The National Cleaning Expo’s are events for the Pressure Washing Industry that are held across the country. Since their beginning in 2008 these events and round table discussions have increased in size and popularity in bringing contractors together to discuss their business, meet with suppliers, to improve networking and to improve the industry as a whole.
The next few events this year will be on July 30th and 31st in Tampa, FL being held at the Crown Plaza Westshore, located at 5303 West Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, Florida 33609. And then in September on the 29th and 30th in Charleston, SC held at the Embassy Suites Hotel Airport/Convention Center, 5055 International Blvd, North Charleston SC 29418, immediately following the CETA show that ends on the 28th. Contractors are not normally allowed to attend the CETA show since it is a manufactures exhibit. But this year contractors are being invited to view the CETA show the last day, on the 28th for a small fee of $25-$45 depending on how soon you register, so plan to come a day early to the National Cleaning Expo and take advantage of this great opportunity. To visit the CETA web site go here http://www.ceta.org/ or to register to attend on the 28th go here http://www.ceta.org/documents/PC2010_industrial_users_reg.pdf to print and fill out their form.
Information for the National Cleaning Expo events can be found at http://nationalcleaningexpo.com/. Every event is different and pricing changes for each location depending on venue and speakers. Some events are free or have industry organizations that come and put on their own additional classes that enhance the NCE events them selves. For instance the RCIA (Roof Cleaning Institute of America) will be sponsoring a free social at 6 pm on July 29th as a prelim to the start of the show on Friday. And the PWNA (Power Washers of North America) is hosting a Pressure Washing Boot Camp and classes during the NCE, $99.00 for members with the following subjects and speakers: Fleet Washing- Eric Clark BOD (PWNA Instructor) and Wood Restoration- Mike Hilborn ED (PWNA Instructor).
There will also be other classes costing $59 each with special speakers such as Tony Shelton-Residential Coil cleaning “are you missing $$$$” 1.5 hours, Mike Kriesle – SEO “Getting the Phone to ring” 1.5 Hours, and Mark Belyan- (property Manager) “How to get my business?” 1.5 Hours.
The main show of this National Cleaning Expo will include for free the following speakers; Daryl Mirza- “Taking your business from one to four hundred employees!!!”, Mike Hilborn- Getting to the next level. “Implement systems”, Ron Musgraves- Trouble getting in the door? “Selling Commercial property managers advance Techniques”, A.C. Lockyer- Popcorn Marketing. “Residential Marketing for the Overwelmed”, Joe Crowder- Interior Floors cleaning instruction “Work all year round”, Michael Tessaro- “Are you making money in your business? Learn how to analyze your bottom line” and Chris Tucker – “Talking about Roof Cleaning Today”.
Organizations, distributors and suppliers also come to these events to find members, show their products and sell products at special promotional prices to the attendees. There are also fun and games for the attendees with prizes given way, product demos and presentations put on by the exhibitors as well as door prizes and the main event prize of a complete washing “skid outfit” to be given away at both of these events.
Soap Warehouse http://www.soapwarehouse.biz/ will be a sponsor at these events with $250 prize certificates, bucket games prizes, products being demoed and monetary support being given to the National Cleaning Expo organizers to help further these events and the pressure washing industry. If you attend please check out our brochure with our event special offers for attendees.
The complete speaker line up for the NCE Event in September has not been finalized but may include many that will be at the Tampa July event.
Keep checking the NCE web site http://nationalcleaningexpo.com/ for updates. And remember you need not be a member of any organization to attend a National Cleaning Expo event or round table, just be engaged in business activities related to the pressure washing or mobile cleaning businesses such as; pressure washing, fleet washing, exterior maintenance, commercial or residential cleaning, kitchen exhaust cleaning, flat work, carpet cleaning, etc. Please support your industry.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Industrial equipment cleaning products.
This month our product focus is on a small group of our products that does not get a lot of attention except from the few customers that use them on a daily basis, so for the rest of you, this maybe a totally first look at these items.
First we have our “Parts Cleaner”. If you have a machine shop or pressure washer repair side of your business you most likely use a parts cleaner of some kind to remove oil, dirt and the like from motors parts and such. Actually we sell the most of this cleaner to mechanics that have nothing to do with pressure washing but have cycle and small engine shops like lawn motor repair.
This product comes as a powder, sold in 25 or 100 lb increments and is used at one lb per 5 gallons of water. This mixture for use in hot dip tanks usually set at 110 to 180 degrees. This heavy duty alkaline cleaner cleans ferrous and non-ferrous metal parts of oils, grease, soils and other debris.
Our next product “Phos-tize HD” is also used primarily in motor cycle or machine shops. This liquid is a heavy duty hot degreasing and de-rusting compound that is also used in hot water, high pressure washers, steam cleaners and in hot dip tanks. Dilution can be a little as 2% and up, and will leave metals rain bowed, blued and prepared for re-assembly and painting.
This next product is one used by commercial building maintenance companies and the like. Our “Non Acid Aluminum Coil Cleaner” is a great new “Green” solution to the old acid versions that are being phased out of use. This liquid product is used in the cleaning of air conditioner, evaporator and condenser coils at a rate of 1:4 cleaner to water, but it can be diluted up to, but no more than, 1:40 in some applications. Coil cleaning is a necessary service that should be done at least once if not twice a year or quarterly depending on the equipment, environmental factors and time of use the equipment is in operation. The more the use, the more frequent the cleaning needs to be. With this being a non acid “Green” product, operator safety and client concerns to maintain new “Green” building initiatives can be fulfilled.
