I am looking to make the jump into soft washing. Any recommendations for equipment and set up to get up and going? Thanks
Never heard of it
How much money are you looking to invest into equipment and what surfaces are you thinking of cleaning for people (roofs, vinyl, stone/brick, concrete, Dryvit, etc.)?
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Why softwash specifically
Iām also a āquarter centuryā window cleaner that took up pressure washing in 2018. Better late than never!
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Siding, brick, driveways, the basics first. Probably hold off on roof cleaning at first.
You need a better understanding of softwash.
Not for brick or driveways.
Trying to start an exterior cleaning Buisness with just soft wash is like trying to start a lawn Buisness with no mower
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You trying to say those people who use goats for the lawn care business arenāt legit? 
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So we do primarily home details and offer finish detail with water fed pole and DI system on the windows. When doing windows without Soft washing them first I just told my tech I wondered how the hel! the window guys do it with just using the water fed pole. Especially with solar panels. I would not want to just wash windows seems like a big PIA. You might find life a lot easier moving into this field.
Dcbrock
I started out doing windows also, How are you able to do windows and pressure washing?
Once I got the pressure washing and soft washing figured out, I got lazy!!! I really started hating window cleaningā¦ I still service my loyal repeat customers but I am no longer taking any new window cleaning business.
You need to be a special sort of individual to want to do window cleaning full time 5 days a week. Youāll never catch me doing housework 
Thatās an actual thing out here. Well, not lawn care but land care.
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Brian recommends 8 goats per acre.
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I donāt have enough PW to sustain my business. Right now itās a 25/75% split and most of my jobs are piggybacked from WC customers.
We simply have a lot of bigger PW companies here and I couldnāt possibly compete with my little setup.
I did however get a newer van!
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I didnt mean softwash exclusively If you see in the topic i said pressure wash. I want a good start up set up to get me going
You definitely just want to start with the basics like killing algae and mild on vinyl siding. Concrete is relatively straightforward but can be frustrating.
Please donāt make the mistake like many of us did and run to Lowes for a machine. If you have to beg and scrape, go ahead and start off right with a skid mount belt drive unit. I went through three machines before finally getting what actually works correctly.
Iām really amazed at everyoneās restraint!
@JoeyP thereās a massive archive you can access by clicking the magnifying glass by your avatar. āStartup equipmentā has about 50 different threads you can dig through without waiting on a direct answer
heading towards end of the week, everyoneās tired lol.
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Hereās a list for you
- 1- 5.5 GPM gear or belt drive cold water pressure washer
- 200ā of high pressure hose
- 1 JROD with nozzles
- 1 trigger gun w/ wand
- 2 Downstream injectors
- 100ā of garden hose
- 2 hose reels
- 1- 16" surface cleaner
- 1- 3/8" high pressure ball valve
- a selection of misc. quick connect fittings
- 4 gallons of surfactant
- Lots of bleach
- A trailer or pickup to carry it all in
That should get you going - you can research each item on the list by accessing the archives with the search feature.
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You have an 8 gpm machine. There are 1.2 million people in your metropolitan area. You can definitely compete and do very well. Your ālittleā setup can clean almost everything you need it to clean. If guys can make a good living pressure washing in Florida anyone can. Think positive. 
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