Power Washing and Roof Cleaning Forum

Jeff Wible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Pros and Cons of Splash and Dash

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I don't do gutter whitening myself, But I have noticed when I come back to a job in 2 years the gutters look good. no strips. I do have my own way of doing gutters and it seems to work out fine for me

Jeff Wible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Yea Art, gutter whitening is just part of my normally detailed house wash. Also using a Magic Eraser to remove kick marks from doors, scuff marks on plastic hand rails and porch railing, acid washing where needed, cleaning any concrete adjacent to the house,.(sidewalks, steps, small patios) I sometimes don;t know where to stop,.Ha, Ha,..

Jeff

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

It sounds like you have packages Jeff. We have a different approach that sounds like what you are considering.

When we get a call, we have a call sheet we use with all the different items that could be cleaned. Everything is a line item. A house wash is only a house wash. From there they can add, gutter brightening, decks, sidewalks and so on. Everyone seems to like the line item approach where they see what each service costs and can call to add or remove anything. We send a document with every estimate called What To Expect. When I started, it was one page. It has now grown to seven! Hell, the crap people whine about and think is included can be shocking! This document clears that up.

I don't think it would be lowering your standards if you only did a house wash and took off to the next. Since I have no clue what your package price is, you might not be able to get those who just want the siding clean and are happy with what the gutters look like with just the house wash. There ARE a ton of them.

Jeff Wible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Hey Brett,..thanks for the e-mail. Also,..Yea,.I really don't have any packages at this point. Basically my only package is from the roof edge to the ground,.. excluding pressure treated/stained decks......I'll take into consideration the line item approach. As it is,.. I just wholesale everything for a set price. And sidewalks, small patios and steps are just done by default. I just can't walk away with them being an eyesore.

What I'm considering though would be more along the lines of package options,..and the line item thing may be beneficial. So much of the way I've always done business is just handshake verbal agreement,..but If I would start itemizing,..I may have to have something showing the customer and I are on the same page as per the work that is to be done. Never had an issue to this point, simply because I just do everything, Ha, Ha

Jeff

Jeff

DirtyRoofcom · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I itemize as well. I let the customer choose what they want to do and how far they want to go. If they do a few services at the same time I will generally give some sort of a discount.

When it comes to gutter brightening it's Def an add on service and find that most customers are satisfied with how they look after a regular housewash. Only a few want to go the next step.

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

DirtyRoofcom wrote:
I itemize as well. I let the customer choose what they want to do and how far they want to go. If they do a few services at the same time I will generally give some sort of a discount.

When it comes to gutter brightening it's Def an add on service and find that most customers are satisfied with how they look after a regular housewash. Only a few want to go the next step.

I totally agree! Our discounts are 10 - 15 - & 20%. I always explain (when asked) our pricing is getting there and set up, since we are making one trip we discount the job accordingly. Most love it and we still do very well!

Western Mass Prowash · Exterior Cleaner

I’m the same as you Jeff. I do the same thing with gutters and magic erasers. I include front steps, but walkways and patios are extra. The gutter brightening takes some energy and time. I see guys just flying through their house washes without, but I just can’t do it.

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Western Mass Prowash wrote:
I’m the same as you Jeff. I do the same thing with gutters and magic erasers. I include front steps, but walkways and patios are extra. The gutter brightening takes some energy and time. I see guys just flying through their house washes without, but I just can’t do it.

We have so many who don't want to pay the extra for gutter brightening. Many clean up nicely with a house wash. To make gutter brightening easier I ordered swivel adapters for our Reach it pole, and bought some 14" brushes from Russ so we can do three story gutters from the ground. We still charge good for this due to the cost of the equipment and of course, the MacGyver work.

Swivel Adaptor

Pole

Brush

Western Mass Prowash · Exterior Cleaner

Thanks Brett

Jeff Wible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I agree to a point on the gutters Brett,..I too have done gutters that would be very acceptable with just the house mix,..SH and soap. Glad I don't run into three story gutters,..Ha, Ha,...

*I'm starting to see,.. and recommend black gutters,..they go with most everything and look better in the long run.

