Construction Contractors Community

Barry M · Joined: 05 Sep 2007 Posts: 99 Location: Indiana

For the most part, no matter where you're operating at in the country, you will have to deal with cold temperatures. When temperatures dip down it can be a lot harder to perform services such as house cleaning.

Here in Indiana, we deal with this every Spring and Fall. We have washed houses with temperatures in the 40's but even on cool cloudy days in the 60's there is a noticeable difference in the effectiveness of the chemicals we use.

Here are some ways we overcome cooler temps and deliver a quality service. Some of these may be obvious but I just wanted to hit on them for everyone.

1. We boost our chemical strength. On those cooler days it can be tough to kill green algae on a house. As most of you that use a chemical injector know, we already draw straight 12.5% chlorine so we can't really boost it any more at the mix tank. What we do is to use an xjet injector instead. This raises your mix ratio to 2 parts water 1 part mix. Now the mix is hitting the house a lot stronger than with a regular chemical injector at 5:1. In extreme cases or for certain stains we might even cut the full strength chemical in half with water and then apply it straight using a 12V pump. Then the mix is even stronger than using an xjet, but obviously you'll use a lot more chemical.

2. Be patient! We realize it is just going to take longer for the chemicals to work. So instead of getting frustrated and trying to hurry or trying to work at a "hot day" pace, we just slow down and allow the chemicals to dwell longer. We plan our day accordingly.

3. You can also try applying the chemicals and washing with hot water. For house cleaning it helps to heat the surfaces up like vinyl siding and gutters and will help the chemicals work better.

4. Schedule for another day. Pretty obvious but if we've checked the weather and see warmer days in the forecast, depending on the job, we have just re-scheduled and usually the homeowner is understanding. After all they want their house to look as good as possible.

Just remember to plan your day accordingly; bring extra chemicals, extra fuel for the burner, and give yourself some extra time. Follow these house cleaning tips for cooler temperatures and your customers won't be disappointed.

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House Cleaning Company Providing Deck Cleaning, Concrete Cleaning, Roof Cleaning and Other Power Washing Services