[jetcleanni]

hi guys I am currently in the process of starting up my own pressure washing business in northern Ireland. any advice would be great. I have bought some decent kit. Honda 15lmp pressure washer, telescopic lance, flat surface cleaner and various other bits and pieces. I know its not the best time of year to gain new customers however i am using the time wisely to have flyers made, website designed ect. I have read a lot of the older posts and now feel familiar with various chemicals, methods and some really great tips. however experience is the one area where I am quite limited but i guess everybody has to start somewhere. firstly I will target domestic customers and hopefully build up to commercial contracts but baby steps at first. I am only 25 but I am enthusiastic and determined to make this work. I dream of leaving my full time job in time for what I hope is a busy summer period. optimistic? I hope not.

where is the best place to get chemicals?
is there any qualifications I can gain?
will I require my own water tanks or will I be ok using customers taps  (no water charges over here YET)

really I know I am a novice to this job but I have read some really helpful advice on here and some of you guys sound like experts so really any advice offered will be gratefully appreciated.

wish me luck. 

[Smudger]

Welcome!

Sounds like your taking the right route as you have a full time job to fall back on,
15 lpm is a bare minimum req. you may struggle with heavy soiled areas and commercial work, having said that starting off with domestic stuff will get you the experience you need.

Chemicals - hypo you will have to source locally ( it's cheap enough ) from pool supplier or the like - soft washing roofs you could use algoclear- oil remover OT8
The list goes on but its best to ask per specific job

At 15 ltr a min you should be able to run off mains water unless the PW is set up for suck and return.

Darran

[jetcleanni]

thanks for the welcome and the reply Darran
can I ask a few stupid questions?
firstly can oil stains be removed with chemicals and cold water or do I need a hot water system?
also you mentioned soft wash, what does this mean ? Is  this a low pressure wash? (novice questions)
with regards to the unit I have bought I prob wont be connecting it directly to the tap I have an old plastic chemical drum and trolley that I have been using as a buffer tank so I hope customers will allow me to fill this from their tap the few places I have already did had not got a problem with it in fact they just assumed I would need a tap anyway. as I say I know this is only start up basic equipment but I fully intend to invest any profit into new training and equipment. I will always take experts advice on board and try to learn quickly from it. javascript:replaceText(' ', document.postmodify.message);

[Rob@Blast off]

Yes you can remove oil with cold water but it depends on how long the oil has been down, I would recommend you start a wfp window round as its regular income and also allows you to do conservatory roofs, fasia soffits gutter cleans etc, wouldn't worry about soft washing to much yet.
You will need a buffer tank as alot of people have those diy outdoor taps that pierce into the pipe and the flow is rubbish, I recommend having a tank in the van and leaving the machine in there as this will speed up jobs no end.
The hardest thing is getting the work, good luck
Rob

[jetcleanni]

Ah rob I knew it was only a matter of time before you offered your advice as I've seen loads if you previous comments. You seem to have a lot of experience so how did you start off? Like me or with a lot more experience to your name? I'm interested to know where other people have started an how far they have got. Do you still find work in the winter? I have considered a window cleaning round and also a wheelie bin cleaning round aswell because that dosnt exist in the local area to where I live so I'm convinced this would generate some regular income. Eventually I want to gain some commercial contracts so is there any courses qualifications or certificates I must have to give myself any chance of actually being awared the work.
Again rob thanks for te help all points take. On board especially the water tank in the van suggestion. Wa already considering the need for this but you have just convinced me it's nesseacary. Cheers. Andy.

[Rob@Blast off]

I started in 2003 as a trad window cleaner and built up a really good business but then had a brain fart and sold up to go on to lose a fortune in transport. Did different jobs till 2011 when friend asked me to clean his driveway with my little petrol washer which took me all day lol then I thought I could do this on the weekends for a bit of beer money and it has just grown from there really.
I'm no expert but aways do my best and get most of my work through referals so I must be doing something right 

[Blast Away]

Nobody on here is an expert mate except from Chris Scott.

[BDCS]

And drive surgeon 

[Matt Gibson]

And drive surgeon 

Does he have a website?

[Great Outdoors]

And drive surgeon 

Does he have a website?

[Roger Oakley]

He does have a website 

[Great Outdoors]

He does have a website 

can we see it, please pretty please  

[jetcleanni]

that's the same as myself rob, I did a  few for relatives and a couple of referals  so I thought why not do this on weekends  and see where I go from there. so invested money in some new kit and taking it from there really. I have had a few people ask me to clean and clear their gutters and at present ive been going up a ladder and clearing it with a telescopic pole and a gutter attachment it seems to work well but must admit some of the gutter vacs I have seen have caught my eye however im not sure it would be a wise purchase. 1 because im not sure there is enough demand to warrant the price of the equipment and 2 because im not convinced I could achieve as good a result. have you any experience using these ? I imagine if they are any good that they would save a lot of time and of course is a safer alternative. so what do you think? to buy or not to buy? and where is this "expert" then lol about time he joined in lol.

cheers Andy.

[Rob@Blast off]

I think there a good idea but I haven't got one as I don't do enough to justify the outlay at the minute also every man and his dog seems to have one round here so I'll probably wait and pick one up cheap