Sandstone, lime Stone, Precast and other STONE Softwashing.
Steve Salley said
Apr 26, 2012
PAsoftwash LLC, Indiana, PA was called in to do this work at the last minute to make the home presentable for a very special family gathering this weekend. Who knew it would SNOW this week. in Western PA!
Despite the setbacks, we cleaned the patios, and limestone ballusters today. The customer is very happy to have her home ready for company this weekend.
Sandstone Patios are very soft and require careful attention to detail. Only softwashing can eradicate mold, black algae and destructive bacteria growing in the pores, without harmful erosion of the sandstone surface.
This patio stone has suffered a bit of damage at the hands of a inexperienced person with a pressure washer.
Remember, Erosion cleaning created the Grand Canyon... Just sayin..
Wow, very impressive there, Steve. How could your customer not be happy?!?
AC Lockyer said
Apr 27, 2012
Those turned out great. Another perfect use for soft washing. No wand strokes in that stone!
AC
Steve Salley said
Apr 29, 2012
Actually AC there is. The customer had the ability to buy a pretty good pressure washer and they practiced with 'erosion cleaning' on the patio and front walks. Fortunately, the lady of the house said she was glad they found us before they did anymore damage. We are proposing a sealing system from Microguard to help keep the property algae free with gentle garden hose washing. Great add on I must admit...
Thanks for the good advice. We are learning to trust the chemical more everyday.
Michael Derose said
Apr 29, 2012
Nice work steve
Doug Rucker said
Apr 29, 2012
Great Work Steve, as usual. Love your business card by the way. Great idea
Steve Salley said
Apr 30, 2012
Thanks all of you for the compliments.
This is the power of networking. We take a little bit from the many professionals on this forum and others and find the right blend for our company. We also hope what we share is of value to the group too.
Doug, I have to tell you the schooling made a huge difference in our confidence. Now, we just need miles of roof under our belt!
Sincerely, Pap Pap
Doug Rucker said
May 1, 2012
You'll get there Steve. Sooner than you think.
Robert Baxter said
May 4, 2016
Steve, I have a customer with very similar material. As you can see in my photos I'm not getting the job done. What is your secret. This is a $7 million dollar home and I really need to get it cleaned. There are many other opportunities with this customer.
We clean them all the time. I was trying to find some before and afters but did not have time. Not sure if you hit it once, but we typically give it a coat at 3% let dwell for 10-15 minutes and then repeat with another coat and dwell. Sometimes they take a third coat, but we rarely need to brush or scrub them. You can take your four banger off the wand and crack your ball valve slowly when doing the caps of the walls. Just let the mix trickle out and puddle on the cap and run over the sides. This will minimize over spray and splashing onto plants.
Robert Baxter said
May 9, 2016
Thanks John. I have read some posts about "pre-soaking" with Greenwash. What do you think. This will probably take 3 coats.
AC Lockyer said
May 10, 2016
Bob,
This condition didnt happen overnight and often it is not solved overnight as well. Stone because of the pourous nature allows the mildew and bacteria infections to settle deep. Often these take up to three coats with as much as a 3 or 4% mix. I often add pixi dust (sodium peroxy mono persulfate) to my mix at about 4 oz per 100 gallons. Even once clean a blotchy effect may remain or even a shadow common like when cleaning oil from driveways. This also will fade overtime. Keep at it. There is no other alternitive to cleaning this kind of stone. Pressure washing is expressly forbidden in stone cleaning especially in precast stone or in limestone. Pressure washing WILL score the surface and put wand strokes cut into the stone.
My kids college ACU in Abilene, TX spent #380,000.00 having the wand strokes removed from one of their buildings a couple years back.
AC
Steve Salley said
May 11, 2016
Robert
I have been off the grid for a few days.
When we have really badly infested capstone, we go nuclear... Like John says, Layer it and when I get all done there are times I will leave a coat on the caps to just soak in and get the deep stuff.
As far as tile grout goes, it is tricky. You never know what has been spilled or tracked into it. It is cement based so you can use a hot mix. Always test any dark grout color to make sure it will not white out when you treat it. It may not have been grouted with a polymet modified exterior grout, so it could lose it's color.
AC is right, pressure does not remove embedded biology or some stains. The wrong tendency is to get closer with the wand. Do not do that.
I will use a White Tip on my pressure washer dialed way down so we can loosen the embedded dead bacterias and dirt etc after the chemicals dwell for awhile.
Just remember sandstone is layered sediment rock, so it can be delaminated with too much pressure. Sometimes what we reveal is the sins of the homeowner and his previous personal power washer sessions. They have a tendency to get real close to the grouted areas to get the deep stains out. When they do, they picture frame the soft tile edges. Not good
We have a 36 year installation background in flooring, so we have a level of confidence on what we are looking at and set expectations accordingly. I always remind the homeowner that grout is the weakest component in the tile installations. You have 3 sides of grout with cold joints, so it just lays there by gravity. Organic growth and dirt will fill the fine cracks caused by the grout shrinking and cracking along the sides of the tile.
If that tile is limestone, it will be very soft. If it is travertine, the small holes really hold a lot of grit and dirt.
Last point: If the biology has been eating that stone cap for a long time, it will have pitted the surface and that will affect the visual outcome you can expect.
Bob Riddick said
May 12, 2016
Great subject and great job, Steve. We have several homes around the lake with decorative capstones, most always made of limestone.
Robert, you got some great advice on getting it done right. 3-4% always with a lot of dwell time.
Our community network is awesome!
Vic Irish said
May 12, 2016
AC Lockyer wrote:
I often add pixi dust (sodium peroxy mono persulfate) to my mix at about 4 oz per 100 gallons.
