Soaps Chemicals Gallons per Minute and the Do-it-Yourselfer

Soaps Chemicals Gallons per Minute and the Do-it-Yourselfer we can still save you time and money even if you are planning to do it yourself

Someone once said to me as I was cleaning their neighbors driveway, "That power washer of yours wastes water! I can clean my driveway with my hose and some "concrete cleaner" from the store". I pressed them on the matter just a bit, but he assured me that he could wash his house, deck and sidewalks around his house with his garden hose and it would not waist any water doing so. While on the surface it may seem to this gentleman that since I was using a 4.5 gallon a minute washer that I use 4.5 gallons a minute each and every minute that I'm on the property I guess and some how I was using more water than the hose would put out. I was somehow creating more water and then wasting it. 

Let's do a little math or "seafaring" as the old folks around here would say. If I am pumping out 4.5 gallons per minute, the water tap is putting out at least that much pressure or my washer would not be running smoothly. I would hope we all can see this would seem to me to be and even match I can not pump more then what is supplied. My pump can not multiply the volume of water passing through it but it can multiply the pressure of said water. I now can begin to gain the edge at the moment the tap is turned to the on position I start to conserve water usage. My washer and pump contains a device called a trigger gun which will only let the water out when the trigger is pulled to the on position only what I need and under more pressure. This is TCU total cleaning units or how much work the pressure washer can do.

How many time have you seen or even done this, turn on the tap and do the quick jog around the house to get to the end of the hose because it is running? Yes sir that same 4.5 gallons of water is running out and not doing any work. He now wets down the area not is a small fan pattern but glugging out water on the driveway. Laying the hose down and doing the jog to the tap once again. Now back to apply some cleaners, that were purchased from the "Big Box Store". I went out on a bid the other day and the lady wanted her drive way cleaned, or at least to have it back to what it looked like before. Before what? It seems she had found some miracle cleaner at the hardware store, that would restore your driveway to look like new. You would simply apply it and over a month it would clean. It blotched and ate in to the top layer know as the cream coat. She then decided to clean it with bleach and poured bleach all over which splashed on her metal garage door discoloring it at the bottom. What is in this stuff they are pouring and  running down the street? The package says safe. With many cleaners and consumer grade cleaners the companies make they don't have to tell you their secrete or proprietary ingredients. This can make some cleaners open for misuses and overuse from the consumer who may mix it with other cleaners or just use to much.

In most cases the product is pored on or broadcasted on with out reading the warnings or instructions. Come on we all do this, you know it. Most consumers now have some thing to add that was left over form doing another honey do or they are now stealing into the laundry room for some of the wife's soaps and cleaner stored there. Adding more cleaners on the driveway making that concoction for cleaning this will make it easier on them. Back and forth for a bit more to turn the water on and off or now we are just leaving it run, since the concoction  is drying out on the driveway now. Starting to work it in with a broom but finding out that is just real work. Running water on it will be faster and better they decide. Back to turn the water back on or picking it up since you have justified the thought you're water the grass too. Setting it on full blast still using 4.5 gallons a minute plus the concoction of cleaners you now have applied. Soap and bubbling go on we are cleaning now. Trying to wash down the giant growing soap dam along the edge of your driveway seems fruitless with more water the bubbles just seem to keep coming. This is now starting to look like a old Benny Hill show. More water more water (the same 4.5 gallons per minute that my machine was wasting). We are now seeing the picture water running down the street with your soap bubbling concoction and a few more trips to the tap to turn the water on and off while you get a drink or reapply some more cleaners in a few spots. Letting the water run while you grab the broom to work a few areas over. OK now the drive way is done lets say it took a half hour to do what was done, and to that end lets say you ran the hose 20 minutes of that time.

Just for the sake of arguments lets say a power washer will only cut the time and water use by only 15%. We now have saved 15% of the water due to efficiency. Let's look a bit further though, With my set up I can apply a set amount of cleaner through the water stream with a technique called "downstreaming" We can use a more concentrated cleaner and using a foaming gun.

I can start the cleaning process with less cleaners or soap that the consumer would have used. Our soap and cleaners are more concentrated and work better, that is why we use them, they cost more and we use only what we need to get the job done no waste no let's use some extra. I also have that trigger device that is only letting water out when needed. Now that I have your driveway foamed up and letting the cleaners work I have a minute to explain a few more tools that we use to  better clean and speed up the time it takes to clean in an around your home.

Cleaned by Pete has been using a foamer for years for spreading soap and cleaners it applies a even coat or cleaners that start to bubble and work on contact. Using the foamer also lets us use less cleaners only what is need for each job.

This is the same driveway in the above picture after the dwelling of the cleaners Cleaned by Pete use the power washer and the surface cleaner to remove the dirt and grime from this driveway. You don't see any excess water run off or soaps and cleaners running off.

An other driveway cleaning job, being done by Cleaned by Pete in Southwest MO.

The wide tip will cover a greater area than a narrow tip. This is the first line we can use with a pressure washer. Concrete cleaning unlike some other cleaning techniques relays on how hard the water hits the concrete to loosen and clean off the dirt and grime. While some will toute that gallons per minute clean I believe it is the impact of the water that cleans concrete. The soap and cleaners make this job easier and helps to kill mold and algae growing in your concrete. Clean concrete has a better grip if you have customers or an elderly person living or visiting your home or establishment clean concrete is a safety concern not just for aesthetics.

The waterbroom will speed up a job by 10 to 20 percent with multiple nozzles we are cleaning a larger area more effectively still using the same volume of water.

Water brooms speed up the cleaning process while saving water, Cleaned by Pete power washing Springfield MO

Cleaned by Pete is working with the 12" water broom to clean this new construction clean up.

A 12" pass is being cleaned we are cleaning and moving debree at the same time. Cleaned by Pete concrete cleaning in Springfield MO.

Picture of a customers sidewalk after cutting it in (cleaning around the edges) the surface cleaner was used total time less than six minutes with our power washer, gun and surface cleaner (and this is the small one). Just wondering if a garden-hose and some store bought cleaner can do the same job?

Cleaned by Pete using the power washer to cut in and around the edge.

Cutting in around the edges before the surface cleaner is employed for use Cleaned by Pete

Cleaned by Pete using the surface cleaning the concrete.

Cleaned by Pete finished photo concrete cleaning Springfield MO.

Check out this video see how much and how fast, concrete cleaning goes with the right tool and equipment.

Lastly we have the surface cleaners which can speed up the job by 25 to 40 percent due to its' design and construction. The surface cleaner will also do a better job and will leave the surface cleaner and stripe free when used by a caring professional power washer.

Cleaned by Pete has the right size surface cleaner for your job power washing Springfield MO.

Using techniques in conjunction with tools and attachments listed above we can say that we conservatively saved 25% to 50% on the water usage saved on soaps and cleaners. Getting a professional job and cleaner results. If a homeowner  has a power washer he will be able to help save water and cleaner usage but he may still lack the tools and attachments that the professional power washer has at his or her disposal.

This scenario is just one of many we as professional cleaners face we can also clean your home, decks, patios, sidewalks and many other cleaning projects. Saving water and other natural resources is part of what most professional cleaners do each and every day. I hope you can see now that even if my power washer is using 4.5 gallons a minute it will save more water due to the cleaning power of the unit and with special tools and attachments we can even save more water and cleaners, Cleaned by Pete tries to be a good stewards of the earth. Each doing their part will help, let us help you with your cleaning project in an around your home or business. For a free estimate or to discuss a job call us at 417.459.7869