Another non acid product is our “Drain Opener” that is also for commercial building use. This liquid product will dissolve and liquefy hair, paper and grease found in commercial floor and sink drains in bathrooms, kitchens, and restaurants that empty in to sewer drains. Not for use in out side water drains that flow into storm drain systems. Do not use on aluminum, or pore through aluminum drain covers or catch strainer baskets. Remove cover and/or strainer before using product and replace after cleaning is done. Not for home use.
Also for cleaning drains as a maintenance type product is our “QwicZyme”. This has biological action to break down food wastes, grease and other organic matter in drains and pipe systems that cause clogs. QwicZyme deprives odor causing bacteria of their food source, thus inhibiting their growth and ability to produce obnoxious odors. This can be used indoors or out in any free flowing drain and is safe for disposals and septic tanks. Warm water must first be added to the drain and pipes to increase the temperature before using to activate the QwicZyme to work. Once added to the drain and pipes QwicZyme should be left to stand over night in the trap and pipes before flushing with fresh water. Treatment is 1 quart per 25 cubic foot of pipe and it is suggested to be used weekly for optimum free drain flow performance.
Information on these and the rest of our regular Industrial Degreasers can be found on line at http://www.soapwarehouse.biz/.
First we have our “Parts Cleaner”. If you have a machine shop or pressure washer repair side of your business you most likely use a parts cleaner of some kind to remove oil, dirt and the like from motors parts and such. Actually we sell the most of this cleaner to mechanics that have nothing to do with pressure washing but have cycle and small engine shops like lawn motor repair.
This product comes as a powder, sold in 25 or 100 lb increments and is used at one lb per 5 gallons of water. This mixture for use in hot dip tanks usually set at 110 to 180 degrees. This heavy duty alkaline cleaner cleans ferrous and non-ferrous metal parts of oils, grease, soils and other debris.
Our next product “Phos-tize HD” is also used primarily in motor cycle or machine shops. This liquid is a heavy duty hot degreasing and de-rusting compound that is also used in hot water, high pressure washers, steam cleaners and in hot dip tanks. Dilution can be a little as 2% and up, and will leave metals rain bowed, blued and prepared for re-assembly and painting.
This next product is one used by commercial building maintenance companies and the like. Our “Non Acid Aluminum Coil Cleaner” is a great new “Green” solution to the old acid versions that are being phased out of use. This liquid product is used in the cleaning of air conditioner, evaporator and condenser coils at a rate of 1:4 cleaner to water, but it can be diluted up to, but no more than, 1:40 in some applications. Coil cleaning is a necessary service that should be done at least once if not twice a year or quarterly depending on the equipment, environmental factors and time of use the equipment is in operation. The more the use, the more frequent the cleaning needs to be. With this being a non acid “Green” product, operator safety and client concerns to maintain new “Green” building initiatives can be fulfilled.
Another non acid product is our “Drain Opener” that is also for commercial building use. This liquid product will dissolve and liquefy hair, paper and grease found in commercial floor and sink drains in bathrooms, kitchens, and restaurants that empty in to sewer drains. Not for use in out side water drains that flow into storm drain systems. Do not use on aluminum, or pore through aluminum drain covers or catch strainer baskets. Remove cover and/or strainer before using product and replace after cleaning is done. Not for home use.
Also for cleaning drains as a maintenance type product is our “QwicZyme”. This has biological action to break down food wastes, grease and other organic matter in drains and pipe systems that cause clogs. QwicZyme deprives odor causing bacteria of their food source, thus inhibiting their growth and ability to produce obnoxious odors. This can be used indoors or out in any free flowing drain and is safe for disposals and septic tanks. Warm water must first be added to the drain and pipes to increase the temperature before using to activate the QwicZyme to work. Once added to the drain and pipes QwicZyme should be left to stand over night in the trap and pipes before flushing with fresh water. Treatment is 1 quart per 25 cubic foot of pipe and it is suggested to be used weekly for optimum free drain flow performance.
Information on these and the rest of our regular Industrial Degreasers can be found on line at http://www.soapwarehouse.biz/.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Clean Across America. How you can help.
This year the dates for the campaign are July 24 -31. And as stated on their web site:
"Clean Across America is a volunteer effort that started with one local contractor in 2000. With growing support from organizations like the Power Washers of North America and the Take Pride In America Foundation, CAA has grown into a national effort with support from pressure washing contractors across the nation!"
Over the years Clean Across America has donated over $250,000 worth of services of time and chemicals.
Soap Warehouse has wanted to participate in the worst way but besides just sending in a donation, which we have in the past, we would like one of our customers to donate their time so we could donated the chemicals. But so far in the last three years no one as stepped up and volunteered. So I hope with this post and more awareness that we can find at least one of our very many customers that would be willing to do some project no matter how small for this great cause. We understand that the majority of our clients are fleet washers and truck wash operators that don't do any kind of exterior washing, but all we can do is ask, to see if even one among the less then 20% of our customers, that we might find someone.
If you would like more information please visit their site Clean Across America.
To fill out and participate please get a form at Clean Across America, but if you are also a PWNA member and want to participate there is a different form to fill out you can find here; PWNA form.
