Which pressure washer to clean fascias,soffits and driveways ?

[osgood9]

Hi all,this is my first post ! I currently have quite a big round with around 60% of my customers living in bungalows.With this in mind I'm going to push on with trying to get work cleaning fascia's,soffits and clearing gutters as well as cleaning driveways with a pressure washer.If this all works out the plan is to sell my ladder work.Not getting any younger at 55 !

I've just done one job so far with a mate and we used his Karcher K4 which did a good job of cleaning the fascias etc

I would like to buy my own now as I've got quite a few jobs booked in but which one ? Should i stick with the Karcher K4 or K5,K6 or K7 or consider a different brand ? I only have a car and not a van so it needs to be easily portable.

Thanks in advance for your time

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Good luck with that but you may find its quite time consuming. I generally charge a day rate for PW or full pvc clean because it take nearly a day to do it.

 

[ched999uk]

I assume you are cleaning traditionally? Otherwise it might be easier to clean gutters, facia and soffit (gfs) with water fed pole as then you have less possibility of blasting water into the roof space! 

I would say if you decide to pressure wash (PW) gfs then you need to be able to reduce the pressure but you also really need to agitate the dirt to scrub it off! Not sure how you are going to do that. Plus you might still need ladders to repair gutters if you blast seals out etc.

As for driveways, using a small domestic machine is great for transport but will cost you in terms of time - your time to complete a job. So it might not be a cost effective thing to do. Do you know how much a square meter you can charge to PW say block paying and then re-sand? Then compare that to how long it takes for a sqm with say your Karcher K4? Would you make reasonable money doing that?

Are you considering PW as it's more lucrative or to compensate for selling off ladder work? PW might be a bit seasonal, spring everyone wants patio cleaning and then winter gutters get blocked etc but not much in-between.

 

[Pjj]

Pressure washers arnt the best way of cleaning gfs it blasts water into the roof space and into cavity walls , a low pressure system is much better wfp is ideal , we regularly re clean stuff that people have pressure washed  as they leave a bio film of the dirt behind and it grows back very quickly 

 

[osgood9]

Hi,many thanks for the replies.Yes,I am traditional and whilst I appreciate the thoughts regarding the wfp I just have double ladders.The job that my friend and I did recently with the Karcher K4 went pretty well as we were able to adjust the pressure.

As far as price goes I am thinking that they will be quite similar as far as an hourly rate goes for my existing ladder work.It is seasonal of course but as I have so many bungalows now I'm not too concerned about that as hopefully the work I have lined up and will get will be repeat business through the years.

I've not actually bought the pressure washer yet,hence the question about best brands,performances and rating from personal experience.

The jobs are booked in,just hoping somebody can advise on which PW to buy.Don't really fancy a wfp,just a personal thing of course

Thanks in advance

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Pressure washers arnt the best way of cleaning gfs it blasts water into the roof space and into cavity walls , a low pressure system is much better wfp is ideal , we regularly re clean stuff that people have pressure washed  as they leave a bio film of the dirt behind and it grows back very quickly 

I was doing a PW job on a patio today and the woman wanted gutters cleared and a low down gutter cleaned. I used my PW rinse lance on it to see how it would come up. Very surprised, came up well but as you say don't think it will stay clean for very long.

 

[Dave B]

I was doing a PW job on a patio today and the woman wanted gutters cleared and a low down gutter cleaned. I used my PW rinse lance on it to see how it would come up. Very surprised, came up well but as you say don't think it will stay clean for very long.

It needs softwashing and then rinsing if doing it that way.

Then it will stay clean for a bit.

 

[Deleted member 7446]

Hi all,this is my first post ! I currently have quite a big round with around 60% of my customers living in bungalows.With this in mind I'm going to push on with trying to get work cleaning fascia's,soffits and clearing gutters as well as cleaning driveways with a pressure washer.If this all works out the plan is to sell my ladder work.Not getting any younger at 55 !

I've just done one job so far with a mate and we used his Karcher K4 which did a good job of cleaning the fascias etc

I would like to buy my own now as I've got quite a few jobs booked in but which one ? Should i stick with the Karcher K4 or K5,K6 or K7 or consider a different brand ? I only have a car and not a van so it needs to be easily portable.

Thanks in advance for your time

I personally would be very cautious as forced water ingress could blow water into the roof or window seals

Also domestic Karcher kit isn't the best and it's what dave from down the road uses to clean is car

you'd be better off getting a Nilfist Kranzle or better suited machine in my opinion

 

[scottish cleaning service]

It needs softwashing and then rinsing if doing it that way.

Then it will stay clean for a bit.

I just gave it ago because it wasn't in the price, the woman said just give it a spray with that thing. So I did what she said and the green algae came off fairly easily. Cleaned the metal garage door with it and some paint came off as well. In the end, they only get what they pay for.

 

[ched999uk]

I've not actually bought the pressure washer yet,hence the question about best brands,performances and rating from personal experience.

I would look at Nilfisk PW as they have metal pumps. The higher the flow rate the better, while pressure is good flow as well is even better. So if you are doing driveways get the biggest one you can but make sure you can adjust the pressure as I am not sure if many of the diy type Nilfisk ones do. Just checked and they call it 'In-Hand Power Control'. 

 

[osgood9]

Thanks guys,very much appreciated.

I asked the question re PW because even though I have used the Karcher K4 and for example well reviewed on Amazon I have also read quite a few negative reviews.So rather than follow the crowd sheep like I'm glad I asked the question.

Having had a quick look at comments/reviews for Nilfisk and Kranzle ( I'd never even heard of them ! ) both feel like a better option than Karcher

Your comments and opinions are very much appreciated

Any more takers ?

Thanks in advance

 

[Deleted member 7446]

Thanks guys,very much appreciated.

I asked the question re PW because even though I have used the Karcher K4 and for example well reviewed on Amazon I have also read quite a few negative reviews.So rather than follow the crowd sheep like I'm glad I asked the question.

Having had a quick look at comments/reviews for Nilfisk and Kranzle ( I'd never even heard of them ! ) both feel like a better option than Karcher

Your comments and opinions are very much appreciated

Any more takers ?

Thanks in advance

Nilfisk offer a great host of machines. You can pick up some older machines for reasonable money. Stay away from Clarke from Machine mart. They are the worst

 

[Dave B]

Thanks guys,very much appreciated.

I asked the question re PW because even though I have used the Karcher K4 and for example well reviewed on Amazon I have also read quite a few negative reviews.So rather than follow the crowd sheep like I'm glad I asked the question.

Having had a quick look at comments/reviews for Nilfisk and Kranzle ( I'd never even heard of them ! ) both feel like a better option than Karcher

Your comments and opinions are very much appreciated

Any more takers ?

Thanks in advance

Petrol is the best option but if you need to go electric then kranzle is the best.

https://kranzle-pressure-washers.co.uk/collections/featured-products/products/customise-your-k10-122

 

[osgood9]

Thanks again for the advice.

I've been on the Kranzle website and thanks to your help and advice I will almost certainly buy a K10.Not sure which version yet though.

They look amazing !!

Cheers