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

Steaming in the Ozarks

 Steaming in the Ozarks

If you follow us here on the blog you will know I am a big proponent of steam for deep cleaning nothing cleans better and makes less of a mess for certain jobs. While I would not want to steam clean each and every project we take on steam has a place in the cleaning world. I have always wanted a "Sioux model B steam-cleaner" it is a proven machine that has been around for a long time. It just so happened I found one in a tractor/truck repair garage in northern Missouri for the right price, and bought it. With this addition we can open up even more ways to help you clean your projects. Cleaned by Pete now offers more cleaning alternatives and any one else in the Ozarks. Dry low pressure steam, steam cleaning, wet steam, hot and cold water power washing and safe "soft washing" for homes and businesses.

Sioux model B steam cleaner

Sioux model B propane fired burner.

Those of you not familiar with steam cleaners I thought I would talk about them in this entry. Some of the features of steam cleaners that make them so useful are they: eliminate any splash back we as an operator need not worry about what we are washing splashing back and soaking us with water and what we are washing off. Water consumption is reduced by 57% which also reduces runoff (this is compared to a hot water pressure washer). You can achieve hotter and higher temperatures which increases the effectiveness of chemicals and cleaners. Steam cleans grease and oil off of surfaces more effectively and thoroughly. Lastly since the steam cleaner is quicker we save on electric or gas consumption which ever may be powering the unit. With these features we can achieve these benefits less cleanup time with less mess. It will cost less to do the job with a environmentally friendly footprint. Steam is saver for the operator and is more controllable. We can reduce the time, water usage, chemicals, time and other resources (gas, oil, electricity) using steam-cleaners. Our model "B"

is also propane fired which carries more BTU's than a diesel fuel and burns cleaner another win for the environment.

With all that why don't we use steam for everything then? As with any tool it works better for certain jobs, while we could hammer in a nail with a pair of pliers it would not be the best tool to use. Having the option of what tool to use is the key. Having the option of using steam over the hot water power washer puts one up and over the competition. It also put one up higher up as a stewards of the earth doing a bit more to help this old world's streams and lakes. I am older than most power washers and back in the day these machines were found in auto shops, garages, and shops where I spent alot of time as a kid growing up. I have even heard my dad speak of the steam cleaner at the welding shop in the small town where I was born and how people and business would come there to use it. Just amazing that one tool could be used by the folks in the town and the farmers around. Cleaning greasy equipment, detailing car motors, steaming years off or farm equipment for repair this did it all. 

What am I going to use this steam cleaner for? It will be used the same as the other steam cleaner in our line of cleaners. Our other steamers are low-pressure dry steam cleaners this one is more powerful and will help to widen our cleaning capabilities to clean even more. The list below is form the Sioux web sight and is what they suggest a typical steam cleaner can be used for:
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS FOR STEAM

• Cleaning engines, transmissions, drive trains, and other equipment prior to performing service and maintenance work.
• Thawing frozen drains, tanks, piping systems, culverts, etc., for street and highway departments, manufacturing and processing plants, pipelines, and other industries.
• Thawing railroad tank cars to accelerate removal of viscous liquid contents, while ensuring that the maximum temperature is less than the boiling point of water (to prevent fires and other high temperature damage).
• Removing chewing gum from sidewalks, tables, stadiums, entryways, etc.
• Degassing tanks prior to welding or other maintenance work, especially gasoline, oil, and petrochemical tanks of all sizes.
• Preparing surfaces for painting, especially removal of cutting oils, grease, and similar oily or greasy substances.
• Degreasing dies and tools in manufacturing operations.
• Removing fats, grease, oils, and substances from surfaces and equipment in food processing plants.
• Melting and removing paraffin and wax or grease from traps and drains in wastewater treatment plants, petroleum refineries, and for similar use in other industries.
• Cleaning and restoring brick, block, stone and other masonry surfaces for maintenance or restoration projects, at monuments, cemeteries, and similar applications, where steam is more gentle and less intrusive and damaging than high pressure cleaning.
• Wide range of other specialty applications.

