# jomax clorox alternatives



## Skip (Dec 4, 2011)

Trying to find something as good but not so toxic, any suggestions. Lots of mold issues here in Hawaii. Thanks


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## IHATE_HOMEDEPOT (May 27, 2008)

Hey Lucky to live on an island. I am not sure of anything that kills mildew better than bleach. I feel your pain when it comes to dealing with the stuff, I have it in my eyes on many occasions. If you are trying to just get the surface clean the approach might be resolved with a good cleaner,but if you are trying to erradicate it pryor to applying paint, bleach is best. You can get mildewcide to add to your paint before you apply it. Also I think it is going to stick to glossy paint less.

Sometimes mother nature has the upper hand. There is only so much that painters should be reponsible for really. Maybe hire a seperate cleaning crew to do the bleach/pressure washing? One last thought is that you can get different types of cartridges for your respirator maybe some that are meant for acid gas might be better.


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

I read a post not long ago that said bleach doesn't kill mildew. I will try to find it. It mentioned that it simply bleaches it out but the "roots" remain allowing for it to continue to grow. It then recommended a "mildew cleaner" (something marketed for killing mildew)

I have noticed a higher response to toxins. I have made an effort to eliminate them from my system. Not easy as a painter. I have taken better care with my respirators (maintaining them). I don't drink chlorinated water or water with fluoride in it. With that said...I have researched some alternative for killing mildew. You can google this but VINEGAR is wonderful. It will kill mildew and is antibacterial. It is also cheap. Another alternative is BORAX. This is less toxic but not completely natural. Hope this helps.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

If your application is exterior mold, bleach is fine. This is what I do for a living. Ten years.. thousands of customers. Bleach is a potent oxidizer and kills exterior molds and algaes without question.. at the root. 

Toxicity is determined in anything by dilution. Sodium hydroxide (oven cleaner) is in your toothpaste. Bleach is in your drinking water. If either substance were be all toxic, there would be millions of bodies in mass graves. 

Control your dilution with bleach and life is bliss. There is no alternative to it. Many people have tried to find one and all have failed. There are things that can kill mold but just aren't practical to use.


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## Paradigmzz (May 5, 2010)

Thank you ken. I was sick of defending bleach as a exterior cleaning product for prep to paint. From the pros mouth, the gospel has been spoken.


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## mblosik (Jan 3, 2009)

PressurePros said:


> If your application is exterior mold, bleach is fine. This is what I do for a living. Ten years.. thousands of customers. Bleach is a potent oxidizer and kills exterior molds and algaes without question.. at the root.
> 
> Toxicity is determined in anything by dilution. Sodium hydroxide (oven cleaner) is in your toothpaste. Bleach is in your drinking water. If either substance were be all toxic, there would be millions of bodies in mass graves.
> 
> Control your dilution with bleach and life is bliss. There is no alternative to it. Many people have tried to find one and all have failed. There are things that can kill mold but just aren't practical to use.


I've always used bleach to kill mold. everything elsei have ever tried has been all hype, zero results and a waste of money.

One of my customers is a chemist. he asked me what i was going to do to kill the mold on his home.

i told him pool shock (12.5% sodium hypochlorite) ran through and diluted properly through a pressure washer. 

someone had tried to sell him on jomax and bleach. so, he took it to the lab, ran a test to see what was most effective. 

he told me not to waste my money on the jomax......bleach works just fine by itself. 

i have found that jomax makes it suds up a little more than just bleach, which does increase it's clinging power. but at $19/gallon, there are certainly cheaper surfactants to use.

thanks to Ken for being such an invaluable resource to us painters, who by trade, must sometimes dabble in areas where he is a clear expert!:thumbsup:


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

PressurePros said:


> If your application is exterior mold, bleach is fine. This is what I do for a living. Ten years.. thousands of customers. Bleach is a potent oxidizer and kills exterior molds and algaes without question.. at the root.
> 
> Toxicity is determined in anything by dilution. Sodium hydroxide (oven cleaner) is in your toothpaste. Bleach is in your drinking water. If either substance were be all toxic, there would be millions of bodies in mass graves.
> 
> Control your dilution with bleach and life is bliss. There is no alternative to it. Many people have tried to find one and all have failed. There are things that can kill mold but just aren't practical to use.


