Wands, Poles, an Attachments

Pete was out on a bid for a home that was being purchased. The bank and the prospective new owners were wanting a few things done on the home at closing to be completed. Pete met with the general contractor who was subbing out the house washing. The home was a two story vinyl sided home with a native rock front.  This is where this entry comes in while discussing the cost and what was the best washing method to use, the contractor asked, "but really how do you get up there to clean it?". Pete said attachments and poles, then went over how Cleaned by Pete practices safe on the ground cleaning. Cleaned by Pete tries not to use ladders; first they touch and lean on your home and siding and pressure washing off ladders in not the safest practice. Soft washing applied form ladders is safer and we try to use folding ladders in most cases. Not leaning or touching your home reduces damage and is just saver.

I have been explaining some attachments for the power washer and introduce you to our world of "Wands, Poles an Attachments". If you have been reading along with our blog you know that Cleaned by Pete take great pride in having the right tools for the right job, for the best cleaning of your home or business. Lets look at the these attachments and explain there uses. The gun, lance and pole are just extensions from the hose to the nozzle which we explained before. http://cleanedbypete.blogspot.com/2012/12/nozzles. These poles help us reach areas of your home from the ground for a better clean on your house or business. To reach the upper most area we have the 26 / 28 ft extension pole or telescoping pole. We have a nick-name for this pole it's called the yellow banana, due to the fact it will flex and bow at full extension takes a bit of work with it to get use to how to handle it.

We are able to reach here and get a good washing on this stucco siding please note the angle of water use to clean is is almost at 90 degrees. Our cleaning force is more direct if you used this with only a regular nozzle in the end you would get a glancing wash most of the cleaning force would not be directly applied. Cleaned by Pete has several of these angles we made for more effective cleaning, I love to say this we have the right tool for the right job.

The pole at almost full length washing with a boar-hair brush and feeding soap and water through the pole not to disturb the letters on this sign, we are also working off the 7 foot platform of the service truck. You can note the bend in the pole our "our yellow banana.

Washing under a drive thru entrance / loading unloading area, where car exhaust has been collecting for years you can see we are washing the last of the dark grime off with the telescoping pole.

Cleaned by Pete has invested in this cleaning item to be safer also saving time, resources, gas, and to get a better cleaning job. These next pictures show some of the other fixed poles and other attachments we use here at Cleaned by Pete.

This is a 5 foot poll with a 16 inch attachment and then the nozzle making almost a total of 6 1/2 feet to reach up and clean. Cleaned by Pete has quick couples on all poles guns and nozzles. These quick couples allow us to add , take off or change to other configurations to match cleaning needs. You will also notice the angle of the nozzle we able to change this angle to direct the cleaning stream to achieve better results. If we were using it straight on it would only glance the side of the building.

Some of the fixed poles we use and guns we can use just the gun or quickly build any length of pole with bends or angles. You see here some of the poles and bends we use for cleaning jobs. The length or the poles range from 6 feet to 16 inches and will all link together via quick connectors. There are several types of guns pictured each is different and has a place.

Another view you can see how some of the attachments are curved or bent. You also see some with tubing on them these are soap injectors I have more on these later in an other entry. Being able to quick change the angles, nozzles, lengths, guns and configuration gives us an arsenal of cleaning you won't see everywhere.

Straight gun, four foot pole, 18 inch angle adaptor, 12 inch surface cleaner use to clean an old milking barn, for a new entertaining area. Cleaned by Pete can quickly change this configuration by adding nozzles and other accessories.

We use these wands, guns and poles on all types of jobs. Over the years we have learned what works best. Building, buying and collecting different items for use till we have what we have today. We are able to move water where we want to apply soap and cleaners on your home and rinse them off safely. Call us and let Cleaned by Pete show you what we can do for you. With our attachment poles we can get your project cleaned.

This photo shows Cleaned by Pete rinsing down a stone chimney, the roof line at the bottom of the photo is over 2 stories high.

Real results and photo of the heights we can reach from ground level without climbing on your home. Water is exiting the nozzle at the 2nd story roof line.