"The individual contractors select which projects each wants to get involved with. Some contractors prefer large, highly visible projects requiring lots of hours to complete but most participants opt for projects that can be completed in a single day." Many drive across the country as was the case when some of the monuments in Washington DC where cleaned a few years ago, but you can chose something right in your local town or community.
Ideas would be; to clean the side walks of the town square, clean a historic building, clean a shelter weather for human or animal, or a food bank. Any thing that would be a benefit to the community at large is a worth while project.
Read the Cleaner Times article about the PWNA's Clean Across America campaign project here!
You can also find videos of past projects at the CCA site as well. You too would be able to contact local media; newspaper, radio and television a like to ask them to cover your donation work, giving you more than enough publicity to pay you for your efforts. Plus if you contact us and you get your chemicals for free you get even more value for the time that you volunteer.
I hope to hear from someone in the coming few weeks so Soap Warehouse can play a larger role in this worth while effort to give back to America the Beautiful and have a Happy 4th of July!
"Clean Across America is a volunteer effort that started with one local contractor in 2000. With growing support from organizations like the Power Washers of North America and the Take Pride In America Foundation, CAA has grown into a national effort with support from pressure washing contractors across the nation!"
Over the years Clean Across America has donated over $250,000 worth of services of time and chemicals.
Soap Warehouse has wanted to participate in the worst way but besides just sending in a donation, which we have in the past, we would like one of our customers to donate their time so we could donated the chemicals. But so far in the last three years no one as stepped up and volunteered. So I hope with this post and more awareness that we can find at least one of our very many customers that would be willing to do some project no matter how small for this great cause. We understand that the majority of our clients are fleet washers and truck wash operators that don't do any kind of exterior washing, but all we can do is ask, to see if even one among the less then 20% of our customers, that we might find someone.
If you would like more information please visit their site Clean Across America.
To fill out and participate please get a form at Clean Across America, but if you are also a PWNA member and want to participate there is a different form to fill out you can find here; PWNA form.
"The individual contractors select which projects each wants to get involved with. Some contractors prefer large, highly visible projects requiring lots of hours to complete but most participants opt for projects that can be completed in a single day." Many drive across the country as was the case when some of the monuments in Washington DC where cleaned a few years ago, but you can chose something right in your local town or community.
Ideas would be; to clean the side walks of the town square, clean a historic building, clean a shelter weather for human or animal, or a food bank. Any thing that would be a benefit to the community at large is a worth while project.
Read the Cleaner Times article about the PWNA's Clean Across America campaign project here!
You can also find videos of past projects at the CCA site as well. You too would be able to contact local media; newspaper, radio and television a like to ask them to cover your donation work, giving you more than enough publicity to pay you for your efforts. Plus if you contact us and you get your chemicals for free you get even more value for the time that you volunteer.
I hope to hear from someone in the coming few weeks so Soap Warehouse can play a larger role in this worth while effort to give back to America the Beautiful and have a Happy 4th of July!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Car Wash Products from Soap Warehouse.
This month our product group focus will be on our Car Wash line.
Many of our products can be used with automated equipment, with pressure washers and with simple hand washing, bucket and sponge applications. Be sure to read the description of the product and know the proper dilutions for your specific equipment.
Proper dilution is the best way to get the results you want at the lowest cost possible.
Let us first look at the soaps that where made to be used in automated systems:
High Foam Cherry – As the name says, this is high foaming car wash with a fresh cherry scent. It was designed to be used in a drive thru system or self serve wash bay but can be used with a pressure washer or by hand washing as well. It rinses well and is pH balanced. It has a wide metering range of 1:150 to 1:8000 depending on your equipment. For example for a self serve system you pre mix 1 gallon of soap to 10 gallons of water and then place that 10 gallons in the system set to meter the mix at 1:35 yielding you 350 gallons of product from that single gallon.
Foamy Brush – This product is extremely high foaming and was made to use in self serve brush bays. It has an even stronger cherry scent then HFC. Metering dilutions are 1:150 to 1:800. It can also be use in a touch less drive thru and is pH balanced too. It can also be ordered in three colors; red, blue and yellow for businesses that need tri color soap washing and is sold in a kit of three 5 gallon tight drums.
We still sell a touch less pre soak but it is not listed on our web site due to its not as big of a seller like our soaps are. If you need this product please call.
If you need only a moderate foaming wash for your self serve bay wands or drive thru then our High Pressure Car Wash is what you would want to try. It has a nice lemon scent and is also pH balanced safe for painted finishes.
We also have specific products like the Foamy Tire, Spray Wax and Rinse Aid for those consumer added product selections for the automatic, self serve and no touch washes. Foamy Tire’s high foam clings well to tire walls and rims to dissolve the brake dust, grease and road grime. Spray Wax is a lemon scented highly concentrated product, 1 oz per 5 gallons of water. It enhances sheeting, discourages spotting and speeds drying time. But for even more of these benefits use our Quick Dry Rinse Aid, when applied in the rinse cycle in automated systems you get even more sheeting of excess water which results in less or shorter blower time needed which can decrease your line time per vehicle.
Now on to a few of our other products;
Wash and Wax is our number one seller for hand wash car detailers. This highly concentrated high foaming product has acrylic polymers that leave a great shine. The wash quickly penetrates, emulsifies and removes heavy dirt leaving a high gloss shine that will not spot chrome.
