[Dave_Lee]

Did approx 135 sq mts of flags and cobbles today. I need to get pricing right. How long should this job have taken, fair amount of stubborn moss especially on the cobbles, and what do you guys that do a lot of pressure washing do with all the moss etc debris.
Dave.

[Richy L]

I'd say it would take about 4 hours using a turbo lance, including wash down.
I bag mine up and put it in my bin at home, but i dont usually have much moss on the slabs, mostly just dirt.

[Roger Oakley]

Hope they are the before photos? as that don't look clean to me.

[Griffus]

Dave, what psi and LPM flow rate does your TM put out?

I ask as I assume you have posted after pictures. As Roger states they look like before.

A job of this size could take anything between 2 and 5 hours depending on what approach taken (turbo / FSC / prespray). Approach would depend on several factors: overall grime, lichens etc., drainage, windows etc. to clean during / after.

Moss and crud; bucket this up and if possible dispose of at custy's property, somewhere out of sight (with their prior agreement). If nowhere or custy wants shot then bucket, strain of excess water then bag up (I find woven bags best as they allow further water to drain away), then simply take away and off to the local tip as and when.

Incidentally, how much did you charge?

[richywilts]

Did approx 135 sq mts of flags and cobbles today. I need to get pricing right. How long should this job have taken, fair amount of stubborn moss especially on the cobbles, and what do you guys that do a lot of pressure washing do with all the moss etc debris.
Dave.

it says u have been est since 1980 how come u dont know how to price up right yet??? looks a nice setup u have what system is that

[Dave_Lee]

Well I suppose I should have expected some criticism. The first photo if you look shows part way through. It poured down all day.
The whole area was badly covered in Lichen among other green slime and moss. The last guy to have ago didn't make an impression but after I had finished the custy was over the moon.
My background is Carpet Cleaning only got into pressure washing recently, so still learning, hence the questions. I don't have a Turbo nozzle yet but will get one, and although the SX12 spinner recovers most of the water back to the van, it was awkward with not having wheels like other non vac spinners.
My TM is a Blueline Thermal Wave Vortek, powered by a GM 1600cc 69HP engine running on LPG. The pump is a Cat 3,000 psi. Not sure about flow rate without referring to the manual.
I was using 1500 psi with the spinner and 2,000 psi with the lance, maybe need more? Took me 5 1/2 hours. Cleaned a medium sized rug and hall carpet while there and charged them £350, altogether.
I'm not going to get into pressure washing in a big way, I'm too long down the road for that, but want to be able to offer it to my large database of repeat customers, like the one today.
Dave.

[Brian B]

Hi Dave,

What was the area that you cleaned in sq mtrs, I normally earn more per hour from outside cleaning than I do from carpet cleaning. I think this is due to quicker setup and pack away times and no moving furniture around? 
I do think that you need to stop using the truckmount and spinner and gat a dedicated  high pressure petrol washer with turbo lance and flat surface cleaner.  You’ll notice a difference the same as when you upgraded from portable to truck mount. 
We added pressure washing last year and initially had a 2000psi cleaner with normal lance, however we upgraded to a 250bar machine and 60cm FSC this year and the difference is just unreal, as I said like comparing a portable and truckmount,  the new setup didn’t cost too much but the way that it eats through everything is amazing.

Regards

[Dave_Lee]

Thanks for that Brian. I must admit on this job I did feel limited, tool wise, but have had outstanding results on others, not that Ive done many as yet. My reason for getting into pressure washing was really an extension from getting into interior Tile & Grout Cleaning, and having a pump capable of 3,000 psi. The most I go to with T & G is 1,300 psi, however you are probably right that a totally separate dedicated unit would be better.
Do you prespray with chems or just go straight in with water only.
Dave.

[Brian B]

Dave

If there are lots of weeds/lichen or live growth then before I clean I will pre-spray with a fungicidal wash or weed killer (fungicidal wash from smartseal.co.uk  weed killer from B&Q), the problem with this is you need to do it about a week or ten days prior to the clean.  It makes quite a big difference to the clean if everything’s dead the root system doesn’t hold on though. 

We added the outside cleaning for the same reasons as you, lots of customers with large outside areas and it seemed like we were leaving money on the table, especially after we'd spent so much time and effort getting them to trust us and our work?  But when we started I kept thinking there must be an easier way, with high pressure  dedicated setup up its much easier!

I don’t think you should be sucking all of that outside crud into your truckmount though, besides it taking loads of time to clean out, you could do some vacuum damage couldn’t you, I wouldn’t risk it?

Regards

Brian

[Griffus]

Hi Dave, no criticism intended via my earlier post.

I think Brian has hit the nail on the head. 3000psi and 15LPM is pretty much recognised as minimum requirement. A turbo nozzle, FSC and is also a must.

It's like CC though, there is loads to buy, but do it a bit at a time.

It does tend to earn more per hour than CC but is very seasonal (at least for domestic) and is a hell of a lot muckier!!

Have a look here for a bit more info: -

http://www.malcleanse.co.uk/static/PETROL_PRESSURE_WASHER_Guide

[Dave_Lee]

Thank to both Brian and Ian, very helpful.
Ian, I wasn't referring to your post, it was the one before yours. I posted the photo's to give an idea of the area and type of flags etc, not to show how I'd done.
However I will post a close up of that first area and invite critical opinion. The area you see was after several passes with the spinner. I take note of your advice on equipment Brian and the difference it can make, but can those Lichen stains and discoloration really be dramatically improved upon.
Dave.

[Roger Oakley]

Dave,
The Lichen marks can be completely cleaned off with the right chemicals and dwell time.

Someone of here will point you in the right direction as what to use I'm sure.

All our cleans are pretty much chemical based as they clean, cleaner then just water.

[Dave_Lee]

Thanks Roger, much appreciated.
Dave.