# best set up for washing houses and details?



## Dave Mac (May 4, 2007)

just wondering what you think the best set up for washing houses is??

we have always washed houses for painting, and never put much thought into maximizing effeciency. Thats changing now. 

How many gpm?
Type of trailor?
how much hoses?

etc all suggestions are appreciated

thanks
dave


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Good topic. We usually just grab a washer toss it into the truck and go. We bought a new powerwasher this fall (belt drive 4.0 gpm to replace a 3.x gpm direct drive).

Now, it sounds like compared to the stuff pressure pros and others are throwing down, we are in the dark ages. 

We did hook up 2 hoses from the machine to the wand to limit moving the pump around the homes. We got a 6,000 sq. ft(floor space) home done in 4 hours with that set-up. A couple heavily stained areas top trim needed a little extra attention during painting with hand cleaning, but that was it.

Now, if we can get the windows to rinse clean, that would help. I am also wondering if we need to get the reservoir tank in the future. Hope not.


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## Dave Mac (May 4, 2007)

Dean as far as a reserve tank I think as long as the house is putting out 4gpm you should be ok. However I here some houses on well water may put less out. I have ran into that problem once this year.

Not sure how it works with two guns though


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Dave Mac said:


> just wondering what you think the best set up for washing houses is??
> 
> 
> How many gpm?
> ...


PressurePros can probably answer this the best. As far as im concerned hes one of the best and most efficient washing guys on this site. :thumbsup: I was waiting for him to chime in, but no luck so far  Maybe send him a PM, hey may not want to give out too much info on his setup publicly.


On a side note. Do any of you "sub out" washing work? Seems like it would be a good idea to me, if you could hook up with a company like Pressure's. Have them come through and do the cleaning, then your company come through and finish. Could go back and forth pretty well. They get calls just to wash, and could recommend you if the customer needs finish work done.

In lean times like these, increasing efficiency is king. Most prices are so low, theres no room to trim any more, so all thats left is increasing efficiency to improve profit margin.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

Hey guys, been tied up in a couple things. Saw this last night before bed and had to wait til this morning to reply.

Dave, "best setup" questions are answered the same way "best car" questions are... what's your budget?

For a guy with a decent amount of house washing for paint prep and wants to expand later into more washing, I would recommend 5.6 gpm to 8 gpm. Skip on the hot water unless you have commercial flatwork accounts. 

For under $3K you can get a machine like this: http://www.pressuretek.com/bedr8gpm35ps.html. Its not exactly what I would call portable with a 20hp Honda, but it doesn't take up a ton of space. Plumb it to a 100 gallon reserve, install hose reels and you are good to go.

A box truck is my favorite setup. To do painting and serious washing you would need at least a box or a dual axle enclosed trailer. I'm not a fan of open trailers though they are definitely efficient.

We run 150' of high pressure hose on reel (with 2 50' backup lengths) and 100 feet of contractor grade 3/4" supply hose.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Dave Mac said:


> Dean as far as a reserve tank I think as long as the house is putting out 4gpm you should be ok. However I here some houses on well water may put less out. I have ran into that problem once this year.
> 
> Not sure how it works with two guns though



Just to clarify, we were not running two guns, but added hose sections together to get more range without having to move the pump.


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## Dave Mac (May 4, 2007)

PressurePros said:


> Hey guys, been tied up in a couple things. Saw this last night before bed and had to wait til this morning to reply.
> 
> Dave, "best setup" questions are answered the same way "best car" questions are... what's your budget?
> 
> ...


Sure is nice having this Ken guy around here :thumbsup:

I find cleaning the exterior of gutters is the most time consuming thing when washing a house (not for painting) Need to find some sort of electric sprayer that can spray the straight chemical on the gutter from the ground for most houses. Any ideas


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## Dave Mac (May 4, 2007)

NCPaint1 said:


> PressurePros can probably answer this the best. As far as im concerned hes one of the best and most efficient washing guys on this site. :thumbsup: I was waiting for him to chime in, but no luck so far  Maybe send him a PM, hey may not want to give out too much info on his setup publicly.
> 
> 
> On a side note. Do any of you "sub out" washing work? Seems like it would be a good idea to me, if you could hook up with a company like Pressure's. Have them come through and do the cleaning, then your company come through and finish. Could go back and forth pretty well. They get calls just to wash, and could recommend you if the customer needs finish work done.
> ...


 
Yea ken is a big help and has helped me find good info.

As far as subbing out we do a few hundred jobs a year , Im not subbing the washing out, to much of a oppurtunity for my company, but I do sub out the painting lol, but I would like to find some painters that want to sub their washing to me.


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## Pressure Cleaning (Nov 1, 2007)

There was a company about 4 years ago out of Baltimore that tried a sales pitch with customers against us about their larger equipment and after each home owner and I finished laughing I book the job. That company has since stop providing pressure washing services and is now offering decking building services. 

The commercial contractor needs such equipment for effective cleaning and productivity which helps them lower labor cost as they’re cleaning upwards of 10,000 sq ft per a location. 

If your residential pressure washing company’s request for service consist mostly of brick or stone homes, driveways and patios I may see purchasing such equipment. However if your residential pressure washing business is as ours with request mostly of wood, vinyl, hardie plank and aluminum siding cleaning or deck restoration services I can’t find any value in having over a 4gpm pressure washer. *Productivity savings is out wade by other factors*. This is also based on the size of surface being cleaned now I can tell from photos what another company’s average sq ft is. Also your 4gpm washer will out run your deck staining crew anyway (“All Day Everyday”). 

