In a previous article we discussed how your pressure washing business can Save Time and Money with Concentrated Chemicals. The proper chemicals can make a power washing job much easier. The work gets done much faster, and you save money on labor. Another way to decrease your costs is to increase you dwell time.
Maximize the efficiency of a cleaning agent by increasing length of time that the chemical is in contact with the surface being cleaned. Liquid chemicals will quickly run off of a vertical surface thus minimizing the effectiveness of the cleaning agent. To increase the dwell time of the cleaning agent you can add foam boosters and apply the chemical using either an air driven foamer or an airless foamer.
An air driven foamer will deliver much richer foam but it has many limitations. You can only use a maximum of fifty feet of chemical hose thus limiting you as to what jobs you can use this type of foamer on because you must always have the foamer within fifty feet of the surface to be cleaned. To operate an air driven foamer you must also have an air compressor {either gasoline engine driven or electric}. If you choose to use an electric air compressor you will need a power source. Since you can’t rely on power being available on every job you will also need a generator. It is easy to tie up $2000.00 purchasing all of the equipment needed to operate with an air driven foamer and still not be able to use it in all situations.
An Airless Foamer is an accessory that attaches to the end of your spray lance. Chemical is pulled into the foamer head by the stream of water that flows from your pressure washer. Then it is mixed with air at the foamer head. Foam is created at the nozzle. Although the foam that is created in the airless foamer isn’t as thick as the foam you will get with an air driven type foamer it is thick enough to increase the dwell time and improve cleaning efficiency. This unit is made of stainless steel and can be purchased for less than $200.00 from PowerWash.com.