Jeff

Western Mass Prowash · Exterior Cleaner

My worries of these black gutters and windows that are being installed on newer homes are how they are going to hold up to the sun exposure and SH. I’ve seen recently that some guys have had issues with paint failure on black gutters with roof cleanings. Just like everything, the price of products have gone up, but are lower quality.

DirtyRoofcom · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Western Mass Prowash wrote:
My worries of these black gutters and windows that are being installed on newer homes are how they are going to hold up to the sun exposure and SH. I’ve seen recently that some guys have had issues with paint failure on black gutters with roof cleanings. Just like everything, the price of products have gone up, but are lower quality.

Ive been thinking about this a lot lately. The colors that are currently in style (white w black trim, dark navy and charcoal siding) plus the way they are building these new homes in shear size and design makes me think how much more complicated cleaning them will be in the future.

Here's a pic of a home I passed the other day. I stopped for a few minutes and just pondered cleaning something like this. Zoom in, home is much larger then it appears. 4 doggie dormers down each of the sides

Jeff Wible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I think that black gutters and trim is less of an issue than dark colored siding? I hate Blue, greens, reds and browns,...especially in lower quality siding. The oxidation on these darker colors of vinyl siding looks awful once it starts to oxidize. Yellow shades and white are preferable to me by far.

*I think the "beauty" of black gutters is the aesthetic appeal it will give simply due to not showing the ugly black streaks and mold the way white gutters do after only a couple of years. I think they will last long enough to be worth the tradeoff of Sun exposure.

**Plus, I prefer them on a wash, simply because I don't have to work that hard to get them to look nice. They still get moldy and streaky, but to the eye it doesn't show like it does on white. Camouflage at its best.

Jeff

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

DirtyRoofcom wrote:
Western Mass Prowash wrote:
My worries of these black gutters and windows that are being installed on newer homes are how they are going to hold up to the sun exposure and SH. I’ve seen recently that some guys have had issues with paint failure on black gutters with roof cleanings. Just like everything, the price of products have gone up, but are lower quality.
Ive been thinking about this a lot lately. The colors that are currently in style (white w black trim, dark navy and charcoal siding) plus the way they are building these new homes in shear size and design makes me think how much more complicated cleaning them will be in the future.

Here's a pic of a home I passed the other day. I stopped for a few minutes and just pondered cleaning something like this. Zoom in, home is much larger then it appears. 4 doggie dormers down each of the sides

A ton of ladder work to get that house clean. Definitely a unique home.

Western Mass Prowash · Exterior Cleaner

You’re right. The dark colors suck and the quality is worse. Cheap products everywhere. There are definitely different levels of siding and not many people are aware of it. There are also a lot of guys out there (YouTube stars included) that are nuking these houses with SH causing flash oxidation. I see it all the time. These guys want the organics to instantly disappear not realizing they are causing damage to the siding and burning plants. I have people ask me when I talk to them for estimates if I’m going to burn their bushes because it happened from the last company. I too like the dark color gutters. No scrubbing

Western Mass Prowash · Exterior Cleaner

Big house. Like Brett said there will be some ladder work with that bad boy.

Jeff Wible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Regarding that huge house. I often see the same thing I'm seeing here,..(Not the size),...But the gutters on dormers and such? Why not just put big commercial gutters on the main roof and let the "top" parts just rain down into the main? Imagine the nightmare of cleaning those gutters,..or even servicing them in any way. I don't clean gutters,..and even if I did I would turn that job down.

Jeff

DirtyRoofcom · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Western Mass Prowash wrote:
Big house. Like Brett said there will be some ladder work with that bad boy.

32ft ladder is the biggest I'll use. Gonna need a lift for that house.

Jeff, I agree. Imaging having a clogged gutter all the way up top!!

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

DirtyRoofcom wrote:
Western Mass Prowash wrote:
Big house. Like Brett said there will be some ladder work with that bad boy.
32ft ladder is the biggest I'll use. Gonna need a lift for that house.

Jeff, I agree. Imaging having a clogged gutter all the way up top!!

Houses like this is the main reason we stopped cleaning gutters. Our tallest ladder is 36' and some of the places where they put gutters is impossible.