# Pressure washing houses



## Paintwerks

When you guys pressure wash a house prior to painting to kill the mildew with bleach. Do you tarp or plastic off all roofs, decks and driveways so the bleach doesn't stain it. Is there an easier way.

Thanks Dan


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## Brian

We usually wet things down and then immediately rinse. The cleaning solution we use doesn't have a lot of bleach, so it's usually not a problem with decks, roofs, etc. Tarping would be a hassle.

Brian Phillips


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## slickshift

A great big hassle

I do use as little bleach as possible, and not through the machine
So I only hit the spots I have to with bleach

Still, I have had to have guys holding tarps and such where weird gables and dormers would have meant possibly bleaching parts of roofs


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## Humble Abode

I agree with the above. It's all about dilution. Soak the surrounding area and pre-rinse the house.


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## MAK-Deco

I use a bleach solution as well put it on with pump sprayer and rinse with PW i will cover some ground cover directly underneath where I am at buts thats it. I doing on tomorrow morning! all new landscaping coming in May so no problems with killing anything.


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## Workaholic

MAK-Deco said:


> I use a bleach solution as well put it on with pump sprayer and rinse with PW i will cover some ground cover directly underneath where I am at buts thats it. I doing on tomorrow morning! all new landscaping coming in May so no problems with killing anything.


Ditto, i also have never had problems with killing plants or anything, except hornets, a bleach mix kills them.


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## Humble Abode

I never cover anything and I downstream tons of bleach. I've never had a problem... yet.


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## STUMPFOOT

MAK-Deco said:


> I use a bleach solution as well put it on with pump sprayer and rinse with PW i will cover some ground cover directly underneath where I am at buts thats it. I doing on tomorrow morning! all new landscaping coming in May so no problems with killing anything.


 
Me to, then you can pick and choose where the bleach goes and dilute it with the pressure washer.


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## slickshift

Humble Abode said:


> I never cover anything and I downstream tons of bleach. I've never had a problem... yet.


You don't get shed dormers on wood shingled roofs over there eh?
:laughing:


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## Brushslingers

Heh, I don't.. however, gotta be careful of decks here... had ONE incident pumpspraying a gutter way ahead of the p/w... left a line.... bleh.


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## Paintwerks

Thanks so much guys. I really not worried about flowers or bushes. More worried about cedar shake roofs and deck floors changing color, even asphalt driveways will dry down with a white haze over it.

Thanks again 

Dan


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## Humble Abode

slickshift said:


> You don't get shed dormers on wood shingled roofs over there eh?
> :laughing:


 
LOL you've got me there. Cedar roofs are few and far between in this county. You see them a lot in the wealthier neighborhoods though. 

In fact I am doing one in a month with dog house dormers and a really moldy/mossy cedar shake roof... Thanks for the heads up, I may have had to learn that lesson the hard way. I really can't afford to do any free roof cleaning this summer. :thumbsup:


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## welovepainting

Humble Abode said:


> I never cover anything and I downstream tons of bleach. I've never had a problem... yet.



Same Here !!!


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## PressurePros

Everybody pretty much nailed it. 
• Pre-wet
• Use the lowest possible chem dilution that gets the job done (which is about 1.5% sodium hypochlorite hitting the house) 
• Don't let chem mix dry anywhere

Driveway rinsing is where you will regret buying anything less than a 4 gpm machine. You best bet is to run the garden hose at that point.


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## Slopmeyer

Humble Abode said:


> I never cover anything and I downstream tons of bleach. I've never had a problem... yet.


Totally agree! Bleach the crap out of it. Haven't killed anything yet


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## HeadHoncho

PressurePros said:


> Everybody pretty much nailed it.
> • Pre-wet
> • Use the lowest possible chem dilution that gets the job done (which is about 1.5% sodium hypochlorite hitting the house)
> • Don't let chem mix dry anywhere
> 
> Driveway rinsing is where you will regret buying anything less than a 4 gpm machine. You best bet is to run the garden hose at that point.


Right on! Great answer. Pre-wetting is key! Also, if you use well water it can be hard water and leave a white haze over everything. Next time it rains it will wash off the hard water.


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## Roof Cleaning

We use a cone nozzle on a 5/8 garden hose with a on/off valve.
Ken nailed it.

Like Ken said it can be a pita rinsing the driveway. When it gets real hot and the water dries leaving dirt and mud. Sometimes we will hold the garden hose with the surface cleaner (or jammed into the handle) to keep everything wet.

Usually we just place the garden hose at the top of the drive while we rinse to gain more gpm.


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## 4ThGeneration

Never worry about a roof when it comes to washing a house down because the Down Streamer never puts out the chem strong enough to touch a roof. That's one reason people don't use a power washer for roofs. The other is that most contractors donot know that low pressure washing techniques should be used on the house and not high pressure. keep the high pressure to the concrete through surface cleaners.


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## Martinez

Paintwerks said:


> When you guys pressure wash a house prior to painting to kill the mildew with bleach. Do you tarp or plastic off all roofs, decks and driveways so the bleach doesn't stain it. Is there an easier way.
> 
> Thanks Dan


 First off always spray the roof with pool clorox bleach first. Let it sit for a while then pressure wash area. The water and bleach will mix together not harming any drive way. Areas where there are tarps, be careful! Don't bleach it all all because it can stain it.


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## Roof Cleaning

If you are cleaning the roof and there are no gutters over the driveway you will have an effect on the driveway.

The solution will come off of the roof and bleach the driveway where the run off drips. If the driveway is dirty or not just cleaned you will see the difference.

When we make a mess on a clients driveway, we clean the entire driveway.
And by mess meaning our overspray cleans the dripline and the rest of the drive is a moldy mess. 

Another reason to charge accordingly. Plus the client will think you over delivered. I tell them it's like cleaning you car and not using wheel shine.


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## Bobbo

I apply a mixture of house wash / mildew killer with a 2 gallon masonry & wood sprayer that I get from Home Depot for about $20 . I apply it at close range to keep over spray to a minimum as well as wetting the surrounding areas down before and after the power washing process . I've never had any problem with this method for over 20 years now


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## Roof Cleaning

Nice 

You know what also works great for shooting bleach?

Get an old soda syrup container. You can fill it with bleach and they are set up to be pressurized with air. You know the ones that are behind the bar that use carbonation mix??

I helped out a good friend one time on a project that was a little too much for him and was so impressed with his DIY system. I think the cylinder he had held about 8 gallons? Shot great also! He had about a 15 foot braided line on it. He had a few of them set up and used a small compressor to fill them.


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