Starting power wash business?how to mix chemicals?

Hi,


im starting power wash business and i would like to know how to mix chemicals to clean;


decks:


side:


drive way:


roof:


fence:


brick:


concrete:


tile:


plastic:


i know some chemical will be ok to use with different areas.


please let me know something that i need to know and you really recommend, any tips or links will be really helpful.





thank you very much!Starting power wash business?how to mix chemicals?
I do not have a business but I use a product called Krud Kutter and it works well. They have a pretty good selection of cleaners and tells you on the bottle how to mix. It takes a very small amount to do the job. I have used it on my 20'x50' drive way and have about 3/4 of a gallon left. And also on 12'x18' deck twice and have about half of a gallon left.Starting power wash business?how to mix chemicals?
Check out powerwashnetwork.com. Its a great power washing forum.





Bleach is good for alot of stuff, especially houses. If you can get 12% bleach (sold at pool places as liquid chlorine if you can get it) you can use the chemical injector on the power washer to apply the bleach. Otherwise the 6% over the counter bleach will need to be mixed with water and applied with a pump up sprayer. Sodium hydroxide (lye) can be used on alot of things but remember it is caustic and must be handled with care. If you use it on wood it will darken it so you will also need a wood brightener which is oxalic acid and it is applied over the sodium hydroxide solution. Oxygen bleach, AKA sodium percarbonate (oxyclean and other oxygen cleaners, white powder stuff) also works good on wood but thats about it. All the chemicals are kind of a trial and error thing. Start out weak and make the mix stronger and stronger until you find the ideal strength.





Hot water is also a good investment to make, but dont use hot water on wood and dont use it on vinyl siding. You may use warm water if the heaters thermostat is adjustable, but no more than 120 degrees, less is possible. Heat will damage wood and CAN damage some types of siding. It also removes paint alot easier.





Always use a large tip when washing wood or houses. A size 8 tip with a 25 degree pattern with my 4000psi 4gpm machine is pretty good, a bigger tip than that would be ideal to drop the pressure even more. You do not need much pressure in most cases except concrete. In fact pressure will do more harm than good.





When washing around vegitation (flowers, grass, etc) always wet it down with water first before doing anything and then rinse rinse rinse when you are done. This keeps chemicals from getting on them and sticking and then rinses everything off. Chemicals, most of them anyways, not including the sodium percarbonate which is harmless, will harm grass, plants, etc.





Also, be sure to apply chemical to dry surfaces, dont wet the surface to be cleaned down first, just the plants. Then let the chemical dwell 10 minutes or so before washing but DO keep it wet and dont let it dry before washing.





I have found a product at WalMart called McCloskeys? deck wash. (something like that, in the paint department) It is very very good at cleaning up fences and decks. I was amazed! And you dont need a wood brightener.