The dilution of bleach (chlorine) is toxic at almost any level. Including drinking water. It kills the bacterial flora in your gut causing you to not properly digest your food resulting in the inability to properly extract nutrients. Regarding whether Bleach kills mold or mildew at the root I'm not sure. You would know better than I. However, the concern was the toxicity. While dilution is a good way...one can not prevent some inhalation of this toxin. There is definitely a market for "greener" applications including but not limited to cleaning/pressure washing. Not to mention ones health concerns when working with toxins day in and day out. Additionally, these toxins leach in to your system through your skin. Inhalation is not the only concern here.


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

Here is the link to the post from earlier this month. This was the one mentioning bleach not killing the roots. We have one pro saying it does and another saying it doesn't. 

Which is it?

http://www.painttalk.com/f2/whats-up-bleach-17215/


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

mblosik said:


> i have found that jomax makes it suds up a little more than just bleach, which does increase it's clinging power. but at $19/gallon, there are certainly cheaper surfactants to use.


I think Jomax contains some type of buffered acid and a surfactant. While this can be slightly effective at boosting the cleaning power of bleach (sodium hypochlorite), there are less expensive, synergistic alternatives on the opposite end of the pH scale such as sodium metasilicate (painters may know it as TSP substitute). For a surfactant with sudsy nature and good chelating/rinsing, car wash works very well. The ones with wax can actually enhance the shine a little on vinyl as an added bonus.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

epretot said:


> The dilution of bleach (chlorine) is toxic at almost any level. Including drinking water. It kills the bacterial flora in your gut causing you to not properly digest your food resulting in the inability to properly extract nutrients. Regarding whether Bleach kills mold or mildew at the root I'm not sure. You would know better than I. However, the concern was the toxicity. While dilution is a good way...one can not prevent some inhalation of this toxin. There is definitely a market for "greener" applications including but not limited to cleaning/pressure washing. Not to mention ones health concerns when working with toxins day in and day out. Additionally, these toxins leach in to your system through your skin. Inhalation is not the only concern here.


You make a good point. Sodium hypochlorite is no joke to work around. At 12% it will burn your skin. Breathing it in every day for 8 hrs, even at the .8% we use it at will irritate your lungs. As a professional, you have to use the proper PPE whenever working around chemicals. A good friend of mine works for Coke and took me on a tour through production. the people working in the Diet Coke section were cordoned off like a Level4 Hazmat containment with respirators and chem suits. As consumers, we take in poison in a hundred forms each day. Its good to be educated but it also has to blend with realistic day-to-day living. 

I agree there is a market for "greener" products but, that is what spawns the controversy. I can only speak from experience, the alternatives do not work. The people I see arguing against the use of bleach are usually the ones that have a handy link to a product they sell or have been conned into believing is the holy grail. From an employee liability standpoint, I would love to find alternatives to many of the chems we use. I stay current with chemistry, patents and others in my industry but as of yet, no viable alternatives exist.


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

PressurePros said:


> You make a good point. Sodium hypochlorite is no joke to work around. At 12% it will burn your skin. Breathing it in every day for 8 hrs, even at the .8% we use it at will irritate your lungs. As a professional, you have to use the proper PPE whenever working around chemicals. A good friend of mine works for Coke and took me on a tour through production. the people working in the Diet Coke section were cordoned off like a Level4 Hazmat containment with respirators and chem suits. As consumers, we take in poison in a hundred forms each day. Its good to be educated but it also has to blend with realistic day-to-day living.
> 
> I agree there is a market for "greener" products but, that is what spawns the controversy. I can only speak from experience, the alternatives do not work. The people I see arguing against the use of bleach are usually the ones that have a handy link to a product they sell or have been conned into believing is the holy grail. From an employee liability standpoint, I would love to find alternatives to many of the chems we use. I stay current with chemistry, patents and others in my industry but as of yet, no viable alternatives exist.


I agree nothing works better. I use bleach. It makes me feel horrible no matter what the dilution is. Here is my system for cleaning an exterior...Please don't take offense

1. I never ever use a pressure washer
2. We apply a bleach\TSP solution (garden sprayer)
3. Hand scrub
4. Spray rinse (garden hose)

What are your thoughts. Perhaps you can sway me to use the pressure washer. I personally hate lugging them around. They are noisy. I don't like working on ladders with them. What are your thoughts?


