I was watching a soft wash video on a vinyl fence and someone commented…
“won’t down streaming be about the same with 12.5 at 10 to 1 be closer to 1.5%”
(I guess the guy was using a method that wasn’t down streaming)
12.5% is the purity of SH?
10 to 1 is SH to water ratio?
1.5% is what how? I’ve heard these low percentages when talking about soft wash mixes but don’t understand the math and how one mix is better than others for specific jobs…concrete, house wash etc…
I’ve been doing this 21 years and I don’t understand it. It’s only been in the last couple of years that all this 1.5 this, that and the other ratio stuff started appearing. As long as what you are spraying is coming clean, don’t worry about ratios
Different surfaces might require a stronger mix of sh to kill the algae or organic growth. It can usually be killed on vinyl with about .75% but a roof is going to take 4% or more.
You don’t have to be exact but it’s good to have a starting point depending on what you’re cleaning. If you’re trying to clean stucco and, need about a 3% mix, mix together 2 gallons of water and a gallon of 12.5%. That will put you right around 3%. If it’s not killing the organic growth add more sh.
Now, if you’re talking about down streaming it’s a little different. Let’s say your injector pulls at 10:1. That means for every 10 parts water it’ll pull 1 part mix. So, if you’re pulling straight 12.5% through your injector you’ll have about 1.25% sh hitting the house. You don’t need it to be that strong for vinyl so dilute the sh with water before down streaming. I usually mix 3 gallons of water and 2 gallons of sh and then down stream.
Or, as in my case with a remote controlled valve and 200’ of hose, I get about 1% or less by the time it hits the house, even with a 10:1 injector.
I don’t get 10:1 either. I’d be surprised if anyone does.
With lower gpm you do.
I’ve heard that mentioned on here. I’ve also heard lowering throttle some will too? Although, some say doing that is bad for the engine. I wouldn’t mind getting a little pump for force feeding my injector. It would just come in handy at times instead of unrolling 12v hose. Today is a good example. I had a vinyl house but it had a small chimney that was stucco and was filthy. It was a steep roof so pump up was out. It would’ve been nice to have been able to down stream it real quick just by kicking on a little pump. I might experiment with that this off season.
Do it!
We have the Shertz Box, this’ll be the Grunt Pump.
So what understand is that 12.5% SH diluted with water to whatever ratio is what gives you that end 1% or 3% results at the end of the gun.
Yeah…Most buy 12.5% because it’s cheaper and pretty much the strongest available. Although, you won’t get 3% at the gun from down streaming. If you need anything stronger you’ll have to use a 12 volt or x-jet.
Sh is an oxidizer and especially on colored vinyl it can fade it if too strong or if you allow if to dry. The name of the game is to use the lowest % of Sh necessary to clean delicate surfaces as to not do long term damage. Downstream can only provide about 3% max usless you had some very fresh Sh, Allison injector and force feed it with a 12v pump will you rise above the 3%. 5.6 gpm with 225 ft of hose and GP 2.1 injector = 12:1. 8gpm 2.1 injector with 200ft of hose = 16:1. Yes I tested and the videos are out there. Have yet to do an actual test yet with the Allisons. The reason for percentages in a nutshell Is all about achieving the best clean possible without the adverse effects of using too much chemical. Sure there is surfaces that it does not matter so use what you choose but remember it does matter when you have overspray and can impact vegetation and also cost more. Some of us like me to get SH so cheap it doesn’t so much matter but you can only have so much on board as well.
Just x jet the chimney real quick with straight Sh and no proportioner insert. Prewet the vinyl around it and have somone rinse as you apply especially if its in the sun. This will elevate your quality above the competition. I explain to my customers how I will do that at their home so they know I know what I’m doing. Most customers can do the math in their head and figure out that paying me a little more than the other guy is cheaper and easier than replacing ruined vinyl.
I just ended up using my 12 volt. I wouldn’t have left without cleaning the chimney. I don’t have an x-jet because I always just use my 12 volt but could see where one could come in handy at times. I was just thinking force feeding the injector for a minute to hit the chimney would be easier than pulling out the 12 volt since I’m already walking around down streaming. Flip a switch to force feed, stronger mix for 10 seconds, flip switch off, continue down streaming house, and rinse everything. It wasn’t that big of deal to pull out my 12 volt hose though. I still think pulling out the 12 volt hose would be easier than dragging a bucket of mix around with the x jet. I hear you though. The more tools we have at our disposal the better.
