Am I the only one who seems to run into gutters,fascia and windows that always seem to have a couple areas that are very stubborn to come clean or am I too much of a perfectionist to let little spots go?
My time to do an average house seems to be longer than what many here are taking. Not wanting a downstream vs xjet debate but I do Xjet (open,no proportioner). My PW is 5.5gpm and 2500 psi. I have 2 pails and set them up accordingly around the house. I hit 2 sides at a time, run a brush around the windows,gutters and downspouts while the solution is dwelling, rinse plants, hit the bad spots again, then rinse thoroughly. In the 5 gallon pails, I’m using a gallon of 12.5 SH, 4 gallons of water and about 3 ounces of Elemonator. I think I should be getting right around 1-1.25% on the house depending on the freshness of the SH.
I used to detail cars years ago for some side money and to make ends meet. I have a feeling my attention to detail slows me down. I walk around and look at the house from different angles and nit-pick my work. I don’t think striving for the cleanest possible house is a bad thing but wonder if my expectations are much greater than most homeowners. I have gotten a little faster but I don’t know how to cut my time down any more. I have tried adding another 1/4th of a gallon of SH and that seems to help but I worry about getting too hot of a mix going.
Ha. Yeah, I knew what you meant. I usually let it dwell for about 10 minutes (maybe I need to actually time myself) and hit areas that are drying fast due to wind or sun.
I’m thinking about trying that. I learned from a local guy who has been doing it for years with no proportioner and he does well. I guess reading how many lose them turned me off to trying them. Lol.
The only time I’ve ever busted out a brush is occasionally for vents. For whatever reason mildew and dirt will stick on the horizontal slats longer than the siding. But that’s probably 1 in 40 houses that I get a brush out. I DS but I know you’re not looking for a debate. I usually spray the worst side first and let dwell for 10 min…spray the sunny side…resoap the dirty side in areas that need it…rinse the sunny side…rinse dirty side…move around house. There’s definitely an artwork to it to get a house very clean and quickly. I have been soaping gutters, soffit, and fascia first lately with good results…except on Hardi-plank
I mainly do it to ensure I’m hitting the nooks and crannies and to make things as clean as possible. There are times when things look great without brushing and I strive for that. But if I have a couple minutes while the detergent is dwelling, I just do it to keep busy. I suppose I could try to manage 3 sides of the house at once and maybe if it is my mix being a little weak, I can do that. Shy of buying a test kit to check the SH on my own, I am assuming the SH is fresh. I don’t mind making a hotter mix but don’t want to start killing plants. I may just have to keep playing with it to get the right combination of safety and efficiency.
Mix sounds a bit mild. When I xjetted it was about 3-1 ratio and I let sit for 10 minutes or so.
Then again I just started in September so I’m quite new at this. There are some spots that just won’t come off. I did a house last week covered in algae and mold, but there was one PITA brownish stain on a peak that wouldn’t budge so I had to climb my ladder and scrub it off by hand.
Frankly you and I hold ourselves to a higher standard than most homeowners would, just let them know about the issue and they are usually thrilled with what did come off.
I agree with @dcbrock. But I am like you in that I feel like I am a perfectionist and it definitely takes me way longer to clean a house than most talk about on here. I rarely ever break out a brush though. Not sure any of this is any help. HAHA