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

I'll give you a quick summation with more details if needed.

• 2500 s.f vinyl house = under 2 hrs.
• Feet never leave the ground.
• Pressure never goes above 400 psi. I market it as SoftTouch washing.
• Machines (10 gpm) are truck mounted so the only thing that comes out is hose.

I have multi-tiered service offerings to fit budgets. A Silver Plan wash for a house that size is generally in the $450 range. The package we sell most often on a house that size is $595 and may take 2.5 hrs for a two-man crew.

Here's a video that may give you a better idea.


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## Ramsden Painting (Jul 17, 2011)

Love the video.. I'm not a fan of pressure washers either and would rather sub it out but when you wash and have a 2 story house, do you use a ladder? Or what about those pesky wasp or hornet next way up in the eves?

Sent from my iPad using PaintTalk


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

Ramsden Painting said:


> Love the video.. I'm not a fan of pressure washers either and would rather sub it out but when you wash and have a 2 story house, do you use a ladder? Or what about those pesky wasp or hornet next way up in the eves?
> 
> Sent from my iPad using PaintTalk


Ladder work is very rare. Strong pumps with the right nozzle let us knock down nests and cobwebs with just enough pressure as to not drive a ton of water into soffit ventilation holes. Stucco chimneys are when we usually have to get up there. For those we have smaller lances (like in the beginning of the video) and fall protection gear. You also get douched with the splash back so face masks are mandatory. Everything else we can hit from the ground.


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

Very nice video. I am convinced your homes are visually very clean. I'm certain you have a lot of very satisfied customers. I just have a tough time believing that if I follow this process the surface is clean enough to paint. It is very possible I'm a terrible pressure washer. The surface always seems cleaner when hand scrubbed.

One other note: I use the fact that I hand wash as a sales tool. The home owner for whatever reason seems to like that. I usually say something like "you don't want someone shooting water into the soffit vents with a pressure washer"


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

Do you use rollers,sprayers??? or do you brush everything as well?? I mean if were going old school why not do it all old school?? Although I cannot see how you could possibly compete.


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## Paradigmzz (May 5, 2010)

epretot said:


> Very nice video. I am convinced your homes are visually very clean. I'm certain you have a lot of very satisfied customers. I just have a tough time believing that if I follow this process the surface is clean enough to paint. It is very possible I'm a terrible pressure washer. The surface always seems cleaner when hand scrubbed.
> 
> One other note: I use the fact that I hand wash as a sales tool. The home owner for whatever reason seems to like that. I usually say something like "you don't want someone shooting water into the soffit vents with a pressure washer"


How clean do you need it? If your paint isn't sticking, use better paint.


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## goldenwest (Aug 11, 2011)

@PressurePros - you advertise "Landscape Friendly" cleaning materials... but isn't bleach harmful to many garden plants and to plants and animals living in water? 

I use bleach all the time here in Holland, but I worry sometimes that the "environment inspectors" will get me. Allowing bleach into a nearby waterway is absolutely NOT allowed... and there are waterways everywhere.


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

Paradigmzz said:


> How clean do you need it? If your paint isn't sticking, use better paint.


My system defines the cleanliness of the substrate to be very very clean. The paint sticks fine because I scrub the crap out of the home. I also use quality paint. No paint sticks to mold and mildew very long. 

How clean do you need it to be? I suppose you could slap on a coat of Duration and not worry about it...right?


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

aaron61 said:


> Do you use rollers,sprayers??? or do you brush everything as well?? I mean if were going old school why not do it all old school?? Although I cannot see how you could possibly compete.


I use rollers on siding and back brush. I brush everything else. I would never even consider spraying an exterior. In my market...I don't have to compete with the sprayers. If any of my customers saw a painter show up with a sprayer on an exterior, they would be asked to leave.


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## Slopmeyer (Aug 2, 2009)

epretot said:


> I use rollers on siding and back brush. I brush everything else. I would never even consider spraying an exterior. In my market...I don't have to compete with the sprayers. If any of my customers saw a painter show up with a sprayer on an exterior, they would be asked to leave.


