Soap & Chemical Attachments & Nozzles

Soap & Chemical Attachments & Nozzles

I've been asked to go over how one gets the soap and cleaners on surface to be cleaned. Each and every power washer has their own secret cleaning solution. What to add, what works, what's the best, I not here to discuss whatever is best does no good unless it is on the surface. While there are several ways to get the soap and cleaners to and on the surface these are the ones I use the most and the reasons why.

I will talk about injectors, very simply put these are devices that draw the cleaning solution into the water stream of the power washer then mixed with the water stream it is delivered to the surface to be cleaned or washed. These injectors come in different sizes, rates of flow, fixed or variable, and what is know as "up-stream" or "down-stream". As with nozzles injectors need to be properly sized to each power washing unit, in-order to work to its' peak effectiveness. This is figured out by how many psi and gpm your pump will be putting out. These injectors will draw soap and cleaners when the pressure in the output hose reaches a certain point of low pressure. We talked about nozzling in an earlier entry here in the blog. Open the hole size lowers the pressure while the gpm remain the same.

The next item is placement, where one places the injector in the power washer. An up-stream injector is placed before the pump in the water supply. It draws the cleaners into the water stream and is compressed and pressurized with the water in the pump as it flows to the nozzling device for dispersal or application. I personally have only worked with one machine that used up-streaming it works the same some say it is more efficient, I never noticed much difference. Most power washer do not like to run harsh chemicals into and through their pumps. This is the main reason I do not like up-streaming. Down-streaming is placing the injector after or behind the pump this way it will not draw cleaner into the pump head or unloader. 

Cleaned by Pete employes several different injectors that can be placed in different locations in the high pressure hose. To be able to use these on other washers or with other equipment some times adaptors are needed. This shows 3 different injectors and some adaptors we need from time to time.

Fixed or variable injectors I like to be able to adjust the flow or how much cleaner I am applying. I use an adjustable injector most injectors wide open will draw between 10% to 20% draw rate depending on who makes it. For less cleaner you simply screw in the adjustable knob. Some times you need more cleaner sometimes less. Fixed injectors draw in only a set percentage of cleaner to water flow. If your asking why they work it is due to venturies  which cause low pressure but you really can not make one, it really does not matter how or why it matters that they do.

As with any piece of equipment they have draw backs and they do ware out. One of the largest drawbacks is you usually can not use more than 200 feet of high pressure hose. The pressure it takes to move water that far also causes the injector to close higher pressure stops the draw from the injector. What do you do if you need more hose and can not move the power washer. Move the injector or add another one further down line or even a special type at the end of the lance, gun or wand.

Using the standard down-stream injector I have options on how to deliver the cleaner contained in the water stream. Different nozzles is our first chose. 

Standard low pressure nozzle or soap nozzle can be used. This nozzle will work great for areas that are not to far away or to high. The wide fan pattern does not work well at any distance.

Soap distance nozzle a special low pressure nozzle that will reach two and three stories with the right power washer.

Special constructed nozzles that Cleaned by Pete has made for his machines to use for his needs. Each and every job is different and may or may not require different nozzles. We take pride in have a large line of attachments and nozzles for the job we do.

You can look back in the blog and see some of these nozzles being used to reach and apply cleaners to three storied homes.

Some times the cleaning job need more concentrated cleaner to be applied to the surface. What do you do? your injector is pulling in as much as it can. There are even more options we can use. Special units that have their own built in injectors that will draw out a larger percentage of cleaner near the discharge point.

Soap cannon with it's own soap injector. This will allow us to draw out more cleaner just before the discharge. You can dial up a larger % of the cleaner. More cleaner is drawn out getting a stronger mix on the surface. This unit has its' own supply bottle attached.

Here are a few more attachments to consider each does some thing different Cleaned by Pete uses each and all of these depending on each jobs need.

A simple foamer helps in adding air into the mixture as it leaves the nozzle foaming it up. This one is variable too you can adjust the draw of cleaner. Cleaned by Pete uses a hose to a bucket to draw soap to this tip.

M5 a type of "x-jet" system has a varabile soap feed plus can stream or fan soap on. With a simple adjustment you can also use this unit to rinse also. Cleaned by Pete also uses this attachment with a 20 ft hose to the cleaner in a container. As with the system above you need to bring the cleaner to the point of discharge.

This attachment is set up with its' own soap container. No need to drag the cleaner around with you, draw back small bottles of cleaner do not last to long. Larger bottles weigh more.

Soap cannon also adds air into the cleaner mixture giving you a rich thick layer of cleaning foam. Cleaned by Pete use this attachment to "foam" decks, autos and concrete. it has a bottle and an adjustable injector also. You can remove the bottle and add a hose to draw from the soap container also.

Closer view of the adjustable cleaner draw knob.

Some other soap and cleaner attachments Cleaned by Pete made for some special applications where nothing else would work. Since we work only from the ground no ladders on a home we sometimes need something a bit different.

