I’m building up a trailer rn I’ll have the Pressure-Pro Professional 4000 PSI (Gas-Cold Water) Belt-Drive Aluminum Frame Pressure Washer w/ General Pump & Honda GX390 Engine will I need a pump from buffer tank to pressure washer? Can I also soft wash and roof clean with this set up?
No pump. yes on soft wash. no on roofs
1 Like
Do I need a brush or something for scrubbing with soft wash?
No.
But you really need to spend some time searching and reading on here.
Hold off on buying anything until you better understand what you’ll need to do the job right.
7 Likes
Optional…and dependent on what services you agree to perform for client. For just soft washing - spraying of bleach water onto a house and hosing it off - a brush isn’t necessary. But, if you offer to brighten someone’s gutters, remove oxidation from vinyl, clean metal roofs, want to knock down a wasp’s nest and more, a brush on a pole can be a helpful tool. Lots of guys here run a 270 degree brush head on a pole similar to a painter’s extension pole.
There’s a new members introduction thread on this forum and I highly recommended you post in there about yourself, what type of business you intend to run, and your equipment specs. Photos of your setup will always get you better responses and useful (although often critical) suggestions.
Welcome, and good luck!
1 Like
A brush can be helpful, mainly on fallout, concrete stains and some really nasty gutters. You won’t need it in regular housewashes though.
Really nasty gutters are faster to hit with a brush, that’s why I carry one on a 8’-24’ extension pole. I’ll also use one if there is a really nasty spot and that whole area doesn’t need to be hit a couple times. As stated above, they help with fallout too.
1 Like
I think you may actually need a pump for the buffer tank. I spoke to someone recently that said as long as your pressure washer is lower than your tank you will be fine. Even mentioned that your pressure washer even has about 3 feet of vertical draw in it but when I went to use my buffer tank with no pump it didn’t want to pull properly. So im not quite sure. Try it out and let us know. You’ll know pretty quickly if your pressure washer is starving for water.
You do not need a pump to feed a belt drive.
1 Like
Sorry. Missed the belt-drive part.
With a soft wash pump does that downstream or does chem run through it? I’d like to be able to roof wash but not buy a fancy soft wash set up. Just want to do like a 12v pump 5gpm or more and that’s it basically.
You can’t ds with a soft wash pump if that is what you are asking. I don’t do roofs and have no need for such pumps so I am not the one to ask.
Are roofs not worth the money? I see some people stay away from them. Ideally, I would like to just use the pressure washer and not have to build a soft wash or get on a roof lol Thanks.
Chem runs through the pump on a softwash pump, whether youre talking about 12/24v pumps or gas/air powered diaphragm pumps. Downstreaming is only down on pressure washers and you won’t get the mix needed for a roof. They can be quite lucrative from what I understand but when you accept the reward you accept some risk and liability as well. You don’t always have to get on the roof, you can hit everything from the ladder on a fair percentage of houses. You can always start house & driveway washing and once you ‘master’ that part of the business, decide if you want to expand into roofs. In the meantime maybe find a roof washer you can recommend your clients to if they want that service done, and build a good relationship with another local washer who may throw you work when they are busy. This comes with the risk of them stealing some of your repeat business from those clients so its up to you.
Anyway I must admit I haven’t started washing yet, and I gathered all of this knowledge mostly form this forum and some other online sources, so the regulars may correct me if I said anything incorrect. My point is (as others have said): read your fill first before starting and it will pay off tenfold. The things you are caught up on are very basic and it shows you have lots of learning that can be done outside of the field and on your computer at home, so get reading!
3 Likes
They aren’t too me
I think this says that you should not do roofs, because it’s not worth the money to you… Our guys love roofs because it’s considerably more $/hour, and they don’t mind getting on them at all if need be. After a year of Christmas lights they’ve been on so many it’s basic to them. It would take me a while to get used to.
1 Like
Ask 100 people on here that question and you will find that there are probably 2 viewpoints, one being worth it to do roofs, and one being it isn’t worth it. For the people who say it isn’t worth it, some of them won’t get the volume of them to make it worth the insurance price. In my case the insurance to walk on a roof is triple what I am paying now. As a part timer I’m not paying that, and as an older more “well rounded” fella, I don’t want the falling/injury risk that comes with walking on a wet roof. There are many ways to make money by doing this gig once you have a real PW setup, you can offer more than a simple splash and dash service. Find what works for you and what you are most comfortable with. I paint/stain decks and log homes, and I also do a bit of turboing paint off foundations and retaining walls. I might do a roof or two this year, but my feet will never touch the shingles.
Thanks for the advice. I basically have everything I need for my pw service I just can’t decide if I want to get a soft wash set up and or if I want to wash the roofs. Funny you mentioned insurance because yeah mine would easily triple to get on a roof and I’m also doing it just part time so not worth the injury risk at the moment. Maybe one day I’ll have hired help and they can get up there lol who knows thanks again
This is never a good idea…
1 Like
