Tile and Stone Restoration Products  

clean, protect, seal tile - stone - pavers - brick

 

Contractor, pressure washing

Of particular interest to the person doing pressure washer cleaning

 

As you can imagine, we have had considerable opportunity to work with people who use our products daily in conducting their pressure washing business. Following are some suggestions that have proven to be beneficial and profitable to those professionals.

Don't try to underbid to get a job, but price fairly. You are dealing in an area of many variables and some may be beyond your control.

Regarding cleaning: Remember that water causes efflorescence. Water under pressure can result in even more efflorescence than you started with due to an increased volume of water penetrating deeper into the materials. Test first and if this occurs, you will save money and trouble by seeing the cleaning techniques discussed in the  "Problem Solving"  section and using

   instead of the pressure washer.

 

"Insta-Clean" is used in pressure washers to accelerate the cleaning process. "Insta-Clean" breaks the bond of staining materials and allows their rapid removal.

Regarding Sealing: Some of your competitors may use their own secret formulas. Use that fact to market against them. Inform the prospective customer that you are using Aldon products and those products are available everywhere, not just from one person. The customer does not have to be concerned with being totally dependant on the applicating contractor. You are confident of your work and do not need to try to capture a customer into future work.

If, after cleaning, the surface still has problems - keep in mind that Aldon "color enhancing" sealers tend to disguise some color differences. See Surface Types

If sealing is not desired, Aldon "Efflorescence Treatment" also has color enhancing effects that disguise differences.

Let the customer look at the Aldon website. This will reassure them about the process and your intentions to achieve high quality.

If you made a mistake and are not making the profit you intended on a job - Do it right and take your loss. Shortcutting can mean callbacks and that means even more money lost.

Consider structuring your contract to notify the customer of variables beyond your control before you start. Perhaps a section of the contract can be on time and materials and the customer has the opportunity to understand and help you with better quality information about the history of the job (past problems, use of sealers, cleaners, etc.). Evaluate this information with the information in our  "Problem Solving"  sections and your potential risk drops tremendously.

When to vary from our recommendations:

Sometimes, job conditions dictate a change in technique. For instance, if a very large wall area has efflorescence over the bulk of the area, and also other staining materials that will be removed with pressure washing - it can make sense to pressure wash first despite our warning about this process creating more efflorescence. The new efflorescence will be the powder type and therefore, easily handled by Aldon "Efflorescence Treatment". If some spots of crystalline efflorescence remains after pressure washing, a treatment with "Grout Residue Remover" will take care of those smaller areas.

Remember, efflorescence will usually return in the future. See  "Problem Solving"  for the sealing process that prevents that return, and enhances the value of your contract.

A contractor's reputation for good work should generate all the work they can handle. Following the Aldon program builds that reputation.

 

 

 

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