No offense, but your take on doing everything the hard way and pushing it on customers as the "best way" is just crazy. Technology benefits all and just because you may not know how to spray or how to powerwash is no reason to mock or push your caveman methods of painting and powerwashing on anyone. There are hundreds of painting companies that use all the modern techniques that don't harm peoples property's and provide long lasting paint jobs. 

If the world took your views on "old school" methods we would still be using ether to perform surgeries, go back to cars with no seatbelts or abs,etc..

I am curious though how much you charge to hand wash a home and how long it takes to do one.


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## Slopmeyer (Aug 2, 2009)

No offense, but your take on doing everything the hard way and pushing it on customers as the "best way" is just crazy. Technology benefits all and just because you may not know how to spray or how to powerwash is no reason to mock or push your caveman methods of painting and powerwashing on anyone. There are hundreds of painting companies that use all the modern techniques that don't harm peoples property's and provide long lasting paint jobs. 

If the world took your views on "old school" methods we would still be using ether to perform surgeries, go back to cars with no seatbelts or abs,etc..

I am curious though how much you charge to hand wash a home and how long it takes to do one.


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## IHATE_HOMEDEPOT (May 27, 2008)

epretot said:


> I use rollers on siding and back brush. I brush everything else. I would never even consider spraying an exterior. In my market...I don't have to compete with the sprayers. If any of my customers saw a painter show up with a sprayer on an exterior, they would be asked to leave.


That is quite a statement to say that every single house in your market would not be a good fit for a sprayer. Sprayers are actually just more efficient at applying paint if done correctly with absolutely no compromise in quality. I have seen many a failed areas of a house that actually have had too much applied at once which causes the paint to skin over and not hold up, which is not hard to do on lap siding when trying to achieve a uniform appearance. I can tell by the way of which you speak of your market that it is certainly nice quality and I am sure you are experienced and can also really appreciate a time honored tradition. What about painting a huge eave on a 28' monster?

Signed, not exactly a spray monkey but have a box full of hoods.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

epretot said:


> Very nice video. I am convinced your homes are visually very clean. I'm certain you have a lot of very satisfied customers. I just have a tough time believing that if I follow this process the surface is clean enough to paint. It is very possible I'm a terrible pressure washer. The surface always seems cleaner when hand scrubbed.
> 
> One other note: I use the fact that I hand wash as a sales tool. The home owner for whatever reason seems to like that. I usually say something like "you don't want someone shooting water into the soffit vents with a pressure washer"


I can appreciate your marketing angle. I use the same when it comes to Trex and composite decks. They are very easily marred by even low pressure so we scrub them with a bucket and brush. The time we save from having to rollout bigger equipment makes up for the slower application process and homeonwers love that attention to detail. 

But..

Scrubbing a deck and scrubbing a two or three story house are very different. The house I can wash for $500 would be in the $2000 range hand scrubbed and you know what.. I would put any of my houses against a scrubbed house. The right blend of cleaners, bleach and surfactants with proper rinsing removes everything. On a non-peeling house, this technique is all you will ever need. I've done tons of exterior paint prep and after ten years, I would have heard something by now if it caused issues with adhesion or under-coating mold growth.

I could counteract every sales tool in your arsenal as I'm sure you could do to my presentation. There is more than one way to skin a cat. At the end of the day, for me, it is about delivering what I promise to consumers at a rate that lands jobs and sustains my company.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

goldenwest said:


> @PressurePros - you advertise "Landscape Friendly" cleaning materials... but isn't bleach harmful to many garden plants and to plants and animals living in water?
> 
> I use bleach all the time here in Holland, but I worry sometimes that the "environment inspectors" will get me. Allowing bleach into a nearby waterway is absolutely NOT allowed... and there are waterways everywhere.


I am very careful of the wording I use as there are EPA (gov't) laws governing the use of "green" and "environmentally friendly". My technique is landscape friendly because of the dilutions we use and the vigilance we exercise in keeping plant life watered. By the time the mix hits the soil it is very diluted and does not, as per testing, change soil pH.

