Our Pressure Washing Services
After 10 years of experimenting, our East Ellijay Pressure Washing Technicians are constantly trying to improve our cleaning solution, we finally got a working solution we are really happy with 3 years ago. The trick with washing wood products is not to cause damage while washing, but getting it clean, too! There are two difficulties with this. First, pressure higher than around 1,000 psi causes most wood to fuzz up slightly, (or a lot!). Second, if the cleaning solution itself isn't applied fast enough, or evenly enough, a good strong solution will cause a horrible mess with streaking, caused by the concentration being different in different areas. For instance, the solution may run off the edges of windows, leaving light spots dripping down from each side that can't be removed!
The solution? Really high grade, expensive, food grade, 15% sodium hypochlorite, (yes, bleach.) Of course, all bleach does is kill mildew, and bleach out the mildew stains. It DOES NOT clean anything! And bleach attacks wood and stain, weakening it at the critical time when you need it to be strong, during cleaning. That's why BUFFERS are needed, to bind to the bleach and keep it from damaging the stain and wood. The buffers also contain soap surfactants, at a VERY high concentration, since the soap has to match the power of the bleach we have. We mix our buffers, soap, and bleach all together to create a balanced cleaning solution. All that power lets us suction it through our pressure washer hose, and apply large volumes of the mixture at a final strength of 1-2% on the wall. The large volume of cleaning solution put on quickly keeps all the wood wet evenly, prevents streaking, and ensures the mildew and mold get enough dwell time to be sterilized properly.
Compare that with guys applying the bleach with pump up sprayers, too strong since they use straight 3% bleach, and too little volume, since they have to refill every 3-4 gallons. This is a recipe for disaster. Even the ones that use a pressure washer suction system use store bought bleach or outdoor bleach from Lowe's or Home Depot. That solution gets weakened down to only 1/2% by the time it mixes with water to get drawn through their system.
Last, our low pressure system is not just us staying away from the wall with a regular pressure washer. We have special tips that lower the pressure right at the gun, while keeping the large volume of water needed to rinse properly. Our technicians can select from 250, 500, and 750 psi, depending on what is needed for your job. The tips that let our washers reach pressures of 3,000 psi like most other washers, are thrown away as soon as we buy the machine.
Only our system gives you the right strength, with the right volume, so you can use the right pressure to get the job done.....right!
Chemical stripping your log home involves using special chemicals designed specifically for wood care. These chemicals must be used in a system, and it takes practice to do it right.
The first is stripper/emulsifier, designed to soften the stain, and break it down, just like soap dissolves grease. While it does this, it also raises the Ph level of the wood, causing it to darken, sometimes dramatically.
This brings us to the second step, which is a wood conditioner/neutralizer. This brings the Ph level back down to normal, which causes the wood to lighten dramatically. It also conditions the wood to accept more stain by opening the wood pores up about 20%.
The more stain we can get into the wood, the longer it will last, stretching your dollar as far as possible. We get great results using this method, but we prefer the first method even more.
We Care For Log Homes In These Areas
Pressure Washing Equipment
Why bother having a trailer for pressure washing?
It is a good idea to run pressure washers off of a tank system. This keeps the pressure washer(s) from sucking the well dry, if you have a slow flowing community well. In this area of North GA, many of the cabin communities don't supply enough water flow to support a strong pressure washer. If you run the well dry, you may burn up your well pump.
To keep from doing this, we allow water to flow into a holding tank, which acts as a buffer between our pressure washers and your well pump. This is just one way our Ellijay log home restoration contractors look out for your interests.
Our Ellijay Pressure Washing Contractors Provide These Detailed Services
- Pressure Washing
- Power Washing
- House Cleaning
- Log Cabin Cleaning
- House Washing
- Deck Cleaning
- Ellijay Pressure Washing
- House Pressure Washing
- Pressure Washing Services
- Pressure Wash Business
- Pressure Washing Company
- Power Washing Houses
Helpful Pressure Washing Articles
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Chemicals, Pressure Washing, & Your Ellijay Log Home
What are they using to clean or strip your Ellijay cabin? Many pressure washing companies don’t use anything but chlorine bleach. Some apply it full strength right out of the jug even though the instructions given on most stain products specify using a 3 or 4 to […]
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Ellijay Log Home Restoration Strategies: Pressure Washing And More
In Ellijay log home restoration the execution of techniques, products as well as procedures changes from company to company. From planning to design to the actual construction, each and every log house would have its very own set of variables as well as specific challenges. One […]