Ive just started in the business. Did a house wash this morning that was really dirty. Had mold on three sides of the house and mold and moss on the gutters. I washed the entire house using a mix of straight 6% bleach plus elemonator (unable to get stronger bleach). The siding turned out spotless and the gutters were probably 90%. The homeowner was thrilled with the results and didn’t care about the gutters. As i was finishing, I noticed some of the window frames had an orange tint to them. She wasn’t concerned. I however would like to know how to clean them better. Ive read that this will happen if the SH is too strong but I couldn’t find what will remove the discoloration. Is 6% SH too strong? My DS injector is close to 10:1. Thanks for any help.
to me elemonator is an experimental cleaner or what ever the classification of it is. I’d never use because I don’t know the dangers of using it is. I use water and 12.5% and a dab of Dawn , just to show the customer there’s some sort of suds on the windows. All these other fancy named cleaner additives are too risky to use. (in my opinion) Other opinions may vary.
So far, and I’m not overly experienced, I’ve been using around 60/40 (water/10%SH) and an ounce of elemonator per gallon. All my results have been great and I haven’t seen any problems with it so far. It came highly recommended to me and I haven’t been disappointed with it yet. Perhaps the orange tint was from another issue or they may have been stained. I’ve not heard it being experimental. A lot of guys use it.
I’ve seen it before on certain window frames where the bleach was too strong.
I’m sure it’s a possibility. I would just question how likely that would be with only 6%. That’s almost less than Clorox and running at a 10:1 would seem to be diluted plenty. Again, I’m not overly experienced, but I read a lot of posts about people shooting way hotter mixes and never run into a problem. Then again, stuff happens!
My advice would be to be very careful of what advice you take as there is some seriously uneducated bullshittery and lack of experience being touted in this thread.
Use eLemonator or other professional house washing soap for house washing. Use dawn for doing the dishes.
Your bleach is not too strong. If you find that the window casing reacts with the mix on occasion, then mist the affected area with some oxalic acid mix. I use OneRestore because it always works. Apply, witness immediate results and then rinse right away.
And please exercise due diligence when receiving advice. Oh, and don’t get any acid near any bleach.
Thanks for the response. I never would have imagined my SH was too strong after reading all the treads. I have read good things about elemonator but Im too new to form an opinion. I’ll try the oxalic acid mix to see if it helps the staining. She was happy with the results so thats positive. Im just trying to learn from any issues.
Would you care to point out what you found to be inaccurate instead of the passive aggressive method? Maybe it wasn’t intended towards me, but regardless, countering something in a constructive manner is far more beneficial for everyone instead of name calling. I’m personally still learning and it would be nice to know.
another chemical to fix another mistake from another experimental chemical.
Keep it simple guys and you’ll stay out of trouble. Trust me… 13 years No issues.
I stick with what works for me. Call it what you will.
I know I said I wouldn’t reply anymore here but I need to help this guy out. Look at the trim around windows tomorrow and the brown will be gone. It has nothing to do with eliminator. Late 90’s there was a batch of vinyl that did not get UV protection. Bleach turns it brown until sun hits it for a couple of hours. Gutter zap or the like will take it away instantly but just tell the homeowner it will go away. I wish someone would boot this think to much clown before he really gets a newbie into a jam.
How is using bleach and water and a trace of Dawn soap going to mess anyone up when i’ve been doing it for 13 years ?
Sorry i’m not on the band wagon or getting paid by any of these house wash mix companies.
First, thanks for all the responses. The more information you share, the faster I’ll learn. Id rather learn on here than by making a mistake on someones house.
I think the trim around the window was aluminum, not vinyl. I hope the orange color will still self resolve. Otherwise, some chemical will be required. I have gutter grenade, I wonder if that will help? I plan to return to the house to “experiment” with the gutter grenade on the rear facia. I would like to make them look a little better.
The owners son told me there is some drainage/stains from the weep holes in the siding. Not sure if that will clear with rain or if Ill have to rewash? That seems to be a recurrent problem that I haven’t mastered. Ive tried lower pressure, more rinsing and standing further back. Still seems to occur. The house was really dirty but hope I can figure it out.
Don’t get into a habit of detailing houses up.Especially if you plan on some high volume house washing down the road. I’ve told customers a 1000 times, Those are “stains”… Something is causing the stains. It’s never part of my house washing prices unless the stain is an easy - quick fix. Don’t get in a habit of detailing houses unless that’s the arena you want to enter. Hope you get your pricing right if you choose that route. Also someone else may know here if Gator Juice will take off the paint if not used right. I always use Awesome from the dollar store. Won’t take paint off gutters or other parts of the house.
I didn’t see where you had given any bad advice at all.
You’re giving un-qualified, yet terrible advice, about something you’ve never done.
What haven’t I done before ?
You’re telling people about the dangers of eLemonator. And you would not know eLemonator if it bit you in the butt. You’re talking way outside your realm of experience and showing how little you really know.
So let me get this straight —because i’ve never used eLemonator , I know nothing about the industry ?
Go fix the weep holes leakage. It might go away by itself over time but you charged enough to take care of it. It never hurts to do the right thing. Mist a little bleach water on it if you have to with minimal rinse.
Soak the fascia in good strong bleach based hw mix while washing the house. Let it dwell a while and rinse. What happens happens, it doesn’t always come clean.
Aluminum doesn’t turn brown. It was either lead based paint from the 40’s or else it was vinyl.
Keep being conscientious about your work and you’ll do well.
You are correct on all counts. The orange is a very rare occurrence and a bit of ox or OneRestore will fix it right up. Somebody said F-13 but I’ve not tried that for brown yet.