 Visit us at our web site: www.cleanedbypete.com and over at House Washing Springfield MO: http://housewashingspringfieldmo.blogspot.com Thank you for your support if you have any question about the attachments we looked at today please post a comment below and I will try to get back with you, Thanks for your support.

House Washing Wedenday

Wednesday has arrived here in Springfield MO and it is time for "House Working Wednesday". It is time to show case some of the homes we cleaned in and around South-west MO. Visit us at www.cleanedbypete.com or call 417-459-7869

Steel siding cleaned in Springfield MO Cleaned by Pete

Vinyl siding cleaned in Ozark MO Cleaned by Pete

Vinyl siding cleaned in Springfield MO Cleaned by Pete

House washing Springfield MO Cleaned by Pete

House washing Branson MO, Cleaned by Pete

Home washing Springfield MO Cleaned by Pete

Vinyl siding cleaning Shell Knob MO Cleaned by Pete

Gutter and house cleaning Springfield MO Cleaned by Pete

Wooden siding cleaned by Cleaned by Pete Springfield MO

Pressure washing Springfield MO Cleaned by Pete

Power washing Springfield MO Cleaned by Pete

Thank you for your support please follow us on our blog.

We are still at it, cleaning and blogging

I was not to sure about this blogging when we first started it up. The more I do it the easier it is starting to become. I'm still learning what to write about and what labels and keywords to add and terms like back-linking. The main reason I started this to help you our customers and prospective customers understand a bit more about our cleaning industry. I was told by one commercial cleaning expert; it is not important what a residential customer thinks just do your job and that is it. I disagree with this, That is why I have continued to blog about it. I like to let you know what we are doing, why we are using certain types of cleaning techniques on your home. Letting me explain tools and equipment is good for you as a home owner and also good for Cleaned by Pete. Your knowledge will continue to grow, learning how to protect yourself by increasing your knowledge on this subject. Your home in most cases is your largest investment and you deserve a contractor that will treat it as such. Hopefully you are starting to see why it is better to have a professional to wash and clean your home, and what to look for in a contractor.  I hope you continue to stay with us, learning and seeing what Cleaned by Pete can do for you in the South-west and greater Springfield MO area. Do not forget to visit our web page at www.cleanedbypete.com and please continue to follow and read our blog.

Cleaned by Pete also cleans: concrete and other flat surfaces, decks fences and other wooden items and surfaces, barns, garages and other structures, patios, dinning areas and BBQ outside cooking areas, awnings, and other jobs weather it is residential or commercial call us at 417-459-7869 to see what we can do for you.

Attachments: surface cleaner, water broom

Discussed earlier in the blog is the basic idea on "how a pressure works" and  the major components. We talked about nozzles their patterns and sizes, now we are going to discuss what else can be added to a power washer to make cleaning easier and quicker for us contractors. These attachments or tools can speed up the jobs but at the same time they offer better quality and cleaning abilities. Saving time means saving; gas, oil, water and other natural resources, stewardship. Today the two attachment are the surface cleaner and the water broom. Cleaned by Pete uses these for concrete and deck cleaning as well as many other flat surfaces.  If you see your contractor show up with something similar to what is pictured below, you'll know what it is for and what it does.

Some of the surface cleaners that Cleaned by Pete uses in the Springfield MO area.

 Surface cleaners cover more area, clean in an even pattern and cuts the time of cleaning.  Most surface have two nozzles and spin at 2000 rounds per minute. (rpm's). Water pressure rotates an arm making it spin. You can see there is some kind of shiny thingamajig in the middle of those cleaners pictured this is a high-pressure swivel. The swivel is what make the surface cleaner do what it does. Rotary swivels contain a set of bearings and a water seal of some sort they are capable of rotating the spray arm at incredible speeds. We need not go in to any more in-dept about construction. Rotary swivels are engineered to with stand incredible pressure and heat while directing the water flow from a single input to that of two to four nozzle depending on the configuration of the spray bar.

