Hey All, I have my own professional window cleaning company, quite satisfied with the money I am making and I am a solo artist. I do not hire anybody to do my window cleaning. Just recently I was entertaining the idea of adding pressure washing to my business, of course I would be doing all the work myself. Before I get into anything else, I do not get a lot of calls for power washing so the demand does not seem to be as high as window cleaning. Then again I have friends who just do power washing and they do not have much demand for window cleaning. Seems like there are some hone owners who only care about roof, brick, siding, deck and driveway clean but donât care about windows and vice versa.
That said here are my questions
I was looking at the idea of attending a school for power washing.
A. Spray Wash Academy
B. Power Wash University (online only)
C. Doug Rucker Power washing school
The only thing I do not like is the hands on class, itâs like a 4 hour lesson on a real house. I honestly do not think one can get even the basics in 4 hours. Doug Rucker is the one that offers a 9AM to 1PM hands on which seems a waste of time taking. The Power wash university is a 5 day course but it is all online which I feel is like trying to learn to drive a car by reading about it. I donât think that can be done that way.
Does anyone know a cost efficient or a school that offers something like a semester training like at a college? Does anybody know anyone who attended the schools listed above and what was their thoughts?
Ramon Burke is a straight shooter. Your B and C options are not really legitimate options in my opinion. Personally, I wouldnât spend money with someone that teaches others the same thing they are teaching you.
Start reading through old posts on this forum and youâll learn almost everything you need to know. Thereâs so much knowledge on here. I spent about a year researching and getting equipment ready and I was super confident going into that first season. I personally wouldnât waste my money on a school when everything is right here.
What I am looking for is something comprehensive where the Forum is great for dialing in on a specific question or problem. But I am looking for something like âpower washing for the beginner everything you need to know to get startedâ etcâŚ
Give me $1500 and Iâll let you work with me for two or three days. Iâll even let you do all the physical work. Iâll just stand there and tell you what youâre doing wrong and how to be faster.
Edit: I changed my mind. Iâll let you work for me for a week.
I know Iâll get blasted for saying this, but if I was going to attend any class, it would be AC Lockyerâs SoftWash course. I just recently received a very compelling personal testimonial about the course from someone I trust a lot.
What I heard from him is that the class covers much more than just the technical aspects of cleaning, but also safety practices and legal requirements (OSHA/SDS docs, DOT, EPA, etc).
If youâre looking for free. Southeast softwash on YouTube really got me on my feet. Very informative videos from him and theyâre all free. This forum is great as well for info.
Depending on your budget I would reccomend getting a 4 gpm pressure washer and a 16-20 inch surface cleaner. Donât go to Loweâs and get a Simpson it will burn you a couple months down the road but instead spend $1500-1700 from a reliable pressure washing supplier. Start down streaming houses from a 5 gallon bucket. Cover any electrical and any pained/stained doors. Stay away from houses painted in dark colors (green, blue, red ) and youâll be golden. That should be fine to get you started on any driveway or house. And if you have any questions sounds like you already have some friends in the industry you can ask.
I think people just get star struck by this guy thinking he invented the idea of washing organic growth with chemicals. This form of cleaning has been around longer than his great grand fathers father. Heâs a great marketer though, definitely has his target audience sussed out lol.
I believe you but see the 3 day class is still not long enough to cover everything you need to go out in the field and do it. I know a lot of guys are just using 50% bleach on all surfaces be it concrete, aluminum siding, painted siding, wood etc⌠I thought there are different chemicals for different jobs and if there are, I donât think a 3 day course can cover all that.
I will definitely look this guy up. I am beginning to realize I am going to get more out of youtube and this forum than a 3 day class that basically will give me some pointers, lead me in the right direcition but still leave me unprepared to deal with all situations.
i.e., been told you use a 50% bleach on all surfaces painted, aluminum siding, etcâŚ
No I use 50/50 of industrial bleach (12.5% and not 6%) on Roos. That is through a 12v system which draws straight SH and straight water. For your downstream that you would use with your pressure washer you can either mix it 50/50 or use straight bleach if thatâs not enough. Get some tips for soap application and wet the house down and come back in 10 mins and rinse
The most difficult things to learn are 1. What you will damage with chlorine and 2. How strong of a mix you need. downstreaming our of a 5 gallon bucket will be more than strong enough to do any house
YouTube brother! Down streaming is an attachemnt for a pressure washer. On the downstream side of your pump. It will allow you to apply bleach with just a pressure washer.
