House washing soap / for use with water blaster

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timmmay

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#2696977 23-Apr-2021 10:30

outdoorsnz:

I have a flat 30 odd liter spray tank. And connected to that is a 12V pressure pump running off a 12V jump starter. Have quite a long strong rubber hose and spray wand. Saves lots of time and means you can make up a bulk solution to do the whole house. I just wheel it around on a flat wheel barrow.

You could also try those rapid hose adapters that 30 seconds etc are heavily promoting now. But I tried than once and thought it was a big rip off because if you have the water pressure to high, it is all gone in 30 seconds!

Yeah, not worth getting something like that for an annual wash. Yeah the hose connected ones probably don't last as long as they should, but if I need two of the hose connected things once a year @ $30 each instead one that's cheaper than buying another thing that's a bit like a pressure washer and means I don't have more stuff cluttering up the shed.

weasel13

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#2698362 26-Apr-2021 21:10

Dulouz:

I followed these instructions from https://nztreatmentsandspraying.co.nz/the-5-best-auckland-house-washing-tips/

Instructions
For a medium sized house, mix 5 litres of household bleach with 4 litres of water and 1 litre of dish wash liquid.
Leave the solution on the house for 5 to 10 minutes and then wash off completely.
Marvel at your pristine clean house, and tell your friends how great it looks.
This solution will provide a deep clean to a level that water blasting and scrubbing can’t achieve.
You’ll be left with a shinier house, that will stay clean for longer. The household bleach is relatively non-toxic, safe to wash around established plant life and water-soluble. It easily washes away, and residue will biodegrade with a little bit of sunlight and heat
Haven't had any issues.

@Dulouz Can you recall what brand of bleach and dish wash liquid you used? Thanks.

I've seen that mixture online, but also saw that you shouldn't mix bleach and dishwash liquid together as it can release toxic gases.

Dulouz

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#2698813 27-Apr-2021 15:55

@weasel13 - I just used what I had around the house. i.e. 'Value' bleach from New World and Palmolive. Not sure about the fumes. You do need to clean your machine well afterwards as bleach (like most chemicals) can damage it .

Amanon

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#2698816 27-Apr-2021 15:59

Dulouz:
You do need to clean your machine well afterwards as bleach (like most chemicals) can damage it .

Not just that, but it's incredibly corrosive if allowed to sit on/in anything for any amount of time. Imagine sea salt spray but much worse. I'd be very nervous about using bleach like this, if it collects anywhere where you can't clean it off later you could end up with corroded whatever-it-was.

timmmay

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#2698955 27-Apr-2021 19:39

I used 30 seconds house cleaner. Sprayed it on using a pressure sprayer (not a water blaster), gave it a good brush with the house brush, then washed it off with the water blaster from a good distance within 5 minutes. A hose would probably have worked just as well as the water blaster. The results were very good, all the dirt gone and it got a bit of litchen off the guttering easily as well. It's very hard work especially in the sun with full wet weather gear and with eye protection. I did about half my average sized house in four hours, but that includes doing a bit of a low roof and washing down the windows in the area I cleaned. Even wearing leather gloves and being fairly careful my skin didn't like the mixture, I think it'll take about a week to fully recover.

I also got the 30 seconds outdoor cleaner which has benzyl ammonium chloride which is the one that kills moss and lichen over the course of a few months. I'll spray that on paths and inside guttering when I get some free time. I'll report back any interesting results. Interested to hear how others get on with different formulations.

Thanks all for the advice.

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