My kids college ACU in Abilene, TX spent #380,000.00 having the wand strokes removed from one of their buildings a couple years back.
AC
Do you use PixiDust above 40 degrees? Do you use it to activate a flat mix (how old max) at any temperature? It is a catalyst or an oxidizer? What's the difference ;)
AC, the $380K tab for pressure washing damage would be a heck of a selling point. Do you have an article or website you can share?
Troy, does your Doheny's work in all temperatures?
Still learning,
vic
AC Lockyer said
May 17, 2016
Vic Irish wrote:
AC Lockyer wrote:
I often add pixi dust (sodium peroxy mono persulfate) to my mix at about 4 oz per 100 gallons.
My kids college ACU in Abilene, TX spent #380,000.00 having the wand strokes removed from one of their buildings a couple years back.
AC
AC, the $380K tab for pressure washing damage would be a heck of a selling point. Do you have an article or website you can share?
PAsoftwash LLC, Indiana, PA was called in to do this work at the last minute to make the home presentable for a very special family gathering this weekend. Who knew it would SNOW this week. in Western PA!
Despite the setbacks, we cleaned the patios, and limestone ballusters today. The customer is very happy to have her home ready for company this weekend.
Sandstone Patios are very soft and require careful attention to detail. Only softwashing can eradicate mold, black algae and destructive bacteria growing in the pores, without harmful erosion of the sandstone surface.
This patio stone has suffered a bit of damage at the hands of a inexperienced person with a pressure washer.
Remember, Erosion cleaning created the Grand Canyon... Just sayin..
Trust your home to the company who promises to "treat your home like a baby" PASoftwash, Indiana PA
AC
Thanks for the good advice. We are learning to trust the chemical more everyday.
This is the power of networking. We take a little bit from the many professionals on this forum and others and find the right blend for our company. We also hope what we share is of value to the group too.
Doug, I have to tell you the schooling made a huge difference in our confidence. Now, we just need miles of roof under our belt!
Sincerely,
Pap Pap
Steve, I have a customer with very similar material. As you can see in my photos I'm not getting the job done. What is your secret. This is a $7 million dollar home and I really need to get it cleaned. There are many other opportunities with this customer.
Robert,
We clean them all the time. I was trying to find some before and afters but did not have time. Not sure if you hit it once, but we typically give it a coat at 3% let dwell for 10-15 minutes and then repeat with another coat and dwell. Sometimes they take a third coat, but we rarely need to brush or scrub them. You can take your four banger off the wand and crack your ball valve slowly when doing the caps of the walls. Just let the mix trickle out and puddle on the cap and run over the sides. This will minimize over spray and splashing onto plants.
This condition didnt happen overnight and often it is not solved overnight as well. Stone because of the pourous nature allows the mildew and bacteria infections to settle deep. Often these take up to three coats with as much as a 3 or 4% mix. I often add pixi dust (sodium peroxy mono persulfate) to my mix at about 4 oz per 100 gallons. Even once clean a blotchy effect may remain or even a shadow common like when cleaning oil from driveways. This also will fade overtime. Keep at it. There is no other alternitive to cleaning this kind of stone. Pressure washing is expressly forbidden in stone cleaning especially in precast stone or in limestone. Pressure washing WILL score the surface and put wand strokes cut into the stone.
My kids college ACU in Abilene, TX spent #380,000.00 having the wand strokes removed from one of their buildings a couple years back.
AC
I have been off the grid for a few days.
When we have really badly infested capstone, we go nuclear... Like John says, Layer it and when I get all done there are times I will leave a coat on the caps to just soak in and get the deep stuff.
As far as tile grout goes, it is tricky. You never know what has been spilled or tracked into it. It is cement based so you can use a hot mix. Always test any dark grout color to make sure it will not white out when you treat it. It may not have been grouted with a polymet modified exterior grout, so it could lose it's color.
AC is right, pressure does not remove embedded biology or some stains. The wrong tendency is to get closer with the wand. Do not do that.
I will use a White Tip on my pressure washer dialed way down so we can loosen the embedded dead bacterias and dirt etc after the chemicals dwell for awhile.
Just remember sandstone is layered sediment rock, so it can be delaminated with too much pressure. Sometimes what we reveal is the sins of the homeowner and his previous personal power washer sessions. They have a tendency to get real close to the grouted areas to get the deep stains out. When they do, they picture frame the soft tile edges. Not good
We have a 36 year installation background in flooring, so we have a level of confidence on what we are looking at and set expectations accordingly. I always remind the homeowner that grout is the weakest component in the tile installations. You have 3 sides of grout with cold joints, so it just lays there by gravity. Organic growth and dirt will fill the fine cracks caused by the grout shrinking and cracking along the sides of the tile.
If that tile is limestone, it will be very soft. If it is travertine, the small holes really hold a lot of grit and dirt.
Last point: If the biology has been eating that stone cap for a long time, it will have pitted the surface and that will affect the visual outcome you can expect.
Great subject and great job, Steve. We have several homes around the lake with decorative capstones, most always made of limestone.
Robert, you got some great advice on getting it done right. 3-4% always with a lot of dwell time.
Our community network is awesome!
Do you use PixiDust above 40 degrees? Do you use it to activate a flat mix (how old max) at any temperature? It is a catalyst or an oxidizer? What's the difference ;)
AC, the $380K tab for pressure washing damage would be a heck of a selling point. Do you have an article or website you can share?
Troy, does your Doheny's work in all temperatures?
Still learning,
vic
Wish I did :(
AC