…
I use about 1 gallon of chlorine to 3.5 gallons of water and never had any problems in 5 years, I may use more when needed, start out low chlorine and strengthen mix as needed.
I was just pointing out that you put the cart in front of the horse. Like we all do sometimes. And I didn’t say anything negative about you. And you totally changed your post from “Thanks for the info Don, what would you suggest I use. Any Questions about window cleaning give me a call” to this? LOL.
See you around in St. Charles.
That was before I saw your post. I appreciate that and I think we can all be friends here.
Kurt, just a heads up- if the power wash guys catch you using their pics without permission they will go straight to your hosting company and get your website yanked. I’ve seen it happen numerous times. If any of those pics are “borrowed” without permission I would lose them fast.
TSP being misused?? By employees while the boss isn’t looking?? NO way:rolleyes:
Somebody notify Dange!
Also if somebody played chemist before (to watch the foaming show), they might not have got all of the residual out of the plastic containers used for mixing so the new mixes may have been contaminated.
That mix is more in line with our old standard pressure washing practices.This was the mix I used to use for vinyl siding. Soft wash guys step up the chemicals to bring down the pressure.
It was too hot of a mix without proper rinsing. Try it, spray a strong bleach solution on a dirty vinyl window frame and don’t rinse it. You’ll notice it will turn a red/orange hue. It will also kill vegetation, so be careful with overspray.
Well Brett we just apply with an x-jet m-5 and then rinse with the x-jet, I think thats pretty low pressure.
Please elaborate… We have toyed around with different mixes for 5 years to get the one we use now and two of the ingredients “are off the shelf.” What difference does it make if you buy it in a store or from a warehouse?
Not a bit of difference if your results are acceptable and predictable.
Everyone goes through their ‘experimental phase’ when it comes to PW mixes. Hopefully nothing irreversible happens while they’re figuring it out. Or you get a post like “Help, I heard some dudes talking about what a great cleaner sodium metasilicate is so I added a shload of it to my bleach and how do you get the white haze off of all the windows?”
I personally got tired of experimenting and have stuck with an excellent cleaner specifically formulated for power washing. To each his own, but to anyone (not you, Steve) who is experimenting with powerful cleaning and oxidizing agents- be prepared to pony up when you make a mistake.
Piggy backing to Thad’s post, “playing” and “experimenting” with the chemicals we use in pressure washing and soft washing can be dangerous not only to property, but also to your health, including your clients and those around you. Chemical reactions can ignite, explode, burn, produce harmful gas, or best case scenario; totally cancel each other out.
Make sure you know what you’re doing before you attempt it.
I totally agree, we don’t mess with anything like that. I was talking more about stuff like Simple Green or other de-greasers, not stuff like methyl-ethyl-death. Thanks for the clarification.
That’s why it’s so fun though, sheese!
Kurt,
I agree with the other posts that your mixture may be a little to strong. With your mixture I would make sure you are wetting plants, and all exterior surfaces before your apply soap, and then rinse well. Never apply soap on a dry surface. I use a 5 Gallon Mixture. 1.5 Gallons of Bleach, 2 Cups of Simple Cherry, splash of Dawn Soap, and top it off with water. When I apply the soap I let it sit for about 2-3 minutes but I do not let it dry. Glad to hear that you were able to fix the problem also.
Guys-
I pulled the followoing together from posts by Thad and Micah (and I did a bit of math on my own). Let me know if this is correct.
[SIZE=“3”][B]Pressure Washing Cleaning Solution Recipe[/B][/SIZE]
2 gallons of fresh 12.5% sodium hypochlorite
3 gallons of water
16 ounces (1 lb.) of Simple Cherry powder
The sodium hypochlorite must be new or “fresh” because its strength breaks down quickly in storage.
Pre-mix the Simple Cherry in one of the gallons of water to aid dissolving. Add the sodium hypochlorite and remaining water. For really bad mold/mildew, increase the strength of the cleaning solution by using three gallons of sodium hypochlorite and two gallons of water.
[B][SIZE=“3”]Determining the Amount of Cleaning Solution Applied[/SIZE][/B]
If you want know the exact amount of solution you are applying, fill up a 5-gallon bucket with water, and time how long it takes you to empty that bucket with your downstream injector. Then, compare that elapsed time with the gallons-per-minute (GPM) rating of the pressure washer. Once you know exactly what percentage you’re pulling through the injector, you can calculate your ratio of cleaners to mix into the 5-gallon bucket for proper cleaning.
[U]Example[/U]
Let’s say you have a 5 GPM pressure washer, and it takes 15 minutes to empty a 5-gallon bucket of cleaning solution. The total amount of liquid applied to the house is determined as follows:
[U]5 gallons[/U] x 15 minutes = 75 gallons
minute
Since five of those gallons were solution, 70 gallons must have been water. Next, determine the ratio of water to cleaning solution.
[U]70 gallons[/U] = 14 or a 14:1 ratio
5 gallons
[U]5 gallons[/U] = .06666… or approximately 7%
75 gallons
Thus, the ratio of water to cleaning solution was 14:1. Looking at this another way, approximately 7% of the liquid applied was cleaning solution.
If it takes less than 15 minutes to empty your bucket, then the ratio is higher than 14:1; if it takes longer, then the ratio is less than 14:1. The formula above will help you determine the ratio for your pressure washer/injector/tip combination.
[U]Notes[/U]
The keys to getting a decent downstreaming ratio are a good injector, a high GPM gun, and a short downstreaming intake hose.
While these calculations are helpful, they will only provide an approximate calculation of your cleaning solution strength because you don’t actually know the real strength of your “12.5%” sodium hypochlorite due to its relatively short shelf-life.
As a general rule of thumb, you want the mold and algae to disappear after about 5-7 minutes of dwell time. Any slower than this indicates that your mix is probably too weak (add more sodium hypochlorite); any faster means it’s too strong (add more water to your downstreaming bucket).