Under the business end of the surface cleaner the spray bar connected to the high-speed rotary swivel has transferred the water flow to two nozzles, rotation provides even cleaning power.

Since the the water pressure now has to do two more jobs: cleaning and rotating not all power washers will be able to work with this tool. The right tools for the right job. If you notice the ones pictured above; they are in different sizes from 12" to 30" inch and shapes. The square one is also adjustable in the distant it can be raised from the surface to reduce damage on wooden decks.

Our big surface cleaner in action.

Cleaned by Pete has invested in different surface cleaner for different needs while some contractors may not have surface cleaner they can still preform the same service but results may not be as good and it will take longer. Some of the cleaners pictured have no wheels we call these are floaters the brush keeps the water contained and they hover above the surface due to the water pressure form the nozzles. These floaters are good for rock and uneven surfaces as well as pavers that may be spaced further apart. Remember the right tool for the right job.

Making a run with our deck cleaner it has larger wheels that adjust up and down for cleaning height, further away means less direct pressure and larger fan degree.

This tool has to be matched to the gpm, gallon per minute and the psi, pressure per square inch of the power washer as we discussed in earlier entries for you to achieve your best CUs cleaning units. You can still see we have a lot of science and math going on here and this is just an attachment. Pressure or power washing is becoming more and more of a science as we talked about before. It is not just squirting water out of a wand and in the wrong hands it can cause damage to your propriety. You may ask us any time to explain how or why we would use certain tools attachment or equipment on your job.

Surface cleaning under way this show what results you can expect.

Cleaning a large surface area we can use our largest surface cleaner depending on how dirty things are. We may have to use a smaller one of more concentrated cleaning in-turn saving time which also saves gas, oil, water and other natural resources.

Using one of the cleaner inside for quicker floor cleaning.

 After we use this tool the dirt is loose and ready to be rinsed away we now go and attach the water broom. Our water broom has four nozzles that have been matched to which ever unit we use it can be used as a cleaning tool too. This broom the nozzles can be  removed and arranged in different ways, we can even place nozzles on the ends of the broom to wash the sides of a project. In the picture below you can see there are 3 nozzles spraying the high pressure water out. We were cleaning a deck attached to a log home and did not want the fan cutting or damaging the side of the log home as we cleaned. Again the right tool for the right job.

The matched size of the nozzles provide a larger cleaning path if we just use this attachment we can save time and water moving slower for deeper cleaning. In this case we use the broom to rinse all that loosened dirt and grime off the patio, drive-way, side-walks, decks or any other flat surface moving faster because we are just rinsing.  Leaving results as pictured below.

Deck cleaning finished by Cleaned by Pete in Springfield MO.

Cleaned by Pete finished cleaning a side-walk in Springfield MO

Drive way cleaning finished by Cleaned by Pete in Ozark MO.

 Cleaned by Pete would like to be your pressure / power washing contractor in the South-west and greater Springfield area. We have invested in tools and attachments to achieve the best, safest and time saving results for your needs and job. We have the knowledge of how and why these attachments work as well as the knowledge to effectively and properly use them. Remember, time saving and being more efficient we save water, gas and other resources being good stewards for the environment plus getting your job cleaner. Stewardship is part of our job and we take pride in doing what we do. Now if you see us with either of these tools you now what they are for and why we use them. I will have more entries on attachments for the power washer in the future please stay tuned in to the blog. Knowledge is key.

House Washing Wednesday

Wednesday has rolled in once again and it is time to post a few photo of some of the home washing we have done in the South-west and greater Springfield MO area. Visit us a www.cleanedbypete.com or call us for a free prompt estimate 417-459-7869 now it the time to start to think about your spring clean-up.

Dutch box vinyl siding being cleaned in Springfield MO.

Lap style vinyl siding washed removing the green mold growing in Fairgrove MO.

Photo of a house washing being done by Cleaned by Pete Springfield MO

Steel siding being washed it take a lighter touch and skill to wash steel siding to make it look evenly cleaned after drying.

Steel siding house washing in progress Springfield Mo Cleaned by Pete.