Foaming head on an extension pole Cleaned by Pete made this to reach some gables on a house.

Cleaned by Pete's soap applying lance to help reach areas that the standards methods just don't work. This lance and gun combination contains a place for a jug of cleaner and two different adjustable soaping draws.

Cleaned by Pete's soap rifle.

This is a water cannon can be use to apply soap and cleaners to tall buildings and then by adjusting the front handle you can use it to wash and rinse.

Each of these has it place in Cleaned by Pete tool box each one is used to put soaps and cleaners where you need. Some are a "stand alone" attachment while others need injectors to function. Cleaned by Pete has them all to fit your job, if you need cleaning and want to see these items in action call us at:
417-459-7869
for that free prompt estimate.


Thank you for reading our blog please bookmark us and share it with others.

Electric Pressure Washers: Why we use them

We have talked about being mobile and the advantages that it gives to our customers. The ability to come to the job sight saving them time, money and work. Sometimes we the, professional cleaner, are asked to do a different job or a new cleaning service that we normally do not do. Cleaned by Pete has invested in several different units to do these types of jobs, like we say having the right tools and equipment for the right job. These electric units come in handy doing certain jobs they are small and portable. While I would not want to wash a home with one there is no reason I could not, the Can Spray unit as well as the other electric washer we own and use are industrial and commercial grade equipment.

We were once asked to clean a small basement after a flood here in town. The job was to big to wash by hand and yet to small and delicate to use the big washer. We had to adjust, the small drain could not handle large amount of water and the confined space and stairs limited what we could use. We opted to use one of the electric units we have.

Cleaned by Pete has several types and sizes of units for you cleaning needs

Starting in the hood cleaning part of the industry we learned early that we could not access all the kitchen or venting systems with the bigger power washers. The Cam Spray unit pictured may look like a small electric unit you might purchase at the "big box store", but look inside you'll find an industrial pressure washer.

Inside the electric unit you see a biplex Hypro pump.

Inside you will also find a 1 1/2 horsepower120 volt motor.

We could carry and manoeuvre this unit through the house down the stairs and into the basement, use a short hose and clean up after that flood. We could have put a pressure hose through the casement window (which was nailed and painted shut) or ran back and fort through the house. Not wanting to track up the stairs or the house we figured this was the best option for this job. In the picture below you can see another one of our electric units this is our "bare bones unit", Bones, the one with the square carrying handle. Bones is one of the hood cleaning holdovers.

Pictured some of the pressure washers and equipment Cleaned by Pete has for your cleaning needs, for use in South-west and the greater Springfield MO area.

You're looking at it saying why would you keep that thing when you have other electric units well what makes this special is you can run "hot water" trough it. This little unit has hot-water seals in the pump making it very useful to clean the grease on those old hoods with hot water from hot water tank at the restaurant. You also see a 6 1/2 hp gas motor with a wobble pump on it, this is a back up unit ready in-case we are on a job and a pump or motor goes down we have something to finish. We have equipped all our service units with quick connects or adaptors and are able to change hose out if needed we can even switch to the "metric style" hoses if needed. Using these smaller units usually means a smaller job so we have high pressure hoses in lengths form 4 feet on up, we like 12 feet to 20 feet the best. There is no scene taking a 50 ft hose to use in a 16 foot space, we have our high pressure hoses in different lengths or runs so all we have to do is pick the leads and length we need for the job. Hauling them to the roof or down to a basement, inside and through spaces you want to take only what you need, and make as few trips as possible. Referring back to the post on poles and attachments to see that we use different guns and can build any style of lance via the quick connect system on all our attachments.

Small pump use to clean A/C coils or other applications where you have to carry in or up water and cleaner. This is a self priming pump and draws from a bucket or small tank.

As described above the blue electric washer is also commercial grade, having an one horse power motor, an all brass hypro pump, we're able to run cleaner or water through it, from a bucket, sink or small tank. It has been use up on roofs and in some tight spots, this is the only unit we have that has dedicated hoses, tips and wands it is very portable and used for specific jobs. These are just some of the electric unit we have, believing we have the right unit, type or size for most jobs we will encounter. I will discuss the several different sized unit we have that are gas powered and why we have several of them in the next entry. Call Cleaned by Pete at 417-459-7869 for a free prompt estimate and visit our web sites Cleaned by Pete or Power Washing Springfield MO, follow and "like"us on facebook.

One last thought here, while you do not need this specialized equipment to wash with we feel it helps and gives us an edge on competitors. I'm not saying others can’t clean or compete using a big gas unit or a smaller cold water gas unit to get the smaller or special job done. It is just that Cleaned by Pete has invested in this equipment committing to our customers the best while making it easier, saving time, energy, water, other natural resources such as gas, oil and saving money all the while not sacrificing quantity doing the best job each and every time.