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ClancysGutterCleaning · Guest

Roof Washing equipment...questions

Off The Top Roof Cleaning · Guest

We keep a pressure washer with us. I would say get one. It has more than one use.

Ugly Shingles LLC · Nov 13, 2010

I only soft wash roofs and walls and I do not carry a pressure washer nor has it been a problem for me and to my knowledge I have never lost a job because of it. I do not plan to carry one in the near future...I have never pressure washed a house so I would be a poor judge on comparing them? confuse

Toy2 · Guest

My tank is a 50gal, which is fine for a standard home around here, so I think your fine with the tank/pump set-up.

Some on this site just soft wash everything, no pressure.

I carry a Sears pressure washer just in case, but am careful using it, as it will tear things up.

Many claim its all in the chemical, and I think they are right. confuse

sweetwaterfish · Guest

I had a very large BCE systems trailer mounted rig. I got rid of that system and opted for a smaller 3000 PSI PW and 18" MiTM surface cleaner. I do driveways & pool decks for added $$$, but concrete is the only thing I use my PW for. I'm honestly happiest on the days I don't even have to crank it up!

Guest

My belt driven 4gpm MiTM sits in the garage gathering dust. It'll be on Craigslist in early spring. Along with a MiTM surface machine.

Although we don't market soft washing of houses, we do it when requested and manage to do just fine with the roof rig. There were some posts not too long ago where some touted the extra speed of DSing and rinsing with a commercial PW over a roof system. You may want to poke around and find that thread. Good info in there.

Best of luck to you.

((Ray - your screen name is no longer ****'d out ! Cool.))

gutterdog · Nov 13, 2010

ClancysGutterCleaning wrote:

In the process of gathering equipment for my rig, some questions came to mind. Need some advice here.

My concern is that there will be customers that want certain services in addition to roof washing that my rig won't be capable of. So my question is what can/can't I do with a standard roof washing setup with a delavan pump and 125 gallon tank? Or more specifically, if I'm not equipped with a pressure washer, will there be services that I need one for that my low pressure setup cannot do?

I do not want to lose customers to guys that offer pressure washing in addition to no pressure roof washing. If someone wants me to clean their driveway, I don't want to turn them away because I'm not equipped. I already know I can soft wash a house with the roof setup....are the results as good as pressure washing a house?

Any advice would be great.

Get all the money, easy $1,000 day! 1 house!

Xstream · Guest

We do both, Soft wash ( House and roofs ) Pressure wash ( concrete ) commercial and residential. We upsale the concrete while we are cleaning the house/roof or vise verse upsale the house/roof we are cleaning the concrete.

We started in the PWing part of the industry and just added roofs when we got back from Charleston.

Roof Cleaning Toledo Ohio (419) 265-3306 · Guest

I agree with Bob Jr. We don't own a pressure washer and we won't carry one on our Roof cleaning trucks. We don't want to be driving down the road with a pressure washer on our truck, people assume your a roof cleaning company and they see a pressure washer. NOT GOOD.

Roof Cleaning Toledo Ohio (419) 265-3306 · Guest

Well said, Leave the pressure washer home.

ClancysGutterCleaning · Guest

I don't think many people around here are aware they can have their home soft washed. There are a lot of pressure washers in my area and most people get their homes pressure washed. Are their any key selling points on a soft wash that make it more appealing to potential customers? I was thinking the obvious would be that it's much more gentle on the home.

Roof Cleaning Missouri 417-230-8103 · Guest

Roof Cleaning Toledo Ohio (419) 265-3306 wrote:

I agree with Bob Jr. We don't own a pressure washer and we won't carry one on our Roof cleaning trucks. We don't want to be driving down the road with a pressure washer on our truck, people assume your a roof cleaning company and they see a pressure washer. NOT GOOD.

same here, our pressure washer is a whole other rig and entity...

-- Edited by Roof Cleaning Missouri 417-230-8103 on Sunday 14th of November 2010 09:51:04 AM

Roof Cleaning Virginia 540-949-6277 · Roof Cleaning Institute of America Premium Member/MODERATOR

This is more for the pressure washer guys to chime in on. A few years ago I remember reading an article about pressure washing and is basically said a few things I thought made a lot of sense. Using high pressure on wood decks and wood siding will do a few things, damage the surface and actually push the dirt, mold and mildew into the grain. The claim was that while it looks clean if you don't do any damage, the bad stuff is deep in the wood and will come back in no time.

I don't know if this is fact or just what someone wrote as I can't remember where I saw this since it's been years. But, my feeble brain has kept the info in the worn out memory banks.

I did a lot of searching on this subject and can only find a few that actually explain what happens to wood under pressure. The rest want to pressure wash everything.

I found this : http://www.paintingservice.com/PaintHelp.com/topic.asp?TopicID=12

http://www.diybanter.com/woodworking/260809-pressure-washing-wood-deck-bad-idea-pressure-treated.html

Roof Cleaning Missouri 417-230-8103 · Guest

Classicrider wrote:

This is more for the pressure washer guys to chime in on. A few years ago I remember reading an article about pressure washing and is basically said a few things I thought made a lot of sense. Using high pressure on wood decks and wood siding will do a few things, damage the surface and actually push the dirt, mold and mildew into the grain. The claim was that while it looks clean if you don't do any damage, the bad stuff is deep in the wood and will come back in no time.

I don't know if this is fact or just what someone wrote as I can't remember where I saw this since it's been years. But, my feeble brain has kept the info in the worn out memory banks.

I did a lot of searching on this subject and can only find a few that actually explain what happens to wood under pressure. The rest want to pressure wash everything.

I found this : http://www.paintingservice.com/PaintHelp.com/topic.asp?TopicID=12

http://www.diybanter.com/woodworking/260809-pressure-washing-wood-deck-bad-idea-pressure-treated.html

There is a difference in pressure washing and power washing, you do not pressure wash wood,
I read both the threads you posted and you do not use bleach on wood, so I would say Study wood cleaning

there is a few threads on here that covers some wood cleaning techs, also you can go to Wolmans site and study wood cleaning.. of coarse they will want you to use their products! you have to read between the lines and take it to the next level ( study the chemical side of it )
Hope this helps..
I use our Pressure/ Power washer for wood but also the right chems, never do I harm the woods integrity

dave

ClancysGutterCleaning · Guest

Dave, are you saying that bleach damages wood?

Roof Cleaning Missouri 417-230-8103 · Guest

ClancysGutterCleaning wrote:

Dave, are you saying that bleach damages wood?

It softens the fibers too much degrading it's integrity and it also bleaches out the natural color of the wood. look at cedar shake Roof threads for more info

ClancysGutterCleaning · Guest

Interesting. I've seen this first hand. A local pressure washing company came out and powerwashed my apartment complex and it smelled very strongly of bleach. I've noticed that the paint on the wood siding and shutters is much lighter now...definitely caused by the bleach

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