hi guys! i’m Jeremiah Johnson, the owner/operator of Under Pressure Exterior Washing and Cleaning. i operate out of South MS and am brand new to the business. over the last couple weeks i have researched and talked to what knowledgeable and experienced people i could find and i have to say that i have become fascinated by the whole process (especially designing and building my rig). i’m really nervous and a bit overwhelmed at how much there is to learn. i have purchased a pressure-pro 4000 psi 4.0 gpm with belt driven CAT pump, an 18" Hammerhead surface cleaner, and i have a 275 gal buffer tank that will go on my 5x10 single axel trailer. i plan on doing small work for now as this is just starting out and i have a full time job as a maintenance dept purchasing agent for a paper mill here in Wiggins, MS. i’m waiting on my IBC tote so i can run my plumbing (which i’ll be back asking questions about later this week). like i said before - i’m brand new at this. BUT i’m enthusiastic and willing to work and learn. i will be adding a soft wash system to my trailer once i am a little more knowledgeable about the business. i really don’t wanna mess up chemicals and ruin my reputation before i even have one because i tried working beyond my level of understanding. so i hope you guys are well on a monday morning and i hope to see some tips and pointers as well as some do’s and dont’s. i will say that looking through some posts on here, this seems like a very welcoming community of professionals and i’m excited to begin getting to know you all.
Welcome! im new in the business also. Im out of Louisiana! The best advice I can give u right now that I have learned is once u get all set up, do a few test runs on friends and family first. Get some SH 10%-12% it also mixes well for cleaning with EBC. Learn your chems and mixes. Try them out on family and friends first like I said. This will protect your rep. its better to run trial and error on a familys house rather than a $300 house wash. Have fun with it and learn all u can
L.Duffourc, can you point me in the direction of a solid rundown of the frequent chemicals used and maybe a mix chart for average chemical percentages? does such a thing exist? cause i sure can’t find one. I want to learn all I can before I get very far into this and discover I’ve been damaging a customers property. where should I look to buy my SH and should I buy it by the 55 gal drum or would a smaller quantity be ideal since i’ll be doing this in the evenings and on the weekend until I’m steady enough to leave my other job?
thanks again for the help. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how inviting of a group you guys are and I’m looking forward to meeting some of you down the road.
Pretty much everything gets washed with bleach, water, and a surfactant. You can buy your bleach at pool supply store, or by the bottle at walmart or something i suppose. Highest concentration you will get at walmart is 6-8% i believe. Pool store is 10-12%. Lots of people buy their bleach at 12.5% concentration (highest you can get it) from chemical suppliers. Up to you if you want to buy 55 gallon drums, depending on your work load, but know that it degrades quickly in sunlight and warm weather. Univar and Brenntag are two popular chemical suppliers, but you will have to search whats in your area.
Roof snot is a very popular surfactant for all surfaces, but there are many different surfactants out there, including dish soap (liquid gain ultra dishsoap is supposedly the best, i think). For oil stains on driveways EBC (Envior Bio Cleaner) is a popular choice… again there are lots of different options. Best to just buy something and start working with it… those are two of the most popular.
For rust stains F9 BARC is pretty much the top of the list, as far as i know.
For specific mixes it would depend on your method of application (x-jet, downstream, 12v pump), the surface, and the condition of the surface. Best to google that and you will quickly find out how to mix up a batch of whatever you need for whatever you are cleaning.
I’m in the middle of doing the friends and family part right now. I got lucky and have been able to work on a friend’s store fronts, so this is helping with graduated chemical mix responses and my WW SC. I’m using two different industrial degreasers from local PW suppliers but can’t wait to try some EBC everyone talks about. Thanks’ for the advice. I love this site.
You can search almost any info u want on PWRA or you can also use YouTube. the percentages all depends on ur equipment, surface how much grim or mold u are trying to remove. all plays a part. I personally use a 3500 psi 8gpm machine and down streaming. I use a 5 gallon bucket for my house washes. my SC is %10 which I get at my local walmart. I use 4/1 with 5 ounces of surfactant. it works for me and I also keep a full strength pump sprayer near by for the bad stuff. the best thing to do is get out there and experiment. trail and error, read and research all u can on this site. I wouldn’t go with a 55g drum to start. unless u plan on using all of it with in a few months at tops. search house wash chems on here and u will get an idea of all the top chems people are using. good luck with you’re adventure sir