Bay Wash is just that a chemical to wash and clean your wash bays. This is a highly acid product and all safety measures must be followed but this will take years off a neglected property or will keep your nice one looking great for years to come. This will clean and brighten painted block, brick, tile, vinyl and masonry without damage when used as directed. It will remove the soap scum from walls, grease and oils from the track lines and concrete floors that came from the passing vehicles through your system. Nothing turns a wash customer off more than seeing a dirty looking facility. How can you clean their car when you can’t even keep your own property clean?
I hope this makes you aware of what we have to offer and if you need something we did not write about, please call, we may have it or will be able to have it made for you.
Have a great day.
Many of our products can be used with automated equipment, with pressure washers and with simple hand washing, bucket and sponge applications. Be sure to read the description of the product and know the proper dilutions for your specific equipment.
Proper dilution is the best way to get the results you want at the lowest cost possible.
Let us first look at the soaps that where made to be used in automated systems:
High Foam Cherry – As the name says, this is high foaming car wash with a fresh cherry scent. It was designed to be used in a drive thru system or self serve wash bay but can be used with a pressure washer or by hand washing as well. It rinses well and is pH balanced. It has a wide metering range of 1:150 to 1:8000 depending on your equipment. For example for a self serve system you pre mix 1 gallon of soap to 10 gallons of water and then place that 10 gallons in the system set to meter the mix at 1:35 yielding you 350 gallons of product from that single gallon.
Foamy Brush – This product is extremely high foaming and was made to use in self serve brush bays. It has an even stronger cherry scent then HFC. Metering dilutions are 1:150 to 1:800. It can also be use in a touch less drive thru and is pH balanced too. It can also be ordered in three colors; red, blue and yellow for businesses that need tri color soap washing and is sold in a kit of three 5 gallon tight drums.
We still sell a touch less pre soak but it is not listed on our web site due to its not as big of a seller like our soaps are. If you need this product please call.
If you need only a moderate foaming wash for your self serve bay wands or drive thru then our High Pressure Car Wash is what you would want to try. It has a nice lemon scent and is also pH balanced safe for painted finishes.
We also have specific products like the Foamy Tire, Spray Wax and Rinse Aid for those consumer added product selections for the automatic, self serve and no touch washes. Foamy Tire’s high foam clings well to tire walls and rims to dissolve the brake dust, grease and road grime. Spray Wax is a lemon scented highly concentrated product, 1 oz per 5 gallons of water. It enhances sheeting, discourages spotting and speeds drying time. But for even more of these benefits use our Quick Dry Rinse Aid, when applied in the rinse cycle in automated systems you get even more sheeting of excess water which results in less or shorter blower time needed which can decrease your line time per vehicle.
Now on to a few of our other products;
Wash and Wax is our number one seller for hand wash car detailers. This highly concentrated high foaming product has acrylic polymers that leave a great shine. The wash quickly penetrates, emulsifies and removes heavy dirt leaving a high gloss shine that will not spot chrome.
Bay Wash is just that a chemical to wash and clean your wash bays. This is a highly acid product and all safety measures must be followed but this will take years off a neglected property or will keep your nice one looking great for years to come. This will clean and brighten painted block, brick, tile, vinyl and masonry without damage when used as directed. It will remove the soap scum from walls, grease and oils from the track lines and concrete floors that came from the passing vehicles through your system. Nothing turns a wash customer off more than seeing a dirty looking facility. How can you clean their car when you can’t even keep your own property clean?
I hope this makes you aware of what we have to offer and if you need something we did not write about, please call, we may have it or will be able to have it made for you.
Have a great day.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
How to properly mix our products.
I know this may seem rather odd to be writing a post on how to mix product, but we get calls all too often about why a product is not working well, or the way that it should, or how it had in previous times and more times than not, the reason can be traced back to how the product was mixed. Therefore I will be going over as many points here as I can think of. If you think of more please add them to this post at the bottom.
First it is important to mix the component packages in the order they are labeled and it states in the directions.
For the most part they are very simple instructions but by not adding parts in the correct order you can either make a small difference, or all the way up to making things even hazardous.
If a kit comes in A, B and C and it clearly states put A in then add water, then please do that. I know some might like to start filling the drum before they pour in the first powder but there is a reason. First is to be sure the ingredients in the A component dissolve well. For instance it is much harder to mix a powdered chocolate drink powder into a full glass of cold milk then it is to put the powder in first the then pour the milk on top and then mix. Same principle. And make sure the water is not too cold! Even tap water in some parts of the country and during times of the year maybe colder then needed for proper mixing conditions. Try to use luke warm tap water, but if your water is cold add some hot water, say a gallon to every 4-5 gallons of tap water, that you are adding to the mixing drum (prior to pouring it in). In other words have a 5 gallon pail that you are using to add water that you have mixed the hot and cold water together before pouring it into the drum.
Next if it says to use 45 gallons of water, then add 45 gallons, not 20 or even 40 but 45. If the amount of water is too small and you add in other ingredients early, you might cause a reaction due to having too high of a concentration of raw chemicals together.
Next, always add the second, third and so on number of ingredients slowly to your mixture. One so that you to not splash chemicals back on to yourself or into your eyes (Always wear protective gear when mixing) and second so that you have time to properly stir and mix the solution for complete integration.
