in the air. i have a dual lance trigger wand, so if I want close range I pull the second trigger and the soap runs through a 65 degree soap tip and the zero degree soap tip simultaneously. i hate carrying around buckets like you have to with the xjet. it just seems like while you can soap some areas pretty quickly, you can't quite do as well higher up because of the atomization. i don't have that problem and no buckets. when the whole house is soaped I take the injector hose out of the bucket, purge my hoses of any chemicals, and rinse with the same setup. there's no pressure and plenty of volume this way. hope that made sense.

here's the math (hope it's right)
Your setup:
1 part bleach to 4 parts water - essentially
12.5% percent bleach divided by 4 parts water = 3.125%
3.125% after xjet with no proportioner with your 5 gpm (2:1) = 1.5% sodium hypochlorite hitting the house

My Setup:
1 part 12.5% bleach to 1 part water=6.25%
run through downstream injector (10:1)=.625% hitting the house

so my mix is actually weaker than yours, but it's always worked fine. it definitely cleans well this way. i would say though, that if you wanted to save some time on all that mixing chemicals for your xjet, you could at least use a proportioner in it so it mixes the water in for you.

if you just put 4.8 gallons of bleach and your .2 (or 1/5) gallon cleaner in a bucket, it would be a heck of a lot easier on you.

this could be your new setup:
12.5% to black proportioner (6.5:1) at 5 gpm =1.923% hitting the house
12.5% to beige proportioner (13:1) at 5 gpm=.96% hitting the house


I personally think the beige would work fine for you because that's still higher than what I use everyday. I hope you didn't already know all this so I didn't just waste my time and brain power.

 

[PressurePros]

If you use the right housewash soap (with all due respect it isn't Dawn) it will work synergistically with the sodium hypochlorite. Downstreaming is FAST. John, here is one thing about a housewash, if it looks clean it is clean. Don't get me wrong, I can run my fingers along siding after it is cleaned by my method and there is no dirt. I would venture to say the house is 90% clean by utilizing this "test" method. To the eye it is 100% clean. I upsell a wax/polymer coat and use shine enhancers in my cleaning mix. When we are done with what I call my platinum housewash, the siding is clean, the color is enhanced and it has a bit of new shine to it. The gutters are scrubbed with a specialty cleaner, the windows air dry with a sparkle, all patios and walkways are washed and we walk away with an $850 check for a job that takes about 4.5 hours. (The houses in my demographic are pretty big)

The nice part about downstreaming is that I have alleviated all the issues one deals with when using a stronger mix via X-Jet.. no worries about etching or streaking glass and no plant life is browned. I have added a scent essence to our mixes also. The effect on customers is dramatic, they love it. It smells as clean as it looks. An effective business sells value. Some guys may look at what I charge and think I'm crazy and that they would never get those rates. Show up in uniforms, ID badges, clean trucks, provide before and after picture portfolios with thank you letters and follow up cals to customer and you will get the business at high margin every day of the week. John give me a call if you have any questions. You're one of the guys that gets it. I'd be happy to share what I have learned.

Check out my portfolio page for some pics of downstreamed housewashes.
Pressure Pros Havertown

 

[clearview]

I'd be interested to know what you use in place of Dawn as you say it isn't the right soap.