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Archive for Building Pressure Washing

 

Cleaning a trash chute is a specialized type of work.

Trash Chute Before Cleaning

Trash Chute Before Cleaning

It take special equipment to get it cleaned right and it takes special procedures and teamwork to get it done efficiently.  Most trash chutes have a vent on the roof that makes accessing the chute a little easier.  However, some trash chutes are in buildings that either don’t have a flat roof to get at the rooftop access or the vent is secured in such a way that we can’t open it up to the chute below.

Trash Chute After Cleaning

Trash Chute After Cleaning

When we can’t access the trash chute from the roof, we have to use a different procedure that involves more people, more time and much more effort.  Our crew basically has to work from floor to floor using the access panels on each floor.  This method usually doesn’t clean the trash chute as evenly as it could be if the access was from the roof.

Cleaning trash chutes takes more than just pressure washing.  Our crews often have to scrape the bottom 5’-10’ of the trash chute because that is where all the trash bags hit and break before dropping into the dumpster or compactor at the bottom.  On this particular trash chute, our crew didn’t realize they had to scrape higher than usual and as a result, they had to go back after the property owner complained of heavy grit in one area of the trash chute.

Trash Chute Access Door

Trash Chute Access Door

Wash On Wheels always guarantees our work.  Most jobs we get done right the first time, but when we don’t, we go back and fix it at no additional charge.  Our crews are trained to do their job and we know our customers expect top notch service from us because of our reputation and all the recommendations our long-term customers give us.

Trash chutes should be cleaned once every 1-2 years depending on how many residents use the chute and how good those residents are at bagging their trash.  There can be other factors that might cause a trash chute to need to be cleaned more often.  Sometimes a resident will dump rotting food or stinky cat litter that will leave a stench that lingers for weeks because it splattered on the sides of the chute.

Or, as in the case of this building, a few weeks after we cleaned the trash chute someone will dump a body down it.  If this happens with your trash chute, you might want to have it power washed again just for your peace of mind and that of your residents.

So whether it’s run of the mill trash build-up or an unfortunate victim that’s stinking up your trash chute, Wash On Wheels has the right equipment and procedures to restore cleanliness and peace of mind.

 

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Most grease spill cleanup jobs have to do with restaurants, hydraulic equipment and engine oil leaks.

However, we’ve had a few jobs that involve grease spill cleanup from home cooking – usually around a barbeque grill.

Grease Spill Cleanup On A Downtown Denver Balcony

Grease Spill Cleanup On A Downtown Denver Balcony

One such grease spill cleanup job took place at a downtown Denver loft where one owner on the top floor had a grill on their balcony.  The grill leaked grease over the edge of the balcony onto a neighboring balcony below.

It wasn’t a large quantity of grease, but it was enough that hand cleaning the mess wasn’t practical for the owner of the leaky grill.  So he called us for grease spill cleanup on his neighbor’s balcony.

Access to the neighbor’s balcony was tricky.  Our crew had to carry hose up to the balcony and lower it down to the truck.  They had to be careful of how the hose hung over the balcony, keeping it away from the lower neighbor’s area.  They also had to be careful to blast the grease spill cleanup away from the lower neighbor’s area.

Although the quantity of grease was minimal compared to the grease spill cleanups we usually deal with, using our degreaser and hot water on the splatters was more effective and efficient than if our customer had tried to clean it by hand.

And we always make sure the wastewater is recovered if necessary. You can’t just wash a grease spill cleanup down the gutter!

As spring approaches it’s time to think about cleaning up from the long, snowy  winter.  Cleaning building exteriors, sidewalks, house siding, patios, driveways and decks is a great way to freshen the appearance and usefulness of properties – your own or a rental.

 

If you have an old grease spill cleanup or any other kind of mess, give us a call to see if power washing is the best option for you.

 

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Construction pressure washing jobs in Colorado can be tough to schedule in Colorado winters.

Trying to get things done without freezing everything up can be challenging.

Construction Pressure Washing At A Job Site

Construction Pressure Washing At A Job Site

A contractor for a new retirement home needed pressure washing for all the stamped concrete areas on a certain day.  He needed to schedule the sealant the next day before any dirt got tracked back in.  It was critical that he could depend on us to get the pressure washing done so he could complete the project on time.

