Does anyone know the formula for reducing SH concentration by percentage? If I want to go from a 12.5% strength down to 1%, how much water will I need? This question should also be under the Newbie section. Thanks in advance!
Are you DS, Xjet or direct applying?
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Like @CFH said, we would have to know how your applying.
90 gallons of water to 1 gallon of bleach.
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Seriously do some research. There are dozens of threads here on it. Plus while you are looking up one thing up you’ll find answers to questions you didn’t even think of. Oxidation, fallout, the effect of SH on organic paint pigments and most of all marketing! Good luck.
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Here’s a starting point:
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That’s super helpful. Thanks!
Wow yeah that is true. I get so far down a side road sometimes that I forget to go back to the beginning. Oxidation is a big one for sure.
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Approx 12-1 to get to 1% depending on whether you’re including in your total or in addition to your total mix.
If you want I’ll give you the formula to plug into an excell sheet. Can’t post one of those here
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You all make this too complicated. Use the ratios of 100. We only go as high as 60/ 40. That gives us a 40% mix for roofs. This is not rocket science gentlemen. Mix some bleach,water and soap and spray some houses and roofs or whatever. Rinse and then get paid when done.
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Thanks Diamond_Soft_Wash. So 90 gallons of water to 1 gallon of bleach gives you 1% mix. I assume that should be 99/1. That seems so weak especially when some talk about downstreaming with full strength.
No, that’s 90-1. I don’t know anyone that uses such a low concentration…maybe purifying tap water for drinking?
Sure that would be great to have. Mike@regal-exteriors.com. Thanks!
Direct apply with 12v, soon to be retired and replaced with a booster pump.
You’re using a 12v now and going to a booster pump and you don’t know how to figure percentages. Like Diamond said, don’t overthink it.
I don’t get it. Please elaborate
By asking questions and learning a lot of the nuances that go into decision making in this industry, I’m learning more about what a true profession power washing and soft washing really is. There is so much to learn, to include ratios. I’ll never master it if I don’t ask for clarification on some issues I’m not quite sure about. The chemical side is more critical than the equipment side in my opinion. There are a lot of percentages and ratios involved and they can all start to run together for a new guy. I’m taking lots of notes believe me.
What Diamond and myself are saying is it doesn’t have to be exact for our purposes. He and I and I’m sure plenty of others on here used to batch mix , and I still do on occasion, prior to proportioner days. We often would have to change our mix on the fly.
I normally always just assume day in and day out it’s 10% SH. So if you’re making up 10 gal of mix and you want a 3% mix then you would put 30% of your volume in your 10 gal container would be SH and 70% water. That would be a 3% mix. Now in reality if you were using 12.5% your actual mix might be 3.3%. So you could just go with that or just use slightly less SH if you had some hot stuff. No one knows exactly what their SH is on a given day. Whether you buy it by the gal or the drum, it’s going to vary and be different if it sits for a week or whatever or who knows how long it’s been sitting prior to you buying. In the real world it’s just a close approximation.
If you’re downstreaming then if you know about what your pull ratio is then just figure that into your dilution. So say that my 4gpm pulls at 9-1, then I know that if I run straight SH thru it then I’m getting about a 1.1% mix. If I’m using my 8 gpm it pulls about 18-1 so I’m getting about .6% net. It’s kinda irrelavent as long as it’s doing the job. If it’s not, make it a little stronger.
Here’s the formula if you want. Can plug into a spreadsheet. I’ve had it for years, not even sure where it came from. I probably spent 5 min looking at it over the years.
Amount of SH= gal of mix-(SH strength-strength desired)/(SH strength/gal of mix)
Setup your cloumns like so
Gal of Mix Strength % SH Strength Equals Gal of Water Gal of SH Surfactant Oz
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There should be a vetting process here where one must demonstrate the ability to walk 20 paces while chewing bazooka joe
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