I know some people like to put all the powders together and then add all the liquids or put them in after all the liquids are in the drum but this can cause hazardous results. Some of the chemical powdered ingredients should not be put together, or they could have come packaged that way. Or one powder may be needed to be added only at the very end when you have the most amount of water because it may produce a stronger reaction if added too soon or when less water is present.
When pouring the liquid components into a partial solution, add slowly and stop once or twice to mix well so the new liquid does not settle straight down to the bottom of the drum, since it will be much denser than the solution already in the drum. Once you have emptied all the liquid that will easily pour out be sure to scrape the walls of the pail off to get all of the liquid out. If it is too difficult you can just add a small amount of warm water, say 1/2 gallon, and with the lid on and tightly closed slosh the water around in the pail to dissolve the remaining residue into a thin enough liquid to be pored into the drum with the rest of the solution.
Once you have finished adding ingredients and mixing make sure you top off to the proper level. If you have a product where one drum will make two, be sure you have thoroughly mixed the first 55 gallons, transfer half of the drum (27.5 gallons) to a second drum and then fill both back up to the 55 gallon level. If you wait for even a day before transferring make sure you thoroughly remix the first drum before you start to pump out the 27.5 gallons in case you have settling of ingredients. This can sometimes be the reason why one drum seems to work much better than the other because you got an uneven amount of active product ingredients in each drum.
This is also the reason you mix any super concentrated product all at once and DO NOT just pump out 1 gallon of a 5 gallon mixture and make only 11 gallons of product at a time. These super concentrated pails are designed to be completely mixed because of how much the ingredients will settle out or layer in the pail. if you try to mix partial batches, no two mixtures will be or will work the same.
Same can be said if you mix a drum and then only pump out small amounts at a time. You should always remix at least for a few minutes to reintegrate the solution. Some products settle out more than others and temperature can be a large factor in this. If you store your chemicals out in an unheated building or area, products will have the tendency to settle more quickly than if left at 70-75 degree average room temp.
Our products are all produced with a very short pre-ship storage time. We try to have product made from just a few weeks to only a few days before they are ordered and ship out. This way they are very fresh and have a long storage life, most at least two years if stored properly. This way you can buy a large volume of product to save money and shipping costs and even if you do not use all of it by the end of your wash season, you can be sure it will still work when you mix it and use it at the beginning of the next season. With this said it is important that if product has not been kept in the most ideal conditions that when it is mixed you can take additional steps to try and make it still work for you. We have had customers call that have let product freeze or nearly freeze, get wet or exposed to moisture that the powders become solid, etc. Many of these problems can be addresses with sometimes no ill effects to the end mixed product.
If you have a liquid component that has frozen or has gotten extremely cold, you must raise its temperature high enough to allow it to pour but not too high to destroy the products chemical integrity. We suggest that you get a larger container than the 5 or 6 gallon pail the liquid is in, fill it with warm water and place the pail into it. Do NOT use HOT water, this way the temp is brought up slowly. It may take more than one dunking application to have this work. But do not do what one customer did. He broke open the pail, dumped the frozen rock of liquid into an open 55 gallon drum and then poured boiling water on it trying to melt the ice block of concentrated product. He ended up not getting all the product dissolved before he added all the water to make the 55 gallons and then it did not work properly even days later once he got all the settled melted bits mixed.
Now sometimes if stored for a long time the bagged powder mixes can compress and get firm, but they should not turn to solid blocks. Only if they are exposed to moisture, heat and sit for long periods would this ever happen. If it does sometimes it can still be usable but you must allow the block to soak, break up and dissolve in a much smaller amount of water than normally used for mixing. Again using warm water, not hot, add the solid powder to about twice the amount of water by weight than you have of the powder. So if you have 5 lbs of solid powder place it in 10 gallons of water and wait for it to completely break down before mixing it with the other ingredients in the proper order with the other ingredient and the proper amount of additional water.
I hope this has been helpful and as always, if you have any questions please give us a call. 1-800-SOAP-911
First it is important to mix the component packages in the order they are labeled and it states in the directions.
For the most part they are very simple instructions but by not adding parts in the correct order you can either make a small difference, or all the way up to making things even hazardous.
If a kit comes in A, B and C and it clearly states put A in then add water, then please do that. I know some might like to start filling the drum before they pour in the first powder but there is a reason. First is to be sure the ingredients in the A component dissolve well. For instance it is much harder to mix a powdered chocolate drink powder into a full glass of cold milk then it is to put the powder in first the then pour the milk on top and then mix. Same principle. And make sure the water is not too cold! Even tap water in some parts of the country and during times of the year maybe colder then needed for proper mixing conditions. Try to use luke warm tap water, but if your water is cold add some hot water, say a gallon to every 4-5 gallons of tap water, that you are adding to the mixing drum (prior to pouring it in). In other words have a 5 gallon pail that you are using to add water that you have mixed the hot and cold water together before pouring it into the drum.
Next if it says to use 45 gallons of water, then add 45 gallons, not 20 or even 40 but 45. If the amount of water is too small and you add in other ingredients early, you might cause a reaction due to having too high of a concentration of raw chemicals together.
Next, always add the second, third and so on number of ingredients slowly to your mixture. One so that you to not splash chemicals back on to yourself or into your eyes (Always wear protective gear when mixing) and second so that you have time to properly stir and mix the solution for complete integration.