Stained wooden lap siding cleaning Springfield MO Cleaned by Pete.

Native stone house cleaning removing the moss and likens that have grown on this home for years, Cleaned by Pete Springfield MO.

Help us in our quest to "Clean up Springfield one house at a time"

Graffiti Removal service

Cleaned by Pete offers graffiti removal as a service. Call us for a free prompt estimate. Urban art, tagging or just graffiti what you wish to call it we can help to remove it. Using environmental friendly cleaners, hot or cold water pressure or media to blast it off Cleaned by Pete can tackle it head on. Here is a short video on the subject visit the web site www.cleanedbypete.com or call 417-459-7869.

Be an Guard! Knowledge is Key!

While reading some of the news about the latest house washing scamming, I was really shocked to read that, "some looking for the quick buck" were using "Oven Cleaner"  or "Drain Cleaner" to wash houses. I had ran into this about two years ago here in Springfield but never really believed that anyone would do it. Oven or drain cleaner does not sound to bad, they sell it over the counter, but what is it? It is mostly lye, good old lye or caustic soda now think do you want this on your home? Lye's cleaning and stripping power would show a quick and amazing result, for a visual effect. What are the costs down the line? How many years or how much did it shorten the live or your siding? Besides it is caustic as the name says, how much water does it take to neutralize it? Can you get it out of the cracks and nooks in the siding, window sills, door jams and so on. Did they try to rinse it off, do they even care about rinsing it off? Hate to say this, "probable not!".  Now caustic soda has a place in the cleaning world as oven and drain cleaner, but it does not belong on your home's siding for a  house cleaner. We use caustic soda for very specialized cleaning. Never try this by yourself at home it can spew up splatter causing bad chemical burns and has harmful vapors look at the instructions on a can of drain cleaner.  You must ask: "What do you intend to use on my home or business?". It is up to you, and you have the last word if you are not sure do more research or look for another contractor.  Be there and make sure what they use. Remember the most used cleaner in the world is simple bleach followed by some form of soap. Bleach is used for disinfecting, cleaning of all types, and brightening all in one product and comes in all different grades and percents from 3% up to 12% and graded for: home, industrial and medical. Bleach used for cleaning your home is safe in the hands of a professional cleaner. Make sure what is being used on your home. Knowledge is power.

Breaking News

We have missed some entries in the blog here this week but we  had a break in the weather and had a chance to work which does not happen to often in the middle of January. So we were off we are getting ready to head out to do some cleaning here in a bit thanks and we will try to get back and post something you will find interesting.

House Washing Wednesday

It is house washing Wednesday once again so here are some photos of home Cleaned by Pete have washed in the South-west and greater Springfield area.

House washing take on may forms sizes shapes and Cleaned by Pete know and has the equipment, tools and knowledge on how to clean and what do do to make your home the best looking house on the block. Give us a call at Cleaned by Pete for your free prompt estimate 417-459-7869

www.cleanedbypete.com

email: cleaned_by_pete@yahoo.com

Short Video: Cosmetic Cleaning Springfield MO, Cleaned by Pete

Cleaned by Pete has put together a short video called Cosmetic Cleaning Springfield MO a group of pictures of completed jobs we have done in the South-west and greater Springfield MO area. This is what we can do let us help with your "Spring cleaning" it is never to early to book in your "Spring cleaning" with us.

Pressure Washing or Soft Washing

I'll never say that soft wash is better than pressure washing or the vice-versa; all cleaning methods and techniques have their place in our industry, or at least I feel they do. Starch advocates on both sides are non-flexible on their position, not yielding to each other. As a "cosmetic cleaning professional" I can make use of both these methods and tools, then use them to clean your project here in the South-west and greater Springfield MO area. We can decide as a team what is better for you and work to achieve the end results you expect. We want you as an informed client. Call Cleaned by Pete at 417-459-7869 for a free estimate.

