How do you clean expensive homes with hardieboard and a lot going on?

I’ve only been downstreaming for vinyl siding , gutters and other small things as an amateur. I get called to clean large expensive fancy homes that are tall, lots of peaks and valleys, high white gutters and soffits with sharp angles. most importantly the hardieboard running horizontal on the house. I always worry about the bleach discoloring glossy black finishes and other painted surfaces to being with. how would someone clean something like this ? more importanly how do you downstream professionally hardieboard when you aren’t suppose to use bleach but need to for the windows, gutters, soffits and others things all around it?

You have to be careful with certain paint. If I’m concerned I always pre wet the areas of concern, soap the areas that need soaped, and then instantly rinse the painted surface. I’ll also use as weak of a mix as possible. Although, some jobs just aren’t worth the risk and you’re better off walking away. This topic is just another reason why insurance is a must.

As far as reaching high peaks what pressure washer and nozzles are you using?

the simpson blue and pink/red two story combo

They might not even be the correct size for your pressure washer. What are the specs of your washer?

It’s a Simpson ALH4240 4200psi 4.0gpm. honda engine , cat pump. probably putting out 3800 psi.

Select 4 gpm in the drop down arrow. I’m not sure what size orifice the pink or blue nozzle has but I bet the nozzle on the jrod can reach higher. Another nice addition is Guy’s Shooter Tip.

like this

I know what they are they just don’t ever list the orifice size. If it’s too large or, even too small for your machine, you’re not going to get the reach you could by using the correct size. Order that jrod from Pressure Tek and you should get maximum reach.

you softwash professionally or side thing?

That’s a great question, we’ve all wondered ourselves…hhaahaaha

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Professionally…Although, even if someone is just washing as a side gig they should be professional about it. In doing so they can demand higher prices which means more money in their pocket even after paying expenses. By professional I mean having insurance, filing for llc or sole, company shirts, pay taxes, etc. It’s one of the best decisions anyone can make if they want to take their business to the next level. Either way insurance is a must.

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Wow… :pleading_face: And here I was thinking about getting you out of the nursing home for the evening and taking you for all you can eat steak.

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Damn, that’s cold :frowning:

Will you still come by and dress like nurse ratched again…pleassse

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I’ll let the rubber scrubbers take care of you instead. @Hotshot would be more than happy to help.

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Haha that’s gold!

Do a test spot if you are worried your mix will damage the hardiboard. You can use you normal mix on hardiboard. As far as getting the peaks your 4 gpm shouldn’t have a problem with no wind even for 3rd story peaks. If you do use an 8’ A-frame or a 6’ extension to get that extra height.

Going from the pink and blue two story tips to the j-rod has proven to be great for me. This house washing thing is still a side hustle for me for extra income but having the j-rod I feel more professional and it’s something that homeowner Harry doesn’t see sitting on the Lowe’s shelf = setting yourself apart from just “some guy with a pressure washer”. Also, the soft washing thing works, is easy, and quick compared to the typical use a white tip with pressure on every square inch of the house that we all likely started out doing.

As far as peaks, with my DeWalt 3.5gpm / 4K psi and my j-rod, I’ve been able to hit tops of overly exaggerated 2-story peaks easy. Even a couple that I’d consider almost three story peaks based upon the height of the crawl space under the house. But if it’s super windy it’s a challenge and I either have to wait for a pause in the wind or pull out a ladder to get me 6-10 feet off the ground and then I can hit those peaks just fine in the wind.

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You can get a 79" wand or even longer. It’s great for the really high peaks if you don’t want to mess with a ladder. The 79" will get you almost 7’ more reach. It can also come in handy for second story decks.

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I declined the job but what downstreaming are you guys using with a set up like mine. I’ve been using a few different 3/8" quick disconnect injectors that go after the pump or if I need the length I will put in further down the line because after 100’ of discharge hose from the injector it doesn’t work right. It sucks having to run back and forth turning it on and off but it is what it is. I think using something on the tip of your gun sucks too unless you are dealing with short distances because most have like a 30’ line on them.