I know some people like to put all the powders together and then add all the liquids or put them in after all the liquids are in the drum but this can cause hazardous results. Some of the chemical powdered ingredients should not be put together, or they could have come packaged that way. Or one powder may be needed to be added only at the very end when you have the most amount of water because it may produce a stronger reaction if added too soon or when less water is present.
When pouring the liquid components into a partial solution, add slowly and stop once or twice to mix well so the new liquid does not settle straight down to the bottom of the drum, since it will be much denser than the solution already in the drum. Once you have emptied all the liquid that will easily pour out be sure to scrape the walls of the pail off to get all of the liquid out. If it is too difficult you can just add a small amount of warm water, say 1/2 gallon, and with the lid on and tightly closed slosh the water around in the pail to dissolve the remaining residue into a thin enough liquid to be pored into the drum with the rest of the solution.
Once you have finished adding ingredients and mixing make sure you top off to the proper level. If you have a product where one drum will make two, be sure you have thoroughly mixed the first 55 gallons, transfer half of the drum (27.5 gallons) to a second drum and then fill both back up to the 55 gallon level. If you wait for even a day before transferring make sure you thoroughly remix the first drum before you start to pump out the 27.5 gallons in case you have settling of ingredients. This can sometimes be the reason why one drum seems to work much better than the other because you got an uneven amount of active product ingredients in each drum.
This is also the reason you mix any super concentrated product all at once and DO NOT just pump out 1 gallon of a 5 gallon mixture and make only 11 gallons of product at a time. These super concentrated pails are designed to be completely mixed because of how much the ingredients will settle out or layer in the pail. if you try to mix partial batches, no two mixtures will be or will work the same.
Same can be said if you mix a drum and then only pump out small amounts at a time. You should always remix at least for a few minutes to reintegrate the solution. Some products settle out more than others and temperature can be a large factor in this. If you store your chemicals out in an unheated building or area, products will have the tendency to settle more quickly than if left at 70-75 degree average room temp.
Our products are all produced with a very short pre-ship storage time. We try to have product made from just a few weeks to only a few days before they are ordered and ship out. This way they are very fresh and have a long storage life, most at least two years if stored properly. This way you can buy a large volume of product to save money and shipping costs and even if you do not use all of it by the end of your wash season, you can be sure it will still work when you mix it and use it at the beginning of the next season. With this said it is important that if product has not been kept in the most ideal conditions that when it is mixed you can take additional steps to try and make it still work for you. We have had customers call that have let product freeze or nearly freeze, get wet or exposed to moisture that the powders become solid, etc. Many of these problems can be addresses with sometimes no ill effects to the end mixed product.
If you have a liquid component that has frozen or has gotten extremely cold, you must raise its temperature high enough to allow it to pour but not too high to destroy the products chemical integrity. We suggest that you get a larger container than the 5 or 6 gallon pail the liquid is in, fill it with warm water and place the pail into it. Do NOT use HOT water, this way the temp is brought up slowly. It may take more than one dunking application to have this work. But do not do what one customer did. He broke open the pail, dumped the frozen rock of liquid into an open 55 gallon drum and then poured boiling water on it trying to melt the ice block of concentrated product. He ended up not getting all the product dissolved before he added all the water to make the 55 gallons and then it did not work properly even days later once he got all the settled melted bits mixed.
Now sometimes if stored for a long time the bagged powder mixes can compress and get firm, but they should not turn to solid blocks. Only if they are exposed to moisture, heat and sit for long periods would this ever happen. If it does sometimes it can still be usable but you must allow the block to soak, break up and dissolve in a much smaller amount of water than normally used for mixing. Again using warm water, not hot, add the solid powder to about twice the amount of water by weight than you have of the powder. So if you have 5 lbs of solid powder place it in 10 gallons of water and wait for it to completely break down before mixing it with the other ingredients in the proper order with the other ingredient and the proper amount of additional water.
I hope this has been helpful and as always, if you have any questions please give us a call. 1-800-SOAP-911
Monday, May 24, 2010
What to consider when making a business brochure?
Besides a business card the next most usable customer marketing item you should always have available is a business brochure.
I have been approached a lot, so far this year, about this topic so I thought this would be a great subject to go ahead and discuss.
I will focus on what should be in a general business brochure rather then the physical parts of a brochure such as; type of fold, paper weight, gloss vs. matte, B and W vs. single or multi color. Those items can all be addressed once the content is hammered out and the budget is established. So lets get into the backbone of your brochure, the information and the call to action.
You want your brochure to be an extension of your business, a continuation of the branding you have already established with your business card, web site, etc. Try to make it so your brochure is easily recognizable that it came from you and your business. Your logo, phone number, web site address, location coverage area, type of work you perform, should all be easily seen and spelled out briefly and clearly. A brochure should be just a snap shot not a photo album, a few paragraphs about a few main topics not a novel.
Leave the longer in depth information to be found on your web site, or in an individual product and job phamplet that you give to your bookable customers when discussing a job, but not in your general business brochure given out to the broad general prospect population.
Make sure any brochure piece that you make or have made is multi market usable; such as a mailer, handout at a home show, or a customer referral piece. No exact pricing should be mentioned here so the brochure doesn't become obsolete and you waste printing costs. This way you can save on being able to produce more pieces for less money.
