Customer just wants the green gone, but I am not sure how to keep the fence looking all the same afterward.
It wonāt, just tell him or charge him to clean the whole fence. I hate when customers think they can just pay to clean a little green spot.
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Thatās one of those red flags. If a customer says something like that my radar goes off.
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Just come cut my tall grass
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Thereās more to the job than just the fence, Iām softwashing the dirt off her deck and surface cleaning the patio. She just wants some of that green gone if possible.
Tell her you donāt think you can do much without cleaning the whole fence. Your chemicals will leave clean spots that look worse than the algae. But if she wants, you can hit it with plain water and see what happens. Hit it with a soap nozzle.
Thanks, Iāll try thatā¦or a white tip. Sheās a long time recurring customer so I really need to do something.
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The best thing you can do is be honest with her and tell her anything short of cleaning it the right way will look worse then the original green. Your white tip will remove the algae and dead wood making it look like fresh bright wood where you contacted it. Partially cleaned fence will look worse then one that needs to be cleaned.
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If sheās important to you then you should just offer her a payment plan to clean. 50/month or something like that. Iāve done that a few times.
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I agree with what was said. You wonāt just clean the algae off and keep the bottom looking dirty like the rest of the fence. Clean the whole fence and make it look new again or not at all. That fence would clean up very though.
I wonder if you could just do a weak sh solution, donāt let it dwell too long, and just a low pressure rinse? Iāve noticed doing wood that itās the 800-1000 psi that really makes it look new again. The percarb or sh is definitely part of the process though. Iām just thinking kill the algae without removing the dirt. Iām sure part of the dirtiness is mildew that will also be killed. Itāll probably clean it up too well though but just a thought.
When are you cleaning it? I have a few old pallets I can experiment with tomorrow evening if they have algae on them. I donāt know if I would try it on her fence without first experimenting.
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About a month from now, end of May. Just an FYI I am primarily a window cleaner, monthly PW cleanings donāt apply here in Louisville.
I donāt know the first thing about fence cleaning save for old school āyellow tippingā the sucker, and thatās a no-go as itās stained.
Nah. A white tip might actually do something. Use the soap tip. Make a show of it and get it wet with little danger of actually cleaning anything.
Seriously, though, I didnāt realize that is a stain. I think everybody is assuming it is old, weathered wood. If the stain is in good condition and the algae is just sitting on top, maybe you will be able to clean it up a little bit.
Itās like getting a partial hair cut
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Its either the whole section of fence or nothing. Long time customer or not. Window cleaner or power washer. If it wont be done right then just donāt do it. Lastly like said before, just be up front with your customer.
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Iāll let her know.
Same thing when a customer calls and only wants the soffit and fascia cleaned on their home. I say sure no problem and then give them the price for the complete house wash.
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Can you come out and give me a quote to clean only top section of my house? I was able to clean the first floor with āmold armorā but Iām not able to reach the second storyā¦so do you have pricing to clean only the second story? I sure do mamā¦ and five her a price for a full house wash. Uhhā¦Sorry you wasted your money on that gimmicky stuff from Loweās that has weak SH in it anyways.
Whole fence or no fence for me.
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There are a few things going on here.1. If/when you clean that algae off, it will usually be black underneath. 2, If you remove that black, it will show up as new āishā wood. 3. If she doesnāt correct the cause this will be a reoccurring problem. 4. Cause: Fence is sitting directly on the concrete and it is wicking moisture up into the wood. They need to either raise the fence panels (if they are on steel poles) or cut the bottom of the fence off to eliminate the contact. This happens on every fence that sits directly on the ground, brick , stone etc.There needs to be airflow under the pickets. Donāt pile mulch, dirt etc.against the bottom of the fence. Kickboards on the ground is normal and will eventually fail as designed.
One of the posts said the fence is stained, if it is the stain looks shot in the picture.
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