Hello!
I wanted to figure out if there is something I’ve misunderstood about softwash.
I see people buying softwash kits.
I already have the brush, pump and tank. If I have a softwash applicator then I only need to put chemicals into the wfp tank and go to work.
Is that right?
I think after a softwash job I’m supposed to flush the system with untreated water to prevent damage to the pump - but is there something else to know?
What? People put chemicals thru their WFP
the words “soft wash” can mean a lot of things.
Soft washing is a technique of cleaning. You use soap and water (LOW pressure).
Don’t over think it
I understood “softwash” to be chemical cleaning with low pressure, pressure washer. Water Fed Pole is for pure water cleaning of windows and vehicles. No?
I understood the same but I saw some people who have WFP equipment buying $1000+ soft washing kits and I’m wondering why they weren’t using their existing wfp tanks and pumps.
Dave might be right - could be over thinking it.
Two different opoerations.
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To get you started, soft wash has a few different meanings. Most people who wash houses use a pressure washer (4+ gpm) with low pressure tips and either a downstream injector or an xjet nozzle to apply a diluted solution of Sodium Hypochlorite (aka chlorine bleach, liquid pool shock, SH, etc) and a surfactant (soap) such as Elemonator.
Soft washing can be accomplished using a 12v pump, but it is generally considered less efficient. And people use larger pumps than what’s used for wfp, generally in the 5 to 7 gpm range (they put out much less than that volume after the restrictions of the hose and other plumbing, making them less efficient at applying and rinsing chemical as a pressure washer).
The 12v pumps are well suited for applying higher concentrations of solution than can be done with a DS injector or xjet, so a lot of guys use them for asphalt shingle roof cleaning and similarly porous substrates.
If your a window cleaner the best way to start out is with a 4gpm machine.
For me I started with one 4gpm ,an then added another used one for back up
I always hooked up to the customers water source.
IS it harder than having a rig with a buffer tank, an no unloading a machine an loading
Yes !! An it’s slower !!
I’m on a house right now. House wash , fence wash an pavers $ 800. An I’ll be done in 3 hours. Well 4 cause I’m writing this.
So you can make good money with a inferior set up , but you will work a little harder
Just have to price your jobs right.
Your not going to start An all of a sudden do 5 days a week of power washing.
So why get the equipment first. An soft washing is just low pressure house wash which can be achieved with a power washer.
If you want to say soft wash can only be done with a roof pump fine , then all you need is a low pressure house wash to clean fences , an houses , which is what a power washer is for
Very interesting - thanks Alex
That’s a nice hourly rate @Majestic66 - I believe you of course because I’ve a sense of what is possible with the right people, tools, technique and pricing but I expect in my country few cleaners would believe $100 per hour is possible. I think the key is to abstract away from hourly rates because it’s not just about labour anymore but there is going to a lot of offended white collar workers in the future. It’s the future but not the one promised to the middle class. I was listening to a pro cabinet maker - he won’t look at you for <50k job.
Exactly. Very early in my journey of self-employment, I decided that I would sell results, not time. Sometimes I take a hit when a job takes way longer than I was expecting. But overall it has worked to my advantage. Most self-employed service people in my area would not believe my hourly rates are possible, because their whole lives they’ve been working on that flawed premise of time=money.
Good equipment and proficiency allows me to leverage my time and sell better results than my competitors for similar pricing, and it so happens I spend a lot less time delivering those results.
99% of my customers have no problem with what I make per hour or day, because they know what results they’re paying for. Those that do have some insecurities about what I make don’t stay my customers for long.
If there willing to take the risk , an commit to what it takes to build a successful business , then go for it. It’s a lot of hard work ,an motivation to make this happen. It’s nit as easy as they’d like to think.
Of course when someone who works for a company hears these hourly rates they think all that money goes in our pockets.
Which we all know isn’t so.
Also we need to realize this isn’t a year round business. Especially power washing !!
So if your not making good hourly wages what happens when the phones stop ringing ?
This has to be a part of your pricing structure. This is my Lively hood I’m not the weekend warrior.
I work with 2 guys if I was by myself On that job you can add another hour an a half 2 hours to it. But that is not the point .
There is always going it be someone that will do it cheaper. It’s very hard to compare apples to apples when it comes to service company. If they’re price shopping An want the cheapest guy then let’s not be the type of company they’re are looking for.
When someone says the other guy did it cheaper ,or is willing to do it cheaper. His prices shouldn’t mean anything to you . You don’t know who he is . Not should ya care.
anyone can go to Home Depot am Buy a squeegee , or a Power washer , an call themselves a Window cleaner/Power washer I’m not competing with that guy.
That’s not to say therr aren’t good companies out there , becisse there is
My prices is my price there price is there price
If I couldn’t keep busy at my pricing structure then it would have to change. That’s what dictates your price in my eyes. Not what some customer tells me they got something done for.
When your finished with a job , an your customer is happy An they have no problem paying what you quoted them that’s when you know your good.
Of cource there always going to be that one that says wow your done already !
They’re expectation level was it should of took longer. Not your problem !! The majority rules.
Also go get something’s done on your house or ask a friend what he paid for the last Things he had done
I had the the pest control guy out he did termite traps all around the house
850 it took him 2 hours. I just had A plumber come the other day. My toilet bowl was leaking out the bottom an it wouldn’t flush. It needed to be roto roooted. 140 it took him half an hour not even. I was talking to him so it prob slowed him up. Lol
That’s just a couple so look at those rates 
