This blog talks about 10 powerwashing service tips for someone who’s just starting in their business.
It’s not necessarily stuff that people tell you; it’s more about something that is learned over the last couple of years through actually doing the work.
Sanding block paving
For the most consistent results, you must work on paver and sanding. You must brush the sand diagonally with beveled block paving. You don’t want to fill the joints all the way to the top; it’s just a waste of sand, really.
You only need to fill up the joints to the very bottom of the bevel, and this is really important when you’re sealing the surface afterwards.
Power Washing Tips
Sealing block paving with a sprayer
When it comes to sealing, you might want to consider sealing block paving with a sprayer instead of a roller. If you use a roller, you’re going to pull some of that sand from between the joints onto the roller sleeve and spread it across the face of the bricks, and it’s so difficult to rectify once it’s dried. If you’re doing quite a lot of sealing, you might want to consider upgrading to a heavy-duty industrial sprayer, which lasts a lot longer.
Powerwashing wood the right way
When it comes to powerwashing wood, it might take a little longer than you expect. Never use a turbo nozzle on wood; you’re going to leave lots of circular marks. What you want to use instead is a fan jet, like a 45-degree fan jet; they work much better.
Use it in long continuous motions, don’t stop halfway down the panel because you’re going to leave a line, and you want to go with the direction of the grain, not against it. Try not to get too close because you’ll end up splintering the wood.
Generally, the best method for cleaning wood is to give it a light pressure wash to get the majority of the surface dirt off, and then treat it with biocide instead of sodium hypochlorite. Biocide won’t give you instant results, it might take two or three weeks or even months, but it’s a much more gentle approach and it’ll stay clean for a lot longer because it keeps reactivating every time it rains.
Getting the best water flow for power washing
If you’re not using a three-quarter inch hose yet to fill up your buffer tanks or to feed your machine from the customer’s tap, you’re missing out on a much higher potential flow from the customer’s water supply. To get the best flow possible, you need to use a three-quarter inch hose pipe with the 19 mil fittings.
If you’ve got a buffer tank and you’re still using one of those brass ball shut-off valves, you might want to consider switching to one with a much higher flow rate. Combined with the three quarter inch hose it’s a night and day difference.
Choosing a powerwashing machine
When it comes to buying your new machine, there are a few questions you should ask. Does the supplier have a good reputation, are they local to you, are they well known and recommended, and do their machines have good reviews?
Two important things: do they provide good after sales support, and do they sell spare parts to your machine? So just be very wary if you’re gonna buy a Chinese machine, make sure you can get the parts for it, or otherwise buy local.
Stay in your lane
It is important not to stretch yourself too thin when it comes to the amount of services you’re offering, particularly when you’re a new business. Some of that can really become a distraction from the main work that you want to offer. For a new business, it’s a good idea to stick to two or three different services that complement each other.
Stay consistent
The most important piece of advice is to stay consistent. Your business isn’t going to be a success overnight just because you’ve spent a week advertising and buying new equipment. So many people will set up, buy all their equipment, and then be disheartened because they’ve had no work, and end up selling all their equipment. If you don’t want to end up like that, set your expectations, but what you should be doing is staying consistent.
Frequently asked questions
How should you clean a very weedy surface?
If it’s overgrown and you don’t think you’re going to be able to get everything out with your pressure washer alone, you might want to consider pre-treating it with a weed killer. It’s a good idea to do this over 48 hours before you arrive to clean the surface
Can you use hypo on wood without bleaching it?
You can actually use hypo on wood without bleaching it but it must be a really low dilution ratio and you need to really soak the wood as well beforehand so make sure the wood isn’t thirsty; it’s not going to absorb all of that sodium hypochlorite and bleach the wood
Should you pay attention to PSI or flow rate on a power washing machine?
You also want to probably pay more attention to the flow rate than to the PSI figure, that’s what’s going to determine the actual cleaning power of your machine
What determines how long a job is going to take?
One of the main factors that’s going to determine how long the job is going to take you is drainage. You always want to make sure you have a good idea of where all that water is going to end up.