Our laws here, governed by the EPA's Clean Water Act allow runoff to be diluted through soil. On the flip side not a single drop can enter storm drains or go near a body of water or stream. Were there will be possible runoff from a house wash down a driveway and into the street, we will use a sand filled berm to contain the water. I am 100% EPA compliant on all jobs we do. I don't take certain jobs that present risk such as pre 1978 painted homes, gas stations, etc.


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## goldenwest (Aug 11, 2011)

Thanks for that reply PressurePro; sounds like you and I are facing similar restrictions. My problem here is that there are water channels everywhere. In the city Gouda many houses are built on a piece of land surrounded by drain-ditches.


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

941owassard said:


> No offense, but your take on doing everything the hard way and pushing it on customers as the "best way" is just crazy. Technology benefits all and just because you may not know how to spray or how to powerwash is no reason to mock or push your caveman methods of painting and powerwashing on anyone. There are hundreds of painting companies that use all the modern techniques that don't harm peoples property's and provide long lasting paint jobs.
> 
> If the world took your views on "old school" methods we would still be using ether to perform surgeries, go back to cars with no seatbelts or abs,etc..
> 
> I am curious though how much you charge to hand wash a home and how long it takes to do one.


Let me clear a few things up for you. Along with your pal Paradigmzz, you have went into smart _ss mode rather than have a civilized conversation.

First, I hand wash every home. With the exception of 1, I have cleaned every home in preparation for painting in 1 day (16 man hours or less). I don't have a set price for this. Just bid it into the job at my normal rate. 

Second, I do quite a bit of spraying. Just not exteriors. I never said there isn't an application for exterior spraying. If I did...quote it and show it to me. Overall, I'm an advocate for spraying. I would also like to know who I mocked. I was having a conversation about Toxins to begin with...then looking for some feed back from PP. Did I mock you or suggest you use my methods? Again...quote it and show it to me.

Furthermore, My work vehicle has seat belts.

Finally, Ether is a toxin. I don't like it.


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## Paradigmzz (May 5, 2010)

epretot said:


> Let me clear a few things up for you. Along with your pal Paradigmzz, you have went into smart _ss mode rather than have a civilized conversation.
> 
> First, I hand wash every home. With the exception of 1, I have cleaned every home in preparation for painting in 1 day (16 man hours or less). I don't have a set price for this. Just bid it into the job at my normal rate.
> 
> ...


My first comment had nothing to do with you. My second I will explain and will start with an apology for hurting your feelings. 

I do not understand the need to hand scrub a house and use that many man hours and be exposed to that long a period of time and proximity to harsh chemicals that can be easily negated. I understand tried and time honored methods, but I do not see any advantage to what you suggest. Hand scrubbing will not honestly provide more tooth, and exterior paints have come a long way. I'm sorry if my shorthand response did not convey the same substance as this response, but i only check PT on my phone and short and to the point is a heck of a lot easier on a touch screen. 

Why do you advocate hand scrubbing as a better answer in regards to prep? I try to keep my walking in the flower beds around houses to a minimum, this would be asking for even more ladder moves than I want my guys taking in delicate areas.


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## Paradigmzz (May 5, 2010)

....


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

Paradigmzz said:


> My first comment had nothing to do with you. My second I will explain and will start with an apology for hurting your feelings.
> 
> I do not understand the need to hand scrub a house and use that many man hours and be exposed to that long a period of time and proximity to harsh chemicals that can be easily negated. I understand tried and time honored methods, but I do not see any advantage to what you suggest. Hand scrubbing will not honestly provide more tooth, and exterior paints have come a long way. I'm sorry if my shorthand response did not convey the same substance as this response, but i only check PT on my phone and short and to the point is a heck of a lot easier on a touch screen.
> 
> Why do you advocate hand scrubbing as a better answer in regards to prep? I try to keep my walking in the flower beds around houses to a minimum, this would be asking for even more ladder moves than I want my guys taking in delicate areas.


Thank You, I now realize you didn't mean anything by it. 

You make good points. Especially about ladder moves and flower beds. We pride ourselves on protecting the landscape. We are especially careful of plants, flower, bushes, etc. 

