First i want to say i am so happy to have found this site. You guys have answered already so many questions in previous post by others and a newbie like me is very thankful. I have a few years in the exhaust hood cleaning side but have decided to start my own business but only soft washing and not exhaust hoods. The chemicals are way different than we used in the past and the question i have is about the stuff my local supplier sold me. They sold me some called Road Show and wrote the mix percent on paper for me and told me it would work fine for vinyl siding. I have tried it out on my house and it really does not seem to even hardly put a dent in mildew or anything like that. Is anyone using that chemical or would green wash be a much better choice since i have seen so many people talking about using green wash? I am looking forward to that mix where it is more of a true soft wash and rinse and that certainly didnt seem to be the case with that chemical mix. My house would be considered and easy clean as it was not near as dirty as what most house are as it was washed a few years ago. The mix ratio they gave me and i tried was as folows for 5 gallons:
I have not heard of Road Show so I can not comment on that.
We use this mix for vinyl siding.
100 gallon tank example
10 gallons of Sodium Hypochlorite (for instant clean) 45 ounces of our Green Wash (kills microbes and boosts bleach) 45 ounces of our Terra Wash (eradicates webs and nests, removes environmental fallout) 10 ounces of our Rain Fresh (scent enhancer) Ballance of tank water.
Green Wash is great! So many people try to use Dawn, Gain or other detergents that are not really made to use with bleach. Many say flat out on the bottle not to mix with bleach, but they still do. For example, mixing Dawn with bleach will cause a chemical reaction that will release chlorine gas, so if you are going to be doing this as a business, you really want to do it safely for your extended health, as well as protecting the customers property. Green Wash was designed specifically for the uses based around the Soft Washing method by professional chemists. Plus it saves you money by allowing you to use a lower amount of bleach from the bleach catalyst in the GW.
Thanks for the great info. We got our order of GW, terra wash and rain fresh in today and will for sure be trying out on my own side walks and house tomorrow. Looking very forward to starting the soft wash business and hopefully soon will be able to invest some money into AC's training programs.
I never heard of "Road Show" either. A lot of companies have their own 'house mix' of chemicals which are similar to other mass marketing type chemicals, but I avoid most. The only ones I use on occasion is one called 'Klingon' which is a thickener/surfactant, and I use that on a low percentage of roofs as GW is all you need in most cases. If you have a steep roof with no gutters, it helps slow any runoff and gives some extra cling for increased dwell time. I use AC's 6X Concentrated GW...easier to carry, and I just put in about 8 ounces in a 50 gallon mix.
When you have the funds, Plant Wash and Final Wash are really great to keep on hand. The first three chemicals I bought from AC were GW, PW and FW, with TW coming shortly after. GW helps with spider webs and dissolving them so they wash off, but TW does it so much better. You'll also want to cover AC units when you are cleaning or rinse really really well (covering is preferred). Depending on the size, you can use trash bags to totally cover them, or some plastic.
AC's training programs are well worth the time and money. Besides a lot of legal issues you need to be aware of, there are so many silly, stupid little mistakes you can make that can cost you a lot of money and time (more than you'll spend on AC's classes), and I'd feel safe saying AC's techs have made about every single mistake you can make over the past 25 years, and they are covered in the classes. I studied these forums, online videos for months before AC's classes and what I learned was great, but only covered about 15-20% of AC's class.