We adjusted our schedule and sent two 3-man crews that know how to work as a team. Since all our trucks have two hot water machines, our crews get a lot of work done in a day.

The contractor needed our pressure washing service for the stamped concrete of four courtyards that took extra long hose to reach. Most of the courtyards just needed the dirt pressure washed. But some areas had concrete slurry from cutting the joints.

The two covered entrance areas had a lot of tire marks from skid-steers doing landscaping.  Pressure washing with hot water removed most of the marks. But some of the tires had carried asphalt from the fresh parking lot and ground it into the new concrete.  We had to use a special material to remove the tar and asphalt marks from the colored concrete.

When our clients need pressure washing on a certain day, we have the manpower and equipment to take care of them. We know the importance of showing up on time, ready to get the job done.

It’s a reputation we’ve built over the years with many clients in different industries.

For dependable pressure washing service – guaranteed – call us at 303-937-7181.

 

 

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 Pressure washing sidewalks made of colored concrete to remove stains takes more than power.

Pressure Washing Colored Concrete Sidewalks At The Broadmoor

Pressure Washing Colored Concrete Sidewalks At The Broadmoor

If you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s easy to damage the colored concrete!

A graphics company out of Los Angeles made some signs for an event at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. The signs were stuck to a concrete sidewalk of a conference building at the hotel.

But when the stickers were removed, the adhesive left a light residue.  Most of the spots faded quickly, but there were some spots that hotel management couldn’t overlook.

The graphics company called us for help.  We sent one of our managers and a pressure washing crew with a water recovery trailer to Colorado Springs.

We tried different methods for removing the spots but because the concrete was colored, we had to be very careful to not hit the surface too hard.

Hitting any concrete surface with 3000psi of hot water will rough up the surface, and with colored concrete the roughness will appear as a dark area. And the material designed to remove the adhesive also discolored the concrete.

So we tried our proprietary degreaser.  It considerably lightened the spots, but didn’t remove them completely.

We showed the test patches to the hotel manager and he chose the results from our degreaser.  It wasn’t perfect but it was the best solution. And because we were cautious from the beginning, we avoided making the small problem of light stains into a much bigger one of permanent blotches.

Our experience is why companies around the country call us for pressure washing.

 

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Pressure washing the interior walls and ceilings a warehouse or shop can be complicated.

Pressure Washing A Warehouse Interior

Pressure Washing A Warehouse Interior

Sometimes, the building is being renovated and is vacant. But sometimes, the pressure washing has to be done at night when they’re not working – unless they’re a 24 hour operation.

One of the projects we look for in the winter is pressure washing warehouse interiors.  We pressure wash warehouse interiors all year long, but any kind of indoor washing is a great way to add hours for our guys when the temperatures keep us from doing our normal weekly work.

A great job we had a couple winters ago was pressure washing the entire interior of the Kenworth heavy and medium duty shops.  We had to work around their schedule as much as they had to work around ours. We had 1-3 crews at their location over the course of two weeks.  Even though the temperatures outside were moderate most of the time, we had a couple days where it was too cold to wash outside, so we sent all our crews to work inside the heated building.

We pressure washed the heavy duty shop, the medium duty shop and the dynomometer room from top to bottom including all the steel joists, light housings, walls, doors and floor. We had to do it in sections so Kenworth could keep their mechanics working while we did our pressure washing.  Most of the tools and equipment in the shop are mobile, so most of it was completely out of our way while we were working, but some things had to be carefully covered with heavy plastic to protect it from water.

Pressure washing the dynomometer room was especially challenging.

Pressure Washing The Dynomometer Room

Pressure Washing The Dynomometer Room

It is an enclosed room where they do emissions testing and other diagnostic tests by running the tractors on the dynomometer which simulates real road conditions.  The room is ventilated, but not enough to clear out all the diesel exhaust generated by the tests.  The dynomometer room hadn’t been cleaned since the building was built, so the soot buildup on the ceiling and walls was tremendous.   We had to pressure wash the surfaces multiple times to remove the soot layer by layer.