We build mounts for our 4gpm washers so we don’t tote them around; we have 150ft 4000 psi pressure hose reels mounted, 100ft water hose reel setup and 150ft chemical hose reel all truck mounted.


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## Dave Mac (May 4, 2007)

PC after reading for hours and hours on this subject about 8gpm verse 4 gpm I have to say your view is shared by only one other poster who I belive has never actually tried a 8 gpm machine. I appreciate yo suggestion all the same. I have a 4 gpm machine and its great, I sure would like to rent a 8 gpm machine and see for myself, I have never used a 8gpm. Why is thurat you like the 4 gpm for house washing better?? thanks for sharing, how do you handle gutters that need the exterior cleaned?? We did a house today sprayed some spray 9 on them and they came out like new no scrubbing just rinse off, yesterday we did a couple of houses and had to brake out the scrub brush to get the gutters clean. I need to come up with a policy for this, it takes a couple of extra hours it scrub them gutters


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## Pressure Cleaning (Nov 1, 2007)

This isn’t about one washer being better than the other for me, it’s about from which one can yield a higher profit. The theory is the bigger the washer the faster one can clean however the cash value gained from speed on such a small cleaning area I find to be lost on other expenses not incurred by using the 4gpm washer. 

We use Zep house wash cleaner from HD (the red/pink stuff). We mix it strong as we need by adding more or less water at full strength it will take any dirt right off gutters. We us Zep for gutter cleaning only.


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## premierpainter (Apr 17, 2007)

Get yourself an X-Jet as well. I just wish that they would make the parts non-corosive. I have rebuilt it two times. We use a 4gpm, MiTiM. Love it and you can't kill it. 8 gpm would be tough. Most homes can't even draw close to that amount of water.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

premierpainter said:


> Get yourself an X-Jet as well. I just wish that they would make the parts non-corosive. I have rebuilt it two times. We use a 4gpm, MiTiM. Love it and you can't kill it. 8 gpm would be tough. Most homes can't even draw close to that amount of water.


Downstreaming is the way to go. X-Jets are good for holding papers down on a dashboard. 

You should have a reserve tank on your 4 gpm as well. If there is no fresh water supply to cool the water shooting from the pump into the unloader and back into the pump, it can overheat and cause premature pump failure. Without a reserve, even two minutes of having the machine running without the gun open can cause damage. Most new guys and small companies start off with 4 gpm and then when they try the larger flow machines, upgrade. I still have a few 4 gpm machines on the the wood trucks. They are viable but they are definitely slower.

It all depends on what you will be washing.


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## premierpainter (Apr 17, 2007)

yep, what he said.


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## Dave Mac (May 4, 2007)

Well I beleive a two machine open trailor system is what Im gonna set up this winter. I already have a 4 gpm machine, I think Ill try out one of these 8 gpm machines and have them bothe on the rig ready to go. 

Either one man soap and one man rinse, or split the house in half, Ill just have to put it to the stop watch and see wich is best.

Will 150 buffer tank be enough??

Wich way do you guys prefer??


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## Pressure Cleaning (Nov 1, 2007)

On the 8 gpm you will need at least 325.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

Dave Mac said:


> Well I beleive a two machine open trailor system is what Im gonna set up this winter. I already have a 4 gpm machine, I think Ill try out one of these 8 gpm machines and have them bothe on the rig ready to go.
> 
> Either one man soap and one man rinse, or split the house in half, Ill just have to put it to the stop watch and see wich is best.
> 
> ...


You can link a second 4 gpm machine to the first and get 8 gpm that way as well. Just make sure both pumps put out the same pressure. 

150 buffer (for 8 gpm) is more than enough for resi work as long as you aren't workin' out in the stix. 100 gals would be fine actually.


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## Pressure Cleaning (Nov 1, 2007)

People have run dry on a 300 gal tank.:yes: I no there are post from others on this that use 8 gpm washers I'll try to find them.


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## Dave Mac (May 4, 2007)

Pressure Cleaning said:


> People have run dry on a 300 gal tank.:yes: I no there are post from others on this that use 8 gpm washers I'll try to find them.


 
even with a 4-5 gpm source from the house feeding the buffer??


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## Pressure Cleaning (Nov 1, 2007)

For everyone else if you where to look on other pressure washing boards some will suggest 125 does them fine others will suggest 225 up to 350. Also we don't go out and wash one house or deck, but I guess if you don't mind waiting for the tank to fill or run back to your house. I think I remember the owner of one of the largest pressure washing companies agreeing with another poster that 8gpm washers should be left to commercial work. I doubt there is much benefit in washing a siding house using a 8 gpm washer. These washers are good for concrete, brick and stone cleaning. 

I watch youtube videos and we wash houses faster than most I have seen. Buy a washer to turn down the power :whistling2:


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## Dave Mac (May 4, 2007)

PT so whats your rig and system for a house washing? Im hoping to do 3-5 houses a day, with two guys and two machines. I plan on spending a few months in the field to get it down perfect and try differnt things,and make sure we have all the correct tools, and a good easy to follow system. And I like washing.


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## Pressure Cleaning (Nov 1, 2007)

This is no different than writing a business plan from scratch. We do half and half wood and house washes. The best washer is determined by what; quality, increased speed or profits. In theory it all sounds good that’s why we educate ourselves about the process so we can complete a business plan that works best for us. I’ll write more about this on my blog.


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