Cheap surfactant that works?

I’m not interested in paying the big money for elemonator. I was going to order two gallons of it the other night but shipping was nearly an extra $20, that’s too much.

I hear Arm & Hammer with Oxi Clean is a decent surfactant. I can buy it for a nickel an ounce, that’s a good deal. The elemonator is far more expensive than a nickel an ounce.

What’s the opinion on Arm & Hammer? Thanks!

I’m going to get some popcorn.

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The big money?!?! Jesus I hope you never do a house with rust stains or efflorescence lol.

If your rates don’t include using professional chemicals, you should change them

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FWIW, I’ve used elemonator and it’s overpriced. Thanks

I’ve got professional chemicals, buy them from a shop that I drive 60 miles one way to purchase. I just think for a standard house wash, elemonator is pricey. There must be a better option.

Driving 2 hours round trip is far more expensive than almost any shipping based on what your time is worth. I would bet you shoot for $100 an hour or more washing. Same applies driving for products.

Time = money.

That being said the cheapest surfactant that I recall seeing is King's Kling Roof and House Surfactant - Doug Rucker Store at $18 a gallon.

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I’ve used the A&H and it works just fine. Problem is it kills your left over mix in a day or so. Turns sorta brown and thick. As long as you use it all up, it’s fine. I use Elemonator now but I agree it’s pretty expensive since I like a lot of suds.

So basically you just lost any credibility, but I have to ask, what about it is overpriced? I have used about 4 drums a year for the last 10 years or so. I actually offered to pay more if Bob would let my Landa guy stock it so my price went up about $75 a drum. For a regular house you will have about 50 cents in surfactant. Maybe you need to raise your prices or figure out what you are doing wrong.

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How much are you using on a house? I only use about 2 gallons of SH and 2 oz. of Elemomator. So I can do 64 houses on a bottle. It’s not expensive if you use it right.

I guess I’ll figure it out…I like to see some suds, so I don’t know. Like I said, I think the eliminator is ok, just think it’s very over priced. This isn’t rocket science, there must be a competitive product that’s cheaper per ounce…

You literally use up to a handful ounces of it each job… do the math. If you don’t like Elemonator find a different surfactant, there’s plenty out there. If it’s to expensive you need to raise your prices lol

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Slo Mo. You have to buy a 5 gallon bucket though so I can’t imagine what you’ll say about the shipping on it.

Raise you house wash prices by $0.50…lol. Hard to believe you’d be complaining about a $0.50 when you’re making $200-$300 per house wash.

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I pay about 20¢ per oz for Elemonator in the 5ver. I use 8oz per 5 gl of mix. It’s not the most economical soap but one reason I like using it is because it’s an industry standard. If I accidentally screw up somebody’s house at least I don’t have to go and tell my insurance company that I used bleach and laundry detergent. :joy:

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I do 8 to 10 ounces per 65 gallons and an happy. I don’t want to see suds, or tenants at apartments to see suds.

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What’s your reasoning for this? Personal preference? I have been toying with the idea of downstreaming Apple Wash to get the pink dye effect.

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I bought a 5 gal bucket of cling on and have had it since early this season, still have abt a gallon left, $110+shipping for 6 months worth of work I don’t see what there is to complain about

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The less rinsing the more productive I am. I found the sweet spot where elemanator helps the rinse, but I don’t get suds. People tend to freak out when they walk out their door and see suds on the breezeways, versus just water.

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Yeah, just enough so it sticks to siding.

I’ve had the same gallon of Snotmenade for…jeez, 3 months?

It’s not expensive. Use it right. This field always includes heavy upfront costs but it’s because if you use it overtime correctly it turns out to be really cheap if you break it down per job. It’s like an investment. Pay $26.00 and earn over $20,000-40,000 easily with it.