For your call to action you should use phrases like "Call for our current special" or offer" besides the typical call us for a quote. Might have something like "Contact us for a quote using this code." (leaving a space blank you can fill in) This will help with tracking a special event, or location placement, or to track when a mailing was sent out.
Your extra offers should ALWAYS be perceived value items and not a % discount off the cost. For every 10% you give away it takes 10 more of the same job with out the discount to make it up. Offers can many times be small normal up sell items. You could say, "Call now to receive one free service with your cleaning." or booking" (the service does not have to be explained until they call). This way you can change it is as you need.
It is good to have several offers available for you to use, tiered according to the work the customer wants, once you are speaking to them. For example: Roof wash - free gutter cleaning, House wash - free window cleaning, Driveway flat work or Deck cleaning (if you charge by the square foot)- free 10-20 ft of an additional walkway, or door stoop. Never use the offer to take away from the original work to be done. For example; giving 20 square feet free off of the driveway they called you to clean. You do not want to give the perception that the work they called you for is not worth the full asking price.
Plus if you give a dollar off discount to a customer, they will end up only remembering the price they paid,
which included the discount, not the original price. So when they call again or tell others what they paid they could think you have gone up or are not giving them the same deal and possibly go else where.
Your brochure should show a few good, clear, before and after shots of your work, and put in testimonials. I know they take up space but it is important potential clients feel you have satisfied similar customers like them for the work they need done.
You can have a small logo, address and phone number section that is easy to tear off (inside back lower corner of a tri-fold) with a code number added as a referral piece. But be sure to still have the same information included else where (like the front cover) so the initial customer still retains your contact info.
You can have a section (like a back panel or inside fold) stating the date and service that was done, if any other work was recommended or date when work should be repeated. But what can be even better is to have this actually put on a peel off sticker (instead of printed in the brochure) that you can attach in the blank or used address mailer space of the brochure, this you then leave with the customer after completion of the job, it becomes a reminder as well as a referral piece for future contact.
I hope this information was helpful next time you go to create your business brochure.
I have been approached a lot, so far this year, about this topic so I thought this would be a great subject to go ahead and discuss.
I will focus on what should be in a general business brochure rather then the physical parts of a brochure such as; type of fold, paper weight, gloss vs. matte, B and W vs. single or multi color. Those items can all be addressed once the content is hammered out and the budget is established. So lets get into the backbone of your brochure, the information and the call to action.
You want your brochure to be an extension of your business, a continuation of the branding you have already established with your business card, web site, etc. Try to make it so your brochure is easily recognizable that it came from you and your business. Your logo, phone number, web site address, location coverage area, type of work you perform, should all be easily seen and spelled out briefly and clearly. A brochure should be just a snap shot not a photo album, a few paragraphs about a few main topics not a novel.
Leave the longer in depth information to be found on your web site, or in an individual product and job phamplet that you give to your bookable customers when discussing a job, but not in your general business brochure given out to the broad general prospect population.
Make sure any brochure piece that you make or have made is multi market usable; such as a mailer, handout at a home show, or a customer referral piece. No exact pricing should be mentioned here so the brochure doesn't become obsolete and you waste printing costs. This way you can save on being able to produce more pieces for less money.
For your call to action you should use phrases like "Call for our current special" or offer" besides the typical call us for a quote. Might have something like "Contact us for a quote using this code." (leaving a space blank you can fill in) This will help with tracking a special event, or location placement, or to track when a mailing was sent out.
Your extra offers should ALWAYS be perceived value items and not a % discount off the cost. For every 10% you give away it takes 10 more of the same job with out the discount to make it up. Offers can many times be small normal up sell items. You could say, "Call now to receive one free service with your cleaning." or booking" (the service does not have to be explained until they call). This way you can change it is as you need.
It is good to have several offers available for you to use, tiered according to the work the customer wants, once you are speaking to them. For example: Roof wash - free gutter cleaning, House wash - free window cleaning, Driveway flat work or Deck cleaning (if you charge by the square foot)- free 10-20 ft of an additional walkway, or door stoop. Never use the offer to take away from the original work to be done. For example; giving 20 square feet free off of the driveway they called you to clean. You do not want to give the perception that the work they called you for is not worth the full asking price.
Plus if you give a dollar off discount to a customer, they will end up only remembering the price they paid,
which included the discount, not the original price. So when they call again or tell others what they paid they could think you have gone up or are not giving them the same deal and possibly go else where.
Your brochure should show a few good, clear, before and after shots of your work, and put in testimonials. I know they take up space but it is important potential clients feel you have satisfied similar customers like them for the work they need done.
You can have a small logo, address and phone number section that is easy to tear off (inside back lower corner of a tri-fold) with a code number added as a referral piece. But be sure to still have the same information included else where (like the front cover) so the initial customer still retains your contact info.
You can have a section (like a back panel or inside fold) stating the date and service that was done, if any other work was recommended or date when work should be repeated. But what can be even better is to have this actually put on a peel off sticker (instead of printed in the brochure) that you can attach in the blank or used address mailer space of the brochure, this you then leave with the customer after completion of the job, it becomes a reminder as well as a referral piece for future contact.
I hope this information was helpful next time you go to create your business brochure.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
There is more to Flat Work than just using water!
