I’m new to all this and just getting started. I figure I have all the bare essentials to start powerwashing driveways at a minimum. I have a 35 gallon tank I can use as a buffer, I’ve got a 5 gallon bucket to use for chemicals. I have a power washer at 3k psi at 4gpm. I’ve also got access to a surface cleaner. What I don’t have is a downstream injector and no idea on chemical mixture. I’m going to order an injector tonight. Is there any specific type or brand that I should consider? Is there a nozzle that I can use to decrease psi to soft wash a house? Will pool shock and purple power work for cleaning driveways or do I need something stronger to combat oil stains or rust stains? Any and all advice/criticism is a benefit!
Use the search tool in the top right corner, it will answer almost all your questions.
As for the brand of downstream injectors, a lot of us use the GP high draw. Buy more than one, they will all crap out on you at some point.
i use the GP high draw from pressuretek. Black tip for single story house and pink tip for 2nd story house. a hot box is gonna be ur best bet if you got a lot of customers with oil stains… doing your house mix depends on what ur injector ratio is
Welcome. You do not need a tank for that, I made about 25,150 last year from June until Christmas just starting out ; 20000 of that money was made with a small simpson 2.4 and an xjet classic for your gpm machine. Also order a m5ds . Wash buildings from the bottom up like I did in this video : (it was sunny so I didn’t let it dry long)
I built my 2.4 rig late in the yr. You don’t need a tank to get your start cleaning houses. What you need to consider is lining up consistent work - that is my issue with house work. The pay is great but the work is not consistent unless you either make a great name for yourself or maintain a solid Internet presence , I am in the process of making it when people google " baton rouge pressure washing " - my business comes up in the top 3. It’s lots of work. Finding time to do all this computer stuff is hard with an old lady and a 9 yr old…it is not easy. Refreshing CL ads goes so far. What u want is to befriend a slum lord or someone who has a lot of property, and underbid on something for them but not by too much - u pay mats - . Then, do a great job, and then do somethin for free extra that takes awhile. For me, that meant painting both sides of a 30 ft rod iron gate. Took two hours. If you’re after residential, only cold calling will guarantee fast work. Put on that Polo shirt and your decent shoes and go knocking on doors with flyers in your hand. I always end up with work. Here is my secret: ALWAYS GIVE THEM SOMETHING FOR FREE. Lagniappe. It’s what everyone wants. White, black, woman, man, we all enjoy free shit. Just sell it to where it isn’t a big deal to you, but is a big deal to them. My way of doing this in subtle fashion is by placing an estimate of a home DIRECTLY ON A FLYER along with …“Fence and porch FREE” - I have landed a 1000.00 1 day pressure washing job with such a flyer. (12 hrs)
Frugal people are our good customers .so play the game. Give them a freebie, but hit them with a chemical cost. If you wanna play the game and work for yourself then you have to take the hits. In my case, it’s a good trade off. My other option is to work for a plant, making a stress free 120 a year. Assuming I don’t get vaporized or cancer, it seems like a fair deal. Spending 60 hours a week in a huge plant far away from my family seems just silly to me - especially considering my only presence there would be for liability purposes , so they have someone to blame if something goes wrong. Lots of these plants, everyone around thinks that those guys have these dream jobs, but they’re just puppets for whatever corporation owns them. I refuse to be a puppet, unless its for my own company - the idea of being a puppet for a puppet and being under the middleman, doesn’t sit too well with me, but maybe I’d feel differently if I had children of my own.
Driveways are a no brainer. Go over it from two different angles to avoid striping . If you soak it after a quick first rinse, with lots of bleach and soap, you’ll avoid striping moreso. My way, is a quick rinse, (to expose surface, if mud is there )then, bleach and soap with xjet, come back in 10 min, hit it with surface cleaner, then hit it from another angle (think how you would draw a grid) - after this, I rinse , and spray a final coat of soap/bleach this sit and stay. If you follow that, I guarantee no stripes.
Norman
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Hey thanks for the feedback. I did buy a super downstream injector, nozzles and the Assassin 2 downstream nozzle. All recommended by a buddy of mine. As for the oil stains, I picked up a gallon of Clearly Clean to try out with my order and a few other things. We will see how it all works out. Living and learning right now. Luckily my day job involves working for a heavy equipment rental company that has about 3-4 Mi T M power washers and surface cleaners. Free rentals on the weekends will definitely help out!
I got the tank for free, it was on my old service truck and was just gonna go to auction. Asked the powers that be what they wanted for it. They just said to take it.
That is definitely some good advice. I’ve got some cheap car magnets coming in that just give rates for some things, this way when someone calls, they’re calling to set something up. I haven’t messed with any of that free estimates stuff yet until I’ve got better grasp on everything. The flyers are definitely a good idea. I need to get some of those coming in and deliver around. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in my area, it’s just a matter of selling myself.
The original plan was to go chase money as a mobile welder, but with a baby due in June, daycare costs are going to total over 1100 for two kids…completely unacceptable! If I can get something going now, I’m hoping to align myself to give my employer two weeks. Right now I work for a heavy equipment rental company, on call every other weekend and 11-13 hour days M-F. I know I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, but the rewards are higher if I do it well.
Thanks again for the feedback! Let me know if you’ve got any other pointers.
I’m dying with that advice. Lol. Good stuff.
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