Any advice from Benz users?

[scottish cleaning service]

5:1, hefty power wash, wasnt quite satisfied. That was last night, today 4:1 and another hefty power wash.
The hardest by far was under the window sills, it just wouldn’t shift, so under the window sills only i did go up again a 3rd time followed by a third hefty power wash. It was anything but easy

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All on time soak of an hour


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And all on a time soak of an hour


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Under sills use more surfactant and a scrubbing brush to get the hypo to bite in. That bit probably doesn't get the sunlight.

 

[Incheck]

 
Under sills use more surfactant and a scrubbing brush to get the hypo to bite in. That bit probably doesn't get the sunlight.

I get you, i used a water fed pole brush to scrub it as it’s that pebble dash stuff (not te new stuff that falls off in the wind but sturdier older pebbledash)
Another problem i have is this area

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[Dennis Taylor]

Hi @Dennis Taylor what size of PW did you use on the monoblock? Bar and Lpm. Thanks m

This patio had a quick wash over with a flat surface cleaner to remove the worst of the dirt, followed by a 4% mix of hypo with a decent surfactant added to make it stick. A 30 minute dwell time and a final wash with a turbo lance.

machine is a Jetmac 200psi using 21lts/min drawn from a header tank (wheely bin)

the one below wasnt wasn’t as bad, I lowered the mix to 3% and to be fair most of the lichen disappeared so only needed a light pressure wash to bring it back to that standard

View attachment 13495View attachment 13496

 

[Dennis Taylor]

This one was washed with flat surface cleaner then a 4% mix with surfactant, left for 30mins and very lightly washed with only a fan spray lance, the hypo had done all of the work.

 

[Dennis Taylor]

These walls were washed down using a WFP Brush and a 3% mix, left to dwell for around 40mins then simply hosed off with a garden hose

 

[scottish cleaning service]

It seems that black lichen is the hardest type to remove. I like the fact of giving it a quick run over with the fsc to wet the area and open it up so the hypo has a chance to react to open spores. Then wait 30mins and do the big clean and then the touch up. A deck scrubbing brush could come in handy for tackling the edges, corners and stubborn bits. :1f609:

 

[Dennis Taylor]

Now just to prove that it’s not always plain sailing..... this one was a sod to do. I probably gave this one 2 good sprays of hypo at 5% mix with a wash in between each. I then had to go round and spot spray areas that were really bad.

Can’t win em all ?

It seems that black lichen is the hardest type to remove. I like the fact of giving it a quick run over with the fsc to wet the area and open it up so the hypo has a chance to react to open spores. Then wait 30mins and do the big clean and then the touch up. A deck scrubbing brush could come in handy for tackling the edges, corners and stubborn bits. :1f609:

Its definitely the one that causes the most problems, especially on cheap quality slabs when the stuff seems to have buried itself into it.

i agree, a good stiff brush does help get the product where it’s needed.

 

[Seth]

Is mixing your own illegal? I understand that pros may pull a few strings but from the impression i get from benz website, any other product or way of doing it other than theirs is illegal, non government approved and also. hse can shut you down?, also is your insurance is void if you’re making your own mixes?
I hear of everyone on here mixing their own quite happily. I just wanted to do it by the book first time. Had my respirator, full face shield, warning signs out, full ppe, the lot, even though i was at home. I felt confident in what i was doing but not with the results. So my main question is, do people have great success with benz at 5:1
I know i must sound like hard work sorry guys.




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What tickled me on the Benz site was where there was a comment about carrying Hypo in your van and getting into an accident. What if I had an accident carrying "Blackwash"? 

What if I had an accident on my motorbike? What if I woke up one morning and I found out that a tiger had eaten my leg in my sleep?  What if..........

 

[Incheck]

What do people charge for softwashing (residential i’m talking now as don’t do commercial)
Do you set it on day rate + cost of materials i’m guessing?



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[scottish cleaning service]

What do people charge for softwashing (residential i’m talking now as don’t do commercial)
Do you set it on day rate + cost of materials i’m guessing?



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Everything is a sq metre and extra for paths and awkward cleaning areas. £3 for just powerwash and sand so we are talking about £5 to £6 a sq metre for softwashing. £6 would always be the case if they want bio sprayed before sanding. Its not cheap but would put thousands on a house price never mind their pride. 

