First real job

Hey guys! I’m a long time lurker and haven’t posted anything. As the title said I just had my first “real” job today. A quote I read on here a few months back was, “I spent a lot of money to become effectient.” I didn’t understand that until today. Here a list of stuff I learned:

  1. Hydrate. Borderline heat stoke isn’t worth a $500 job.

  2. I have found the bare minimum amount of hose required. 100ft of pressure hose will hardly cut it.

  3. I will be researching and learning how to build my own soft wash machine. The one I have does the job, but that’s about it. Again- efficiency.

  4. Hose reels. Self explanatory. I worked harder moving hoses today than I have in the last 10 years.

  5. Business side of things- speak with the customer more about their residence and their needs instead of relying on Google Earth and a 5 minute phone conversation.

  6. Remeber to take before and after pictures…

Other than those things the job went really well. I used 1% on vinyl and shocked myself at how good it turned out. I planned for the job to take 2 hours and it went to around 3 because of my hose management/set up/tear down. The customer was a stellar couple and laughed when I brought a 15 year old plant base that I broke to them told them I was going to get them another one.

Sorry for the longer post. I’m just very thankful for this community and cannot wait to learn more.

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Welcome and congrats!

What does your setup look like right now?

Thanks!

Predator 4gpm pressure washer, 13 gallon portable soft wash system, generator for a pump, buffer tank. Picking up a trailer in the next few weeks instead of using my truck bed.

You’ll learn something every job. It never stops. The more jobs you do the quicker you learn.

I have found that 100ft of garden hose on a reel in my truck bed with 150ft of pressure hose has me covered most of the time but your mileage may vary.

Racer is correct, you learn something new every time you wash. Usually that something new for me is discovering a new way I’m incompetent :joy:

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This is true for me as well. I keep a spare 50-ft of each in the truck though

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I’m always discovering new, faster ways to be dumb

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Welcome to the site. Lots of knowledge here . Just have to invest the time to learn what they have to offer. @Racer is one i found i am watching some of his youtube vids currently .

Congratulations bro. I had my first job yesterday. And let me tell you, i was working on the roof, and extremely hot and forgot to bring water. Set up had me dieing, up and down the roof. I had to remove plaster which was very difficult, the roof was made of tile so easier than shingles i think, but never again remvoing plaster, some of the tile was losing its color, i used a turble nozzle with 220 degree hot water. This post reminds me of what i did yesterday lol

Well good news is you’re getting faster at it. :smile:

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A $20 cooler has been my best investment yet. Next would be my wide brimmed hat.

Yeah with ice😍 sunblock too

You have time for a cooler break? Man, this 3.5gpm machine of mine is slowing me down too much to take breaks! :joy:

Maybe you should step up to 4gpm & go hannle the bidniss!!! …in between breaks.

I feel like someone has lectured you on that…lol

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This is my old 4gpm pump next to my new 6.8gpm. I’m looking forward to a 70% increase in efficiency. I’ll let you know if I have any regrets.

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Always liked how my feet arent slow till I realized they move quicker than my brain sometimes

More then just one person and more than once! Lol

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The old saying ’ you can lead a horse to water but can’t make them drink’ often applies around here.