How many of you use a bleach neutralizer like agent halt or similar? Why and how much and method of application ?
We will use it sometimes, especially on roof washes. Typically on plants and around downspouts. Usually pump sprayer or x-jet. It’s really up to each crew leader, if they don’t kill anything, I don’t ask questions, lol.
Never have… does it help?? I feel like bleach works fairly fast so if you get too much on some plants it’ll be too late by the time you neutralize it… we just keep everything pre wet and rinsed
Plants like water, so if you wet them down good before, during & after, you should be good. It’s basically dilution at that point. They don’t like SH (I’ve heard). I’ve always thought of neutralizing as more of a necessary approach for raw wood… like wood decks. I’ve used Citric Acid for this (some folks use oxalic) & it definitely brightens up the wood in the process. Makes it smell good too! You may get away with skipping it but it will do it’s job if you give it the opportunity & want to go the extra mile. This stuff is cheap! Just my 2 cents.
Thanks Wizard, I was not thinking so much about plants but metal surfaces.
Anytime dude! Just crank up some Iron Maiden or some Pantera & it should take care of the metal.
1 Like
My understanding is tht the problem is the salt produced as SH degrades. The water before/during/after does dilute it some, but also keeps the plants from being super-thirsty and drinking up the chems (also why our T&Cs recommend watering well at least the day before service). Not 100% clear in how the neutralizer functions (my understanding is that it balances the PH level out, but not sure). The reality is, if you take the time to water properly, you really don’t need it, bu it’s a useful tool to have in the arsenal just in case.
One other use for it that I’ve heard was to neutralize higher ratios on concrete before running the SC if the area is lined by more sensitive plants. Probably makes no difference if you post-treat (which I’m pretty sure none of our guys do, since I’ve never heard the term at any training, seminar, or anywhere other than this forum…)
Plants were ruled out 2 posts ago. We’re talkin metal at this point. Google: Slayer & report back haha. And yes, plants love water.
1 Like
Not really sure but I don’t know that it really helps there…galvalume and copper are always just a no-go in my book.
Just skip Reign in Blood & go straight to Dittohead haha. I’m gonna corrupt you guys! This is what I listen to when I’m on the trigger. I need loud obnoxious music so I can hear it drop out when a call comes in. I’d say Clutch got more play time than anyone else in 2021. They have a ZZ Top kinda edge that I totally dig, but high grade / hard hittin rock and roll all day long. It works really well.
I’ve been post treating instead of pretreating. I don’t worry about where the water runs as much because of that. Also, even with post treat the mold is so thick on most of my concrete it doesn’t make it all the way through and I still have to kill some at the end. I just lay a hot mix down post and that seems to take care of it.
I was 41 years in the rock n roll biz. Still am. Nice to see another metal head on here. 
1 Like
That is awesome sir! I’m a 32 year guitar player, seen over 1,000 live bands & played close to 200 shows. I’m a fan of it all, everything from Beethoven to The Red Chord to Radiohead to Tori Amos. Young’ns these days will never have any clue what they missed out on. Glad you showed up!
I have a 2 gallon pump up sprayer so on a large driveway its to much to pre and post with it so im going to soap it for the pre then use the back breaking sprayer to post. Will really make me appreciate putting together a 12v hopefully sooner than later.
This contraption here might help you find a happy medium in the meantime. @racer strikes again! It’s best to avoid any kind of backpack sprayers in case they leak. You probably don’t want to bleach out your undies with a hot mix & risk burning your skin in the process. My Newest Toy - Should Have Bought One Sooner
I almost bought one except for battery time and figured bleach would kill it like it killed my Kobalt battery sprayer in 1 use. Dam, should have gone that route.
I don’t own one but I have a pile of Ryobi tools with batteries & a couple of chargers. The batteries come in different sizes as well. Looks like a happy medium between a pump sprayer & a 12v rig for small jobs. SH kills everything. It’s always a great idea to flush the equipment after exposure for sure, no matter what the application. Even the 12v pumps are not made to be used with bleach.
The pump sprayer i use now only pumps air pressure into the 2 gallon jug, nothing through a pump. I had a Kobalt that the mix ran through a pump. Fried it. Ran straight water through it after the bleach and it still killed it on one use. The air pump up is better but I got a big driveway tomorrow and thats gonna suck. I should have bought that Ryobe.
It’s just part of it. I bought a brand new Kohler engine last year that didn’t like gasoline. It happens but the quest for continuous improvement is never-ending. Just be glad you have a job to work on tomorrow & knock it outta the park! Whatever it takes.
Absolutely. Got both SC down to 2400 psi now so im ready to roll.