External house or business cleaning, sooner or later you will need to have this service done. Reasons may range for getting ready to sell your home or that the "housing authority" is sending you a letter about your oil and rust stained drive-way. Your insurance company is threatening to cut off your coverage for health reasons; mold, algae and mildew are growing on your home; or maybe your house just looks bad. You may say your whacked out but all these reasons are now being enforced in your community. Businesses, you need to make that first impression on your customer-if he or she comes in with a blob of gum on their designer leather shoe, finds spider webs are hanging over the door entrance, or finds windows streaked and dirty these first impressions stay with that customers and you get one chance to make a first impression.

Concrete cleaning Springfield MO

The benefits will outweigh the reasons for not cleaning-your paint lasts longer, your house looks better and your neighbors become jealousy of your property. Mold, mosses and algae are removed, which makes your home healthier. If you’re selling or preparing to sell a home it is a fact that the curb appeal is the biggest selling factor and an external cleaning of the house, walks, and drive way can add 3% or higher to the asking price-not bad or @ $400 to $500 investment. Your business looks more inviting and your customers will like coming to your freshly cleaned store more. Talk to your friends and neighbors and bring up the subject of, “boy, that store is a dirty place” or, “man, that gum outside the grocery store is bad” and see what others are talking about. Do you want to be one of those dirty stores?

Drive-thru and side walk cleaning South-west MO area. This looks more inviting and customers feel the business takes pride in their appearance. I do business here.

Once the time comes what will you do? Well, the “my wife's brother's uncle has a pressure washing machine he bought for some reason we can do it one week end” crowd believe there is a lot of work and with a small washer you could work all weekend and never finish. Secondly, you could hire the guy down the road that does lawn care and works on cars he does this pressure washin' when he is slow. However, the best thing to do is to hire a "professional cosmetic cleaner" to do the work. He or she knows that dirt, grime and other pollutants hide in and on your siding, eves, gutters, nooks, window frames, foundations and other areas of your home or business and how to address your needs. We know how to take your house or business from dull to appealing. Why? Because this is what we do, we power wash it is an industry and we are professionals and proud of what we do.

Brick home before and after cleaning Springfield MO

For many years "high pressure power washing" was the best option for external cosmetic cleaning but new methods and cleaning techniques are entering our realm. New less aggressive methods such as down-streaming or soft washing are gaining a foot hold. We at Cleaned by Pete are familiar with and use all these methods. Newer soaps and cleaners that are environmental friendly have been developed and are available to the professional contractor cleaner. They are applied and active ingredients start to clean your surface. We use the best cleaners (but safe to the environment) we can find. We are trying to put the day of the "splash and dash artist" behind our industry. Splash and dash is a method where someone buys a bunch of bleach throws it at your house starts their high pressure washers and starts to work your siding to death then you pay them and they dash off never to be seen again but later your house starts to show signs of mishandling. Please do not confuse down-streaming or soft washing with this. All the techniques or methods get your house cleaned and sometimes you will need to use one or more of the methods on a house to get it as clean as possible. That is why we use different methods and have different machines; each method has a plus side as well as a downside. I am a professional and will let you know this: pressure washing will clean your home and its exterior but it can cause damage and in the wrong hands real damage! I have seen over bleached houses, vinyl siding ripped or cut and even dislodged from the building wooden siding gouged and cut, paint blown off window sills and even shingles blasted off. With soft washing or down-streaming I have seen plants browned, grass killed and house siding discolored or chemically burned. This is why you hire a professional cosmetic cleaner who knows what to do, that has done this before, has insurance and one that can answer all your questions.

Native stone cleaning Springfield MO

Business cleaning in Springfield MO

House cleaning Ozark, Nixa MO area.

Graffiti removal and fence cleaning Springfield MO.

We are that company. We are Cleaned by Pete and we are small enough to serve you personally and large enough to have the tools and equipment to get your cleaning job done right. If you have a question about which service or how we would clean your home or business call us 417-459-7869 and we will discuss it. With free, prompt estimates (oh and we are insured), house washing starting out at @$100 and up mobiles starting at $75; book now and let us wash your house this spring when weather gets better. Get that home or business cleaned before summer gets here.