We at Cleaned by Pete have used our steam cleaners on patio furniture, greasy motors, greasy equipment, motorcycles, stoves, shopping karts, playground equipment, kitchen and butchering items, terracotta floors and grout lines, while used mostly in the auto and manufacturing areas vapor cleaning is gaining a whole new life in the USA. Vapor cleaning in Europe and Australia has been going on and being refined for some time now. During the '60's steam cleaning was loosing a battle to the pressure or power washer here in the States. Back then it seemed we had unlimited water, gasoline and diesel fuel all of which you would need to run a heated power washer, but in other countries they were already starting to conserve and look ahead. Vapor or steam cleaning is more efficient way to clean in a lot circumstances. We now have low-pressure dry steam cleaning, steam cleaning, wet steam and hot water cleaning in our lineup each is different each is used in a different way and for different jobs.

This is a picture of the steam cleaning machine that Cleaned by Pete just bought, looking for years of use from it.

This is an excerpt form our web page that I wrote about steam cleaning, thought it would fit in here it is about why a steam cleaner works.

Vapor Expansion is why steam cleaning works heating water up way over 214 degrees plus in one self-contained cleaning machine at low pressures between 80 to 200 psi. Pressure affects the point at which water boils or vaporizes into steam. At a pressure lower than the pressure of the atmosphere at sea level water boils at a temperature lower the 212°F boiling point of water at sea level. At pressures higher than the pressure of the atmosphere at sea level, water boils or vaporizes at temperatures higher than 212°F. a pressure washer operation the pump simply pushes water out of a restrictive nozzle. The narrow passage through the nozzle increases the water's velocity and, consequently, its potential impact and cleaning power. In pressure washing, the pressure or restrictive nozzle is the last part of the machine the water flow passes through. In simpler terms these units put out steam more like a whistling tea kettle in stead of super hot water out of your kitchen faucet at full blast. The steam cleaner doesn't so much use steam to clean as it uses steam expansion to propel water at near its boiling point at a high velocity. The closer the steam cleaner's nozzle is to the surface to be cleaned, the higher the temperature and velocity of the water, the more effective the cleaning action. In addition to steam our vapor cleaners have a feature that we can add soap or cleaning solutions directly in to the cleaning stream the biggest advantage to this is that heat will help any soap or chemicals work more effectively this also reduces any "chemical runoff" to a smaller factor. The expanding and cooling of the water when the water passes through the  special nozzle puts the vapor additional pressurization and cannot remain a liquid at ambient temperature. The water cools itself to 212°F by vaporizing a portion of its volume. This is called "flashing to steam." Depending on the system, from 5 to 15 percent of the volume vaporizes, cooling the remaining liquid. This steam vapor, with a properly designed steam cleaning nozzle, also propels the remaining water droplets. Unlike a pressure washer nozzle, where the restrictive orifice is the last thing the water passes through before reaching the atmosphere, the steam cleaning nozzle has an expansion nozzle placed past the pressure orifice. This directs the water vapor energy rather than allowing it to dissipate in all directions. When water vaporizes, it expands to almost 1500 times its former volume. This expansion, directed by the somewhat conical steam nozzle, adds velocity to the water droplets. So, not only does the expansion nozzle direct the steam cleaner's output, it serves as a sort of propulsion chamber. No simply the super heated water hits the air out side the small hole in the nozzle and becomes steam it more or less expands or flashes becoming like a small explosion and these small drops or hot water hit the surface and tumble and splat to chip a way the dirt or grease. 

May be a bit faded and scratched but it has not effected it cleaning power Pete's newest addition to the steaming line up at Cleaned by Pete

Call Cleaned by Pete we are "Steaming in the Ozarks" 

417-459-7869

from the listing where I purchased it.