Basically, this is how I came to this conclusion. I held a pressure washer 1" away from some mildew on a gutter and it didn't come clean. I sprayed some Krud Kutter on it and wiped it off in 10 seconds. I have had similar results on rough sawn siding. Also, I was always climbing to a hard to reach area anyway.

The customers love it. It's just that simple. They talk and talk and talk about how I scrub things by hand. I don't have any other real good reason. Perhaps I could use some lessons on pressure washing. I have had at least 25% of my exterior customers tell me the hand washing was a major reason for selecting me to do the job.


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## vicvinegar (Oct 16, 2012)

*Bleach*

Mold will not be killed by bleach because you are diluting bleach with water and the food for mold is water - so if you have mold and you clean it with water you will have mold again unless you use a mold inhibitor and scrub and the use a mold resistant paint or spray. Bleach will not kill mold. That is why there were huge problems with mold in apartment buildings and when they tried to clean mold with bleach and water - especially on sheet rock it is basically feeding the mold. Trust me it does not kill mold.


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## Custom Brush Co. (Jan 26, 2011)

What you are selling is that you "care" which is the underlying cause of most sales if not all...

My clients love us because of our "complete & thorough prep work" & caulking style. This is where we show we care. 

Furthermore, when we pressure wash prior to painting we simply use the pressure washer only at approximately 2500 psi. Getting close & moving fast enough as to not damage the substrate, exposing loose areas of paint, cleaning off any dirt & mildew. Average time spent on a home with 1 person is 2 to 6 hrs max on average.

When pressure washing for maintenance we use simple green house & siding wash applying it with the PW soaper gun. Then we hand scrub 100% the entire home with a soft green commercial "truck brush" head on extension pole. Once scrubbed clean we then use the pressure washer to only rinse the siding. Average time spent this route with 1 person is 6 to 12hrs.

Finally... Rarely, only when dealing with a significant amount of mold do we use bleach. Stuff just isn't enjoyable to work with.


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## ridesarize (Jun 19, 2012)

Skip said:


> Trying to find something as good but not so toxic, any suggestions. Lots of mold issues here in Hawaii. Thanks


Companies I have worked for have used bleach a lot to power wash, and some have learned not to use it from experiences. It is not good for many homes, especially when doing shakes on siding.
Another product we use although still like bleach is 30 second cleaner, not super environment friendly but it works awesome for mildew.
Another is Ben Moore's Clean which they say is non bleach (but really has small amount of sodium hypochlorite?) it is an oxigenating cleaner , it's mild on us and works well, and doesn't bleach out existing paint or siding.
Yet another is the bio-wash which is excellent but costs more, oh well customers want effective and conscientious work done. 

As for cleaning from ground I don't believe in it. I have to paint behind other employee's/people's wash jobs sometimes and see up close when the fan wasn't directed at building squarely enough, or when back side of soffet was missed or passed by too quick. I've used the extension poles for washing from ground and I say no way for the custom home. 
How would you get the inside of a corval clean or backside of beams, posts?
Also on shakes you should wash in a vertical direction and you can't do that with a long pole going straight up, can you? honest question.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

ridesarize said:


> Companies I have worked for have used bleach a lot to power wash, and some have learned not to use it from experiences. It is not good for many homes, especially when doing shakes on siding.
> Another product we use although still like bleach is 30 second cleaner, not super environment friendly but it works awesome for mildew.
> Another is Ben Moore's Clean which they say is non bleach (but really has small amount of sodium hypochlorite?) it is an oxigenating cleaner , it's mild on us and works well, and doesn't bleach out existing paint or siding.
> Yet another is the bio-wash which is excellent but costs more, oh well customers want effective and conscientious work done.
> ...


If you are talking about cedar (or any wood) shakes, there is a different cleaning method. Still most likely would involved bleach but a more involved process that would include washing up close and personal. Every project has its specific issues and there is no one-size-fits-all. For me, washing is what I do and I have learned what works and what does not.


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## Monstertruck (Oct 26, 2013)

So much conflicting information and differing opinions!

We've tried many of the products billed as 'mildew removers'.
We always come back to bleach, even though the science on the subject says it's ineffective for porous surfaces such as exterior wood because bleach doesn't penetrate to the roots. When we're done the surface sure looks like the mildew is gone. Sometimes it takes several applications.