Working large two week jobs like cleaning warehouse interiors into our normal schedule is one of the things that sets us apart. No other company has the capacity to handle this kind of project while keeping the client open for business 24 ours per day.

 

 

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Five Star Pressure Washing For The Five Star Broadmoor Hotel

Pressure Washing Colored Sidewalks At The Broadmoor

Pressure Washing Colored Sidewalks At The Broadmoor

A graphics company out of Los Angeles created some arrows and signs for an event at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, CO.  The arrows and signs were designed to lightly adhere to a concrete sidewalk along the front of a conference building that is part of the hotel.

The Mediterranean Revival style Broadmoor Hote...

Broadmoor Hotel In Colorado Springs

Unfortunately, after the event was done and the stickers were removed, the adhesive left behind a very light residue.  Most of the spots from the adhesive faded quickly, but there were 22 spots that were still too visible for the hotel management to overlook.

The graphics company called us to help them out.  We sent one of our managers and a pressure washing crew with a water recovery trailer to Colorado Springs.

Applying Degreaser To Stains On Colored Concrete

Applying Degreaser To Stains On Colored Concrete

We tried three different methods for removing the spots at the Broadmoor. Each method worked to a point, but because the concrete was colored, we had to be very careful to not hit the surface too hard.

Hitting the surface of any concrete with 3000+psi of hot water will rough up the surface, and with colored concrete, the roughness will appear as a dark area in the color.

If we had just blasted away at the surface we would have removed the adhesive, but created a much more permanent dark spot on the concrete. However, using the material designed for removing these stains also slightly discolored the concrete.  So we tried our proprietary degreaser.  It considerably lightened the spots, but didn’t remove them completely.

We showed the small test patches to the hotel manager.

And he chose the results from our degreaser.  It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was the best one. And because we were cautious from the beginning, we avoided making the small problem of light stains into a much bigger one of permanent blotches.

Our experience is why companies around the country call us for pressure washing.

 

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I’ve made several posts on the challenges of running a pressure washing business in Colorado during the winter.  Every winter we have to shuffle, adjust and adapt to what nature sends our way.  We have to keep our guys working and the cash flow stronger than a trickle.  We can stay busy when it snows because we snow plow, but when the temperatures are too cold to work and there isn’t any snow to push, we don’t have many options.

Washing Cars In Icy Conditions For Auto Dealers

Washing Cars In Icy Conditions For Auto Dealers

This past December was particularly difficult for any pressure washing company in Denver.

The first week averaged 17 degrees lower than normal. We had a heavy snow storm the first and third weeks and our drivers got some good hours out of them, but with all the snow on the ground the temperatures stayed below average until the last week of the month when the temps warmed up enough for us to catch up on some of the work lost.

It seemed as though all our work days were shortened to five or six hour days.  It wasn’t until the last two days of the month that we were able to do any of our early morning and overnight sidewalk pressure washing and restaurant pressure washing accounts.  Those two nights were the only nights all month that didn’t drop well below freezing.

December was brutal and we did the best we could with weather conditions we had, but all said and done we only had a few days of work for the whole month, and many of those were short days.  We’ll survive.  Maybe with all the layers we’re wearing to keep warm no one will notice the belt-tightening of a lean winter.

 

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One of our favorite things to discuss on this blog is some of the more unique pressure washing projects we’ve done.

Admittedly, many of our days involve the same work over and over again, too. But there are many interesting jobs we get to do, too.

Sidewalk Ads Pressure Washed In Downtown Denver

Sidewalk Ads Pressure Washed In Downtown Denver

Sometime we get a creative use of our pressure washing equipment you would never imagine.

We were hired by Ubiquitous Media in New York City to help with a campaign for Timberland, an outdoor apparel company.

They shipped us two aluminum stencils with their images and messages.

Then their rep went with our truck for a full night in downtown Denver and pressure washed 30 different spots with a clean image on the sidewalks.

Sort of a reverse graffiti, the pressure washed areas showed the message in a very visible way without being permanent or destructive. The best spots were where tree sap had accumulated and darkened the sidewalks almost to black.  Most of the marks were visible after three weeks and some were still visible after two months.

