Only have power washed one location to date. Still reading up on tips and tricks to make the job more efficient.
I have a regular window cleaning client who would like me to give him a quote on power washing the parking lots of 3 of his locations. All the locations have huge oil spots in each parking spot, as it is a chain of auto parts stores.
What would be a degreaser that would help me lift the oil from the concrete? Is a degreaser/soap necessary, or is power washing enough?
Does power washing ever completely get the stains out?
The largest power washer in this area I can find to rent would be a 4.5GPM, 3500PSI unit. Is this going to be enough power to get the job done?
What is going rate for a job like this?
Thanks, and if I can think of more questions, I’ll post them.
[MENTION=16244]squeegees[/MENTION] There is a parallel forum like this one, but dedicated to pressure washing. A goldmine of information and professionals who can easily answer these questions.
Go to the App Store and get the PWRA (Pressure Washing Resource Association )
Use the search feature and in sure you will find the answers to your questions
Yeah that’s a tricky situation. You probably won’t get the oil spots off. Unless some wise guy on here has all the answers. Oils a trick. Even chemicals won’t take it off…
Yeah you might be well off to go into the job saying you can’t get that off… It won’t come off easily… Your best bet… Mandarin magic… Roll it on scrubb it and let sit. Then wash off… Like eight times…
I’m on there to but I’m willing to help anybody out if they ask me that’s just my opinion. They seem afraid to help because they are afraid of you taking there jobs if you do a good job and take care of your good customers they will take care of you bottom line. I been doing it for 8 years but just recently joined the pwra group that’s just my opinion though guys. Peace
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There are a lot of power washing guys that are on both sites. Feel free to ask any question you need an answer to. Someone will either give a direct answer or direct you to someone or somewhere you can get the answer. There are several forums and companies that can help.
You will be hard pressed to get oil up well, especially if you are talking older stains. If you have a cold water unit you will not have much luck at all. One thing you can always do in a situation like that is offer the person the reality of what you think you can do and a free service sample so the expectation of what they will be purchasing will be clear. We sell a lot of commercial work with a simple sample. The contrast sells the customer and you are no longer having to sell based on pricing, the lowest denominator.
Try the PWRA, PWI and Grime scene. They are all good for their emphasis. Guys that have been at this long enough aren’t too worried about new guys. Good luck.
i agree with what’s already been said. unless you have hot water, this job will be a fail. i just refer people to a commercial pressure washing company i know for stuff like this.
i’m straight with the customer on it- “this job requires a hot water unit, which i don’t have. i would hate to make you a promise i can’t keep, so i’m going to refer you to someone who has the equipment to handle this particular project.”
and yes, you don’t buy one of these for the random oil job here or there. you buy one if you want to become a real pressure washing company and want to do commercial work like dumpster pads, restaurant entrances and patios, gas stations etc. oh yeah… and if you can get the work, it will pay for itself in about a week.
Well, I’m glad i just read all of these comments on this subject from experienced pressure washer users. I called and spoke to someone at pressurewashersdirect.com about cleaning oil off of fast food drive throughs and they told me I didn’t need a hot water unit, that a cold water unit and degreaser would work. By the way, how well does a hot water unit work on something like this?