Sure would be nice if there were an alternative as bleach sure is nasty to work with no matter how diluted it is.

Wear that respirator!!!


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## Wood511 (Dec 13, 2010)

I had a few areas around my place that get little sun...a stairwell, some siding and some stone areas. Those areas were pretty green and the prior homeowners said we'd need to pressure wash twice a year. I bought this product called "wet & forget" - it's basically oxygenated bleach with a bit of aluminum chloride to help with durability.

The stuff sounds like something out of a midnight infomercial and I was seriously skeptical, but it worked great. I applied it in July and everything is still mold/mildew free in those areas now in mid November. It was literally 5:1 water diluted and applied with a garden sprayer and it was done.

I also tried a bit on a 3 year old weathered wooden (PT unstained) fence...with the sprayer and it had no effect whatsoever.


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## ridesarize (Jun 19, 2012)

I believe I've seen that bottle before, says to let rain wash it off.


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## ridesarize (Jun 19, 2012)

Hi pressure pros, yes that sounds very reasonable. Looks like at least one of the homes on your site might have taken very much upclose work, that mansion looking home. looks good though. Take it easy..


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## NACE (May 16, 2008)

Fiberlock IAQ 6000 Cleaner. Shockwave to kill mold. Only product EPA Registered. Used tons in the clean up after Superstorm Sandy.

Sent from my iPhone using PaintTalk


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## O'Brien (Feb 24, 2011)

NACE said:


> Fiberlock IAQ 6000 Cleaner. Shockwave to kill mold. Only product EPA Registered. Used tons in the clean up after Superstorm Sandy.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using PaintTalk


This is on it's way to Canada shortly, will be trying it out in the spring.


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## MKap (Sep 11, 2010)

Wood511 said:


> I had a few areas around my place that get little sun...a stairwell, some siding and some stone areas. Those areas were pretty green and the prior homeowners said we'd need to pressure wash twice a year. I bought this product called "wet & forget" - it's basically oxygenated bleach with a bit of aluminum chloride to help with durability.
> 
> The stuff sounds like something out of a midnight infomercial and I was seriously skeptical, but it worked great. I applied it in July and everything is still mold/mildew free in those areas now in mid November. It was literally 5:1 water diluted and applied with a garden sprayer and it was done.
> 
> I also tried a bit on a 3 year old weathered wooden (PT unstained) fence...with the sprayer and it had no effect whatsoever.


I've used the wet and forget for roofs. Kills the moss and litchens and the rain washes it off.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

Wood511 said:


> I had a few areas around my place that get little sun...a stairwell, some siding and some stone areas. Those areas were pretty green and the prior homeowners said we'd need to pressure wash twice a year. I bought this product called "wet & forget" - it's basically oxygenated bleach with a bit of aluminum chloride to help with durability.
> 
> The stuff sounds like something out of a midnight infomercial and I was seriously skeptical, but it worked great. I applied it in July and everything is still mold/mildew free in those areas now in mid November. It was literally 5:1 water diluted and applied with a garden sprayer and it was done.
> 
> I also tried a bit on a 3 year old weathered wooden (PT unstained) fence...with the sprayer and it had no effect whatsoever.


Don't think its oxygenated bleach. 
Active ingredients Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride 9.9%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzalkonium_chloride

Very toxic to fish.


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## Wood511 (Dec 13, 2010)

straight_lines said:


> Don't think its oxygenated bleach.
> Active ingredients Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride 9.9%
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzalkonium_chloride
> ...


Ammonium chloride is also in throat lozenges and contact lens solution. In this application, it's a wetting agent. It basically causes the 5% sodium percarbonate solution to "stick" to whatever it's applied to and stay there for a while. You spray it on and let it dry. Rain isn't going to wash it off, but it will slowly dissolve and neutralize over the course of months.

Ammonium chloride is also used to coat animal feed to prevent mildew etc... 

It's basically the same oxygenated bleach we use to wash decks, with aluminum chloride added to make it "sticky". It's also in Jomax.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

Not trying to be argumentative but ammonium chloride is not the same compound you are referring to as the active ingredients in wet and forget. Its also not the same as oxygenated bleach that would be sodium percab. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_percarbonate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_chloride

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzalkonium_chloride


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