Concrete contract cleaners can find some equipment companies stating in advertisements that their product is so good, no chemicals are needed, that you just need water. They go on to state how "Green" and environmentally friendly their way to wash is.
But what they may fail to mention, is for some of these types of concrete cleaning equipment, the way they make the concrete clean is by using so much pressure or agitation that a complete layer of concrete is removed, or etched off to get this back to new looking results. Or that even with using water alone, grease and oils being lifted out of and off of the concrete surface are themselves, bio hazards and in many areas will still need to be reclaimed and not be allowed to just flow into storm drains or even some sewer lines. Check the regulations in your particular area.
I am not saying you should not use rotary surface scrubbers or hot water sprayers but that you should be using both chemicals and equipment to give your customer the result they want, clean concrete, without ending up with something they don't, thinner or etched concrete.
For your general, basic, flat work concrete cleaning we have our “Concrete Cleaner”. This works well in combination with pressure washing equipment. With its organic solvents dissolving grease, tire marks and other debris the equipment doesn't have to work as hard to remove them from the concrete and can leave a clean but unmarred surface.
We have degreasers as well like “Mighty-O”, “Mighty-Max” and “Mighty Max Plus” these all contain butyl, a great oil and grease cutter. But do not use them on asphalt parking lots, only concrete. The differences between these three mainly are the amount of butyl they contain, 3%, 6% or 10% respectively. These are perfect for drive thrus, parking garages and concrete parking lots where a lot of vehicle, oil, grease and transmission fluid have been deposited and soaked into the porous surface of the concrete. These locations can be spot treated, in the heavy traffic areas, before the pressure washer or surface cleaner is used over the entire location. Many times additional cleaners may not need to be added.
For more difficult restoration cleaning, we have a product called “Pro BRC” or Building Restoration Cleaner for brick and masonry to remove years of neglect, mold, mildew and dirt. It will restore brick and mortar lines back to original or near original color with out using damaging high pressure that can loosen mortar joints.
If you have a customer with mineral water deposits from their sprinkler system discoloring their brick buildings or concrete walkways, we have “Concrete Rust Remover”. This is a powder that is mixed 4 lbs per 5 gallons of water. You just have to spray on to the stained areas and then clean as normal for these marks to lift off. Works on white pebble/rock bedding areas too.
We also carry some more environmentally friendly products when other products can not be used due to Home Owners Associations or other factors, like our “Natures Green APC” all purpose cleaner or “Mighty Green” which is in the same family as the well known Simple Green®. But "Green" on does not equal "Green" off, so be sure and follow the 'best practice' rules for waste water for your location, reclaim may still be needed.
For more detailed product descriptions of the above mentioned items, go to www.soapwarehouse.biz and look under the Exterior Products tab 'Concrete Products' and under the Degreaser tab.
But what they may fail to mention, is for some of these types of concrete cleaning equipment, the way they make the concrete clean is by using so much pressure or agitation that a complete layer of concrete is removed, or etched off to get this back to new looking results. Or that even with using water alone, grease and oils being lifted out of and off of the concrete surface are themselves, bio hazards and in many areas will still need to be reclaimed and not be allowed to just flow into storm drains or even some sewer lines. Check the regulations in your particular area.
I am not saying you should not use rotary surface scrubbers or hot water sprayers but that you should be using both chemicals and equipment to give your customer the result they want, clean concrete, without ending up with something they don't, thinner or etched concrete.
For your general, basic, flat work concrete cleaning we have our “Concrete Cleaner”. This works well in combination with pressure washing equipment. With its organic solvents dissolving grease, tire marks and other debris the equipment doesn't have to work as hard to remove them from the concrete and can leave a clean but unmarred surface.
We have degreasers as well like “Mighty-O”, “Mighty-Max” and “Mighty Max Plus” these all contain butyl, a great oil and grease cutter. But do not use them on asphalt parking lots, only concrete. The differences between these three mainly are the amount of butyl they contain, 3%, 6% or 10% respectively. These are perfect for drive thrus, parking garages and concrete parking lots where a lot of vehicle, oil, grease and transmission fluid have been deposited and soaked into the porous surface of the concrete. These locations can be spot treated, in the heavy traffic areas, before the pressure washer or surface cleaner is used over the entire location. Many times additional cleaners may not need to be added.
For more difficult restoration cleaning, we have a product called “Pro BRC” or Building Restoration Cleaner for brick and masonry to remove years of neglect, mold, mildew and dirt. It will restore brick and mortar lines back to original or near original color with out using damaging high pressure that can loosen mortar joints.
If you have a customer with mineral water deposits from their sprinkler system discoloring their brick buildings or concrete walkways, we have “Concrete Rust Remover”. This is a powder that is mixed 4 lbs per 5 gallons of water. You just have to spray on to the stained areas and then clean as normal for these marks to lift off. Works on white pebble/rock bedding areas too.
We also carry some more environmentally friendly products when other products can not be used due to Home Owners Associations or other factors, like our “Natures Green APC” all purpose cleaner or “Mighty Green” which is in the same family as the well known Simple Green®. But "Green" on does not equal "Green" off, so be sure and follow the 'best practice' rules for waste water for your location, reclaim may still be needed.
For more detailed product descriptions of the above mentioned items, go to www.soapwarehouse.biz and look under the Exterior Products tab 'Concrete Products' and under the Degreaser tab.
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