We enjoy being the Denver pressure washing experts – and we’re experts because we do so much of it.  And it’s nice to have pressure washing applied in creative ways.  It was fun taking their marketing concept and finding the best way to apply it in the field.

Let us help you with your special project.

Call us at 303-937-7181 or email us at info@washonwheels.net.

 

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One of our favorite things to discuss on this blog is some of the more unique pressure washing projects we’ve done.  Many people’s jobs are the same thing day in and day out. Admittedly, many of our days involve the same work over and over again, too.

Ads Pressure Washed On Sidewalks In Downtown Denver

Ads Pressure Washed On Sidewalks In Downtown Denver

We pressure wash cars for Denver’s largest auto dealers during the week – like Go Autonation, Phil Long, Kuni, Stevinson, and many others. On weekends we do mobile truck washing for fleet accounts like Coors, Culligan, FedEx, Waste Management, and a bunch more. And we pressure wash sidewalks at shopping centers and restaurants like Olive Garden and Chili’s when the weather allows us to – because we have to pressure wash when the stores and restaurants are closed.

But there are many interesting jobs we get to do, too.

Sometime we get a creative use of our pressure washing equipment you would never imagine.

Marketing has evolved a great deal since the advent of the internet.  Many advertisements on tv, radio or print media are designed to get potential customers to go to a special website.  Consumers  are flooded with advertising, so marketers are constantly trying new ways to catch their attention.

Aluminum Pressure Washing Stencils

Aluminum Pressure Washing Stencils

One recent trend is a version of ‘guerrilla marketing’.  A toothpaste company partnered with an ice cream company to make toothbrush-shaped sticks with their logo on it for ice cream bars.  A gym set up a bus station bench that weighed whoever was sitting on the bench and showed their weight on a big sign next to the bench.  A cell phone company hired professional pickpockets to slip fliers about cell phone theft and cell phone insurance into peoples pockets and purses.

Sidewalk Ads Pressure Washed In Downtown Denver

Sidewalk Ads Pressure Washed In Downtown Denver

Wash On Wheels was hired by a creative marketing firm, Ubiquitous Media based in New York City to help them with a campaign for Timberland, an outdoor apparel company.  Ubiquitous Media shipped us two aluminum stencils with images and messages cut into them.  Then their rep went with our truck for a full night to find the busiest dirty sidewalks in downtown Denver and use the stencils to pressure wash a clean image on the sidewalks.

Sort of a reverse graffiti, the pressure washed areas showed the message in a very visible way without being permanent or destructive.  Our crew was able to pressure wash 30 of each stencil around downtown Denver.   The best spots were where tree sap had accumulated and darkened the sidewalks almost to black.  Most of the marks were visible after three weeks of foot traffic and some were still visible after two months.

We enjoy being the Denver pressure washing experts – and we’re experts because we do so much of it.  And it’s nice to have pressure washing applied in creative ways to accomplish unique results.  It was fun taking the concept the marketing company had come up with and finding the best way to apply it in the field.

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Also Known As – The Battle Between Nature and Commerce

Pressure Washing For Denver Parks Department

Pressure Washing For Denver Parks Department

We’re not the only company that fights the winter weather. Since we also plow snow, we’re dealing with the weather, no matter what it brings.

A lot of companies have weather dependent scheduling.  Trying to schedule pressure washing can be frustrating when temperatures dip into the teens at night and barely get above freezing during the day. We only have a few warm hours each day to get our work done.

We know our car dealers and truck wash clients want to keep their units clean – no matter what the weather is like. We also have a lot of restaurant and shopping center clients with sidewalks to be pressure washed. But they don’t want us there during the day when their customers are shopping and dining.

There’s only so much pressure washing you can squeeze into those few hours above freezing.

It’s tough to get to the clients scheduled for that day, much less make up any from previous days that were too cold to wash.

It’s always our goal to take care of every one of our clients each week – even when nature makes it difficult.  When we can, we run extra crews to get to more of our clients.  Our crews leave the shop when the temps hit freezing so by the time they get to their first client, it should be warm enough to start washing in the sun.

So while nature can be a dictator, we still battle against the elements in pursuit the kind of pressure washing service our clients can depend on.

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