I warn and warn people but they still hire these fly by nighters. I just can’t seem to get the word out to everyone. I drive around and see these bad power washing jobs that people actually paid for. It’s the same thing, a painter turned power washer and all they do is use bleach. I saw one painter with a pump sprayer and twenty gallons of bleach spraying bleach directly on the wood shingles! Bleach eats wood! I actually stopped and asked him why he was destroying this house with the bleach and his responds was this is the way he’s been doing it for twenty years. My response should have been “well you’ve been doing it wrong for twenty years.” However I just asked him, have you ever been trained in the correct way of cleaning wood? Unfortunately he was not interested in learning, he just wanted to do the job and get paid. I drove by that house the other day and it looks like crap!
Another painter turned power washer turned a green painted house gray! Why did it turn gray? Because he just used bleach and the paint could not stand up to its corrosive properties.
There are companies out there that spend millions of dollars to develop the proper cleaners for different types of siding on a house. Sure the correct cleaners cost a lot more than bleach, but if you are going to do a job why can’t you do it right! I spend on average $73 more per house for the proper cleaners than those idiots that just use bleach, however the house I clean will stay cleaner three times longer and in some cases even longer. I went by a house down the street from me who went with the cheep guy (saved himself $75.) three months ago. Not only was it a bad job, but in just three months you can see mold growing on the front of the house. WOW! Again, to do the job properly you need the correct products.
I gave an estimate a few weeks ago and the guy asked me question after question, I loved it because no one ever asks these questions. Come to find out he is a Real Estate Home Inspector and had seen some really bad power washing jobs and wanted to make sure that I knew what I was doing. Not only did I answer all his questions right I went above and beyond and gave him a list of questions that every one hiring a contractor should ask along with a copy of my book 7 Costly Mistakes Even Smart Homeowners Make When Hiring a Power Washer. Of course I got the job and did a great job cleaning as always!
As I was talking to him I told him how shocked and appalled by the lack of respect these so called power washers have for other people’s property. They don’t care enough to get properly trained to do the job right. I told him about the PWNA.org (Power Washers of North America) and how this association has training in place for several different types of power washing. They offer courses, videos, hands-on training and many other ways to become educated and trained in the proper way to clean a home.
Like everyone he agreed, but I think he was just happy he found me and didn’t have to hire one of those “Splash and Dashers”.
People don’t be afraid to ask questions!
I could go on and on about these untrained, unqualified, unethical, and probably uninsured idiots but i will end it here.
I will only use the best products and have the best service, because anything else would be a total disservice to my customers, my business and my family.
Dan Galvin
East Coast Powerwashing
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