This is exactly how I am setup. I actually have my pump permanently in line between my mix tanks and my ss super suds sucker. I flip the switch when I do stucco, roofs or flat work that can’t safely be surface cleaned. Yeah it pulls a lot of SH but that’s the point right! I just cleaned the entire movie theater 60 feet tall all stucco building. I mixed my 6x green wash and 6x terra wash into my 55 gallon tank with the sh, turned the pump on and went to town! Worked great. With the 6x stuff only needed to add 9oz to the entire 55 gallons of sh. I also turn the pump on when using final wash (sh neutralizer) to speed up cleaning out the line, pump and fittings. I actually have 3 ss 3 way ball valves and the pump can be used in any direction. Can suck from either of my two 55 gal mix tanks, or from another drop tube that goes into the bulk supply tanks I get my bleach from, and I can output to either the ds injector or either of my mix tanks. I use the pump to force feed the injector and transfer chem back and forth to wherever it’s needed. I’m going to get another 3 way valve and setup a small 7 gallon tank and keep the final wash in it so I don’t have to break out the 5 gallon bucket every time I want to use it. This is how I used 60 gallons of sh on that big house with the roof and all the flat work that people were laughing at me about lol. The softwash guys turning up their proportioner to 4% will use the same amount so I’m still unsure how it is that I am using way too much. Hardly see vinyl though mostly stucco so maybe that’s where it all changes?
In addition to the remote setup from @SchertzServicesLLC I want to buy I’m also going to buy a remote on off switch for the pump too.
People weren’t laughing at you it’s just that you’re using a heck of a lot of sh that is probably unnecessary. You must be force feeding more than what you think or you’re just spraying way too much. SH is mainly used for organics. If you don’t see any algae or mildew on the house or driveway you don’t need to soak the heck out of it or use a strong solution. If you don’t see any on driveways you could probably pre-treat using regular house wash mix. A lot of times a quick mist is all it takes on vinyl or even some concrete. The more porous it is the more it’s going to take. I remember reading in another post that you get sh for a good price so it’s not that big of deal using as much as you do but you could still save some money. Not too mention the less sh you use the less chance of killing or injury landscaping. You might be better off using an actual 12v setup and then force feeding in situations where you need it. Even if I decide to start force feeding I’d still mainly use my 12v for roofs and some other situations. I think if you did the same you’d have more control over how much sh you use and could possibly cut your use in half. Unless you’re just spraying way too much solution.
Remember that this forum is for advice or ways to learn new things. If something is working for you it’s working so no need to change. You know how passionate we all are on here so you’ll know from the responses if it’s something you should absolutely change. We all kind of get stuck in our ways and try and force it onto others but a lot of times it’s because it works. We all need to make tweaks depending on how we operate though. Just don’t take advice personally. Kind of like thinking people were laughing at you about the amount of sh you used on that job. People were just more surprised than anything.
If you have a 12v you could give it a try and see if you go through the same amount of sh. If you do you’ll know it’s likely from spraying too much. Although, there are times you will use more if you see thick algae or moss. If you don’t see any you just don’t have to use that much.
I wasn’t really thinking people were laughing at me that was more of a reflection on some of the responses I got. I don’t get emotional about feedback lol. I don’t force feed all the time just generally when doing roofs (which is rare) but mostly only when doing flatwork and sometimes stucco if it’s real dirty. The pump is always in line but only on about 20% of the time. That house I used 60 gallons on I used the pump about 30% of the time for the stone patios and steps and the roof. I sprayed the crap out of it to clean the cedar shingles. I read in the softwash forums that that material needs about a 2% mix (this is before I found out about pwra and now this is my go to)
I’m curious though I thought that the main ingredient in hw mix was sh. I have a product called Grimefighter from Sunrise (a chemical supplier) that I tried before without sh and it kinda worked but not really. It’s a good company I was told about it by a guy who worked for one of the biggest company’s in the area for 25 years. Is there a soap product that I can try to downstream that will clean deep dirt without the need of sh at all?
PW pump? Why ?
The booster pump so it doesn’t burn up since I only need it on here and there for a few seconds to a few minutes. Use it with the remote downstream valve.