 

[tench0771]

What do people charge for softwashing (residential i’m talking now as don’t do commercial)
Do you set it on day rate + cost of materials i’m guessing?



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It's a compromise between getting it repainted and soft washed so if u can get an ider of how much it will cost to paint it then u can figer your price out buy going I lower kinda meating in the middle sort of thing every job is different so it's very hard to say with out looking at the job u need price for

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[Incheck]

Ive worked out (approximately) that this weekend i’ve done 32 square meters
At £6 a square meter this is £192
2 treatments used,
All in all with the power washing lets say i put 7 hours in including standing around during time soak
That comes in at about £27 an hour for labor.
Considering all the discomfort inside the ppe and safety precautions of it all, i’m definitely assuming you need to add the price of the chemicals on top of the labor?





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[scottish cleaning service]

Ive worked out (approximately) that this weekend i’ve done 32 square meters
At £6 a square meter this is £192
2 treatments used,
All in all with the power washing lets say i put 7 hours in including standing around during time soak
That comes in at about £27 an hour for labor.
Considering all the discomfort inside the ppe and safety precautions of it all, i’m definitely assuming you need to add the price of the chemicals on top of the labor?





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You will eventually find your own price. Minimum price should be between £100 and £150 I would say. Full day price between £300 and £600 but you will find your price with the more jobs you do. I like the sq metre price because no one can argue with that, if they do then tell them to get other quotes. :1f609:

 

[Seth]

It's a compromise between getting it repainted and soft washed so if u can get an ider of how much it will cost to paint it then u can figer your price out buy going I lower kinda meating in the middle sort of thing every job is different so it's very hard to say with out looking at the job u need price for

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Agreed.

Softwashed for a client. Can't remember exactly what size but not mad. 

She was quoted £300 for that section of wall to be painted. I softwashed it for £80.( I had the chance to go and do the windows of the same property when the hypo was going off) She ended up only spending £25 on some masonary paint and painting herself what actually needed a coating  of paint.

 

[Pjj]

We have a minimum price of £150 to set up the pressure washer , for softwashing a 3 bed semi prices start at £300 and we are always very busy , although we don’t get all we quote some expect you to do it for £60 lol ????

 

[Incheck]

what are you talking in terms of a 3 bed semi, just the house faces i assume?

Not the drives, paths, exterior walls gutters etc as well surely,

Is that including the price of chemicals or do you add them on top?

Obviously a window clean involved as well i guess?


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[scottish cleaning service]

Started up my new PW today and its working. I will be nearly 5 grand with my deadlocks, van alarm, padlock & chain, fsc on wheels, nozzles, hoses, PPE, and all the rest, not counting van, insurance and tax. So one needs to get their money back quickly so £100 a job is a waste of time. Your talking £300 a day minimum plus any chems one uses. Anything else is just playing with it.

 

[Pjj]

what are you talking in terms of a 3 bed semi, just the house faces i assume?

Not the drives, paths, exterior walls gutters etc as well surely,

Is that including the price of chemicals or do you add them on top?

Obviously a window clean involved as well i guess?


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A 3 bed semi soft wash would be gfs, walls , windows doors and all frame work all the house apart from the roof , if it has a conservatory it will be a bit more , the price quoted will include all chemicals , 3 bed semi takes maximum of 3 hours from arriving to driving away we do loads of them , we do not use the pressure washer for this , 

pressurewashing we charge a minimum of £150 to set up the washer , most jobs range from £300-600 some a bit more some a bit less , we got a lot of enquiries with people wanting a path washed 10 m long by 1 m wide and expect it done for £20 so that’s why I brought in a minimum set up fee it stops all the small waist of time jobs it’s not cost effective to be doing work like that 

 

[tench0771]

some of the lads in my area have a min charge of £80 on pressure washing 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

some of the lads in my area have a min charge of £80 on pressure washing 

Aye I think I will stick with £100 which scares the under £50 lot. I don't know what it is but this lot seem to take up a lot of your time and that's just discussing the job, lonely I guess.

 

[Pjj]

Aye I think I will stick with £100 which scares the under £50 lot. I don't know what it is but this lot seem to take up a lot of your time and that's just discussing the job, lonely I guess.

Yes a minimum price is a a good thing ours is £150