I bid on a job that looks like I will get it… the back side of this building is around 40 ft at the peaks and is very filthy. I have scaffolding and ladder if I need it, but I’m wondering if there is a way to softwash standing on the ground from this height? I have only ever done 20 to 25 feet from the ground. My old unit is 2.8 gpm and 3200 psi, this year I will have a 3500 / 4gpm. Will the extra gpm / psi allow me to shoot farther into the air from the ground to apply the chem, or is there a way to downstream out of the end of my fiberglass extension that has dust all over it? Or am I just going to have to climb a bit…
Thanks in advanced
You’ll need a crane. Hahahaha
J/k. I’ll make a post in a bit when I get to my desk.
Rick,
Take 10 or 15% off the top and sub it out to me 
Side note…how big is your service area? Primarily Eau Claire?? My top guy, who is also my cousin is going to
school in Eau Claire. I can’t wait to get him back this summer! Ohh and if you ever need an extra hand he is
a HELL of a worker.
Micah - Lol crane or superman cape?
Kyle - that’s pretty cool, where are you located at? What is your cousin going to school for ? How long will be be in Eau Claire? I might actually take you up on that, at least give him a call and talk with him, assuming he would be looking for some work. My primary service area is Eau Claire, Chippewa falls, menomonie, Rice Lake, and everywhere in between.
Oh btw, what I had planned on doing was : take my 5x9 wood deck trailer and just mount my scaffolding down to it. The back side of this building is the only part that’s 40 feet and it’s all parking lot back there, so I could just back up to the end, clean a section, then move the truck. Maybe a silly idea, but I think I’d do the whole side in about 2-3 hours this way. Maybe osha wouldn’t like a moving scaffold tower?
I’ve always thought that getting a telescopic pressure washing wand might be worth the money. I know the nozzle reaction when using high pressure makes them a little unwieldy, but I would think it might not be to bad with soft washing using low pressure. Could potentially save a a lot of time for the two or three story homes with walk out basements. N*rthern T**L sells them for $100-160 depending on the size.
If you don’t own a 4GPM washer, and can’t afford one, I would recommend renting one for the job. It shouldn’t cost too much, and it will keep your feet on the ground - which is priceless.
Buy a 8-10 foot wand just to be on the safe side. Using a 0040 tip you should have no problem hitting 40 feet from the ground with a 4GPM machine. Not to mention how much faster you’ll be able to work with the added gpm’s.
Those extension wands, or “yellow noodles”, won’t allow you to downstream because they use 1/4 hose instead of 3/8 hose. The downstream injector will not work with that small of hose.
Make sure you spray from the top up. So as you start, use a fan spray along the bottom to apply soap. Then apply soap at a higher section using the 0040 on a short wand. Then as you get towards the top, use the longer wand along with the 0040. After allowing dwell time, work backwards as you rinse. What you want to avoid is using a 0040 tip right up against the building - that could create wand marks.
Wow…that explains so much. I took my first extension back and told them it was broken. Second one was ‘broken’ too, now I know why. THank you!
I have a yellow noodle with a 3/8 hose but never needed to use it. PM sent
You should be able to hit those peaks with at least 4gpm and an optimized setup using a 0040 for soap and 0015 for rinsing.
These were about 40’ to the peaks.
No problem shooting them with just a trigger gun and a 0040.
No extension wand.
Thad - this is pretty much exactly the building, 3 storys with peaks.
Micah - Thanks, I have done a lot of soft washing, but only up to 2 ish storys, and I made the mistake of buying a crappy unit at the beginning of last year, so first order of business is to get a better unit this year. I had this in mind. Honda 4000 PSI Pressure Washer with the general pump. What do you think? I probably cleaned about 30 houses last year and the goal is to more than double that this year, starting off well with this large apartment complex. BTW, where do you buy 0040 and 0015 tip??
I get everything from Pressure Tek.
If you can swing the 8gpm, for for it. Just keep in mind that you will need a buffer tank and that it might not be as easy to downstream with it. A 4gpm will get the job done until you have so much work that it is holding you back.
Have you considered taking the Pressure Washing, SoftWashing, and Roof Cleaning class in Iowa in July?
I’m going for sure. Couldn’t make it down to NOLA, so I was super pumped to see it going on in Iowa. 
I think I will take your advice and go with the 4gpm. I’m also bidding on some fleet washing that would requite a hot unit, so I might as well save my money for a trailer.
Check out this: ladder saver It worked for me !
Yeah, if you can swing the 8gpm, go with that. You won’t regret it. You can always add a hotbox later on to give you hot water.
You will need about a 125 gallon tank minimum to serve as a buffer tank.
I’ve never had problems downtstreaming with my 8gpm, even with 300 foot of hose. But I have heard of some people that have - I’m not sure what they’re doing wrong, other then having the wrong sized injector installed.
how do you set up the tank as a buffer? is there a video out there to show this ?
Home owner water goes into top of tank via float valve - bottom of tank plumbed into your machines
Just make sure you have an inline water filter to keep trash out of your pump… Also, plumb between the tank and the pump with 1 inch line that won’t cavitate or crush.
You will also need to take the bypass line from the unloader and route that back into the tank. This will circulate the water from the pump back into the tank when you’re not actually pulling the trigger on the wand. Keeps the pump cool.
