Flat Surface Washer

[Jonney_boy]

I have a BE 24" stainless steel flat surface washer, 3 cleaning jets running the "factory" 020 tips. This is powered by a 13hp honda pw (3500psi, 4gpm), cold water.

The flat surface washer was recently purchased and having cleaned 1-2 patios with it I have noticed a few "problems" with it.

When cleaning aegorate concrete (the type of concrete with rocks in it and showing). The flat surface washer does a good job of cleaning the concrete but it encounters moss, it just can't seem to get rid of it. I know you can go back and spot wash the moss with the wand but once it's wet it's hard to see the moss and hence easy to miss a spot. Is there a way to get rid of the moss in one pass (like I was able to do when I used a rotary nozzle)

Secondly, I was washing a second house. It had a smooth concrete surface and a sidewalk. I noticed on this surface that the flat surface washer left streaks on the ground. Not swirl marks but streaks. It seems to be that places where I have overlapped more than 50% ended up cleaner than places where I have not overlapped as much. This ment that you can almost "see" where the flat surface cleaner has gone (ie, you can see that I did it in rows going in this direction). Once dry the ground seems to be ok but when you re-wet the concrete I think it will come back.

Am I doing something wrong? I usually move the flat surface washer back and forth in "rows" with about 50% overlap. I push at a very slow walking pace, approx 1 small every 2 seconds (or approx 1/2 meter per second). I have tried washing the area again quickly in a perpendicular direction, while the streeks seem better they are still there.


PS. I used to use a 5.5hp honda with a small rotary nozzle and that will produce (slow) but perfect results. Very clean and no streaks (basically no matter what you do). I am now using a 13hp honda with a larger rotary nozzle and the flat surface cleaner. Both seems to produce stripes (the stripes with the rotary seems to show up very promently after 1-2 months.)

 

[CCPC]

I have a BE 24" stainless steel flat surface washer, 3 cleaning jets running the "factory" 020 tips. This is powered by a 13hp honda pw (3500psi, 4gpm), cold water.

The flat surface washer was recently purchased and having cleaned 1-2 patios with it I have noticed a few "problems" with it.

When cleaning aegorate concrete (the type of concrete with rocks in it and showing). The flat surface washer does a good job of cleaning the concrete but it encounters moss, it just can't seem to get rid of it. I know you can go back and spot wash the moss with the wand but once it's wet it's hard to see the moss and hence easy to miss a spot. Is there a way to get rid of the moss in one pass (like I was able to do when I used a rotary nozzle)

Secondly, I was washing a second house. It had a smooth concrete surface and a sidewalk. I noticed on this surface that the flat surface washer left streaks on the ground. Not swirl marks but streaks. It seems to be that places where I have overlapped more than 50% ended up cleaner than places where I have not overlapped as much. This ment that you can almost "see" where the flat surface cleaner has gone (ie, you can see that I did it in rows going in this direction). Once dry the ground seems to be ok but when you re-wet the concrete I think it will come back.

Am I doing something wrong? I usually move the flat surface washer back and forth in "rows" with about 50% overlap. I push at a very slow walking pace, approx 1 small every 2 seconds (or approx 1/2 meter per second). I have tried washing the area again quickly in a perpendicular direction, while the streeks seem better they are still there.


PS. I used to use a 5.5hp honda with a small rotary nozzle and that will produce (slow) but perfect results. Very clean and no streaks (basically no matter what you do). I am now using a 13hp honda with a larger rotary nozzle and the flat surface cleaner. Both seems to produce stripes (the stripes with the rotary seems to show up very promently after 1-2 months.)

You need to use some bleach/chlorine. The reason the stripes from the rotary are showing up in 1 to 2 months is all you have done is removed the top layer of the mildew/mold/algea. By using chlorine after you have pressure washed, you will kill the spores and allow a more even clean, and prevent the beginings of regrowth for up to 5 to 10 times longer than without.
After cleaning the concrete with your surface cleaner, and rinsing it clean spray a thin layer of chlorine over the entire concrete surface and either wait 10 minutes and rinse, or just leave it on and don't rinse it. Not rinsing won't damage the concrete, and will create less problems with the surrounding grass and landscape. Just be sure to warn customers to stay off the concrete until it is well dried.

 

[profd]

i tell u another good thing to have that will help with ur stripes.. get u a waterbroom and when u clean it with the surface cleaner then hit it with the water broom and the stripes disappear

 

[squirtgun]

We have a watebroom.

I use it as a boat anchor,it holds onto submerged logs really well.

 

[Jonney_boy]

Waterbroom will help?


I tried getting rid of the streaks by just using the wand (streaks from the flat surface washer). at 1700psi it didn't do a thing but at 3500psi with a 25 deg tip it did help. Unfortunally "rewashing" the entire floor with the wand is not a valid solution since I got the flat surface washer to help speed up the cleaning process.. that is not helping if I have to re-wash the entire floor.

And even tho it did help getting rid of the streaks it did not elimate them competely. I think a turbo nozzle would have but was affraid of using it (I didn't want to put a super clean streek on the driveway and need to re-wash the entire driveway with the turbo nozzle).


After sitting at home and thinking about it for a while...... could it be the following causing the problems.

1) The flat surface cleaner is tipped too high (too big of a hole). This is thus cutting the pressure back so much it's causing it not to clean well enough, causing the streaks (places where you overlap are cleaner). I'm not sure how to calculate the tip sizes tho (with 3 tips). I had assumed that it was just multiply the 3 tips together (.020 * 3 = 0.60) and look it up on the chart. Unfortuanlly that gives me approx 2000psi.... a pressure gauge between (connected between the pump and the high pressure hose) shows 2500psi when in use.

2) the flat surface washer has the head set too high, again causing the streaks. tip set too high = not enough cleaning power. The flat surface washer is brand new and I have not touched the heigh setting. The manual just told you to make sure that the head is more than 1" above the surface. It is defently more than 1" above the surface (in fact I think it is set as high as it will go.....)

Is my logic making any sense? or am I looking in the wrong direction.

 

[Dave Ott]

Are you using any chemicals? I know I can clean without them, but I run Hot water when chems aren't needed. CCPC gave advice did you try it? I never overlap and don't have a problem. I have had a problem once with this, when I needed chems and forgot that I hadn't put them down yet. Yeah Yeah it was 4Am, was tired.LOL Soon as chems were applied it never happened and cleaned the streaks you call them away.

 

[profd]

i use my waterbroom to eliminate streaks when i use my zero wand and surface.. the waterbroom put out 3.0 gpm and is at 3200 psi

 

[Jonney_boy]

For that particular floor I did not use any chemicals. I had washed that floor few years ago (prob 1-2) with a old 5.5hp pressure washer (cold) and a rotary nozzle. While that took forever (that might be an understatement) the outcome was pefect. 2 years later still no streaks... (btw the streaks are not really bad, the customer was happy but me being picky, and knowing that I could have done it better with inferior equipment was not happy).

Yes I did try applying a bleach solution to the concrete to the surface after I have washed it (this was on my patio at home, just to see what would happen). But the "problem" is that on the concrete surface I have at home the surface washer does not produce any streaks at all, and hence I can't "see" a difference from applying the bleach......... I'm going to watch the floor for a few weeks to see if there is any streaking appearing over time....... btw the concrete I have at home is about 30-40 years old. It was originally a broom brushed surface which is showing a little bit of wear (amit not bad for it's age).

As soon as I have time i'm going to offer to clean a friends patio to see if there are any streaks...... wondering if it has anything to do with the particular concrete surface....