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Gutter scrubbing

Jeff LeCours

New member
Doing a large project 276 units and we are doing the gutter scrub with Bobs of PT gutter cleaner. We did 38 buildings in March and we did another gutter scrub earlier this month.

In 8 years we never did gutter scrub on a condo project, this year 3 good sized projects. Go figure

I'll tell you it really makes a project shine

The brushes from Bob really help too, I used to use the brushes from Lowes, what a waist, they really dont hold much chem, Bobs brushes work great, bigger and hold a ton of chem

Hmmmm Gutter Scrub King LOL
 

Brian Wendling

New member
I have been getting asked to just clean the gutters on some of these condo jobs and it is not easy. I'm telling them that we need to clean the rest of the buildings also. I usually tell them no, on the scrub job because they do not want to pay anymore.
 
when someone asks me to clean only the outside of the gutter I charge them the same as if I'm washing the house. Then I tell them that the rest of the house will be a complimentary wash.
 

Scott Davis

New member
when someone asks me to clean only the outside of the gutter I charge them the same as if I'm washing the house. Then I tell them that the rest of the house will be a complimentary wash.

No no, We upcharge for everything, then throw something small in the mix for free. Gutter scrubs are $1 per linear foot. The only thing we NEVER charge for is chinmey scrubs. Thats our freebie
 

Chris Apple

New member
when someone asks me to clean only the outside of the gutter I charge them the same as if I'm washing the house. Then I tell them that the rest of the house will be a complimentary wash.

I dont do exterior gutter cleaning without a housewash. I explain to the homeowner that while were cleaning the gutters we will get soap all down the side of the house and we wind up washing the entire wall anyways. Same goes for washing the eaves on a brick home. That explanation normally clears it up.
 

John Tornabene

Member Guest
Our Estimates say basically on all house washes we hand scrub the exterior of gutters and clean the shutters. A house wash with Dirty gutters in the end makes the house look even worse. I would never clean a house without scrubbing the exterior of the gutters. Of course we have other add ons to a house wash such as a clean & flush of the inside of the gutters and that is usually a $75 price tag on average added to the house wash.

The goal with a House wash is you want the whole house to sparkle so others can see it and come to you for more business. So always scrub those gutters & anyone who says the basic house wash mix on the gutters is good enough they have no idea what there talking about.
 

Ken Fenner

Active member
I think of it differently, John. Just about any carwash you go to has options ranging from a quick pass through the washer for $10 to pretreating wheels, adding car wax and tire shine for $25 to a hand detailing for $100+. If the car wash had your philosophy, every car would leave with gleaming wheels, shiny rubber, a conditioned dashboard and would be ready for a car show. Following your train-of-thought, people would see that car and want the same for their vehicle. Here's the issue with that. Not everyone will want a super premium service all the time. In the winter I want to rinse off the salt and be out of there. That's worth $10 to me. If I had to pay $25 I would go to your competitor down the street.

I am a believer in the loss leader philosophy. As it applies to our house washes, we don't lose money on our budget/basic plan but it allows me to compete with lower price advertising. During a sale is when I upsell the appeal of gutter scrubbing, the protection of a polymer coating and the added enhancement of brushing windows. If people still opt for the budget plan that is their prerogative. Our house wash mix makes the gutters look much better. People walking by on the street are at a great enough distance that un-brushed gutters will not make the house look terrible.

Let me throw this at you as a devil's advocate... why not include roof washing in your house wash? Their is nothing that detracts more from curb appeal than a dirty roof. I don't care how clean the gutters are. I've been touting offering different plans and levels of service for years. Its a great closer. I don't ask if they would like to hire us. That's a given. I ask which plan best suits their needs. There isn't a separate option for getting another estimate ;-)
 

John Tornabene

Member Guest
I think of it differently, John. Just about any carwash you go to has options ranging from a quick pass through the washer for $10 to pretreating wheels, adding car wax and tire shine for $25 to a hand detailing for $100+. If the car wash had your philosophy, every car would leave with gleaming wheels, shiny rubber, a conditioned dashboard and would be ready for a car show. Following your train-of-thought, people would see that car and want the same for their vehicle. Here's the issue with that. Not everyone will want a super premium service all the time. In the winter I want to rinse off the salt and be out of there. That's worth $10 to me. If I had to pay $25 I would go to your competitor down the street.

I am a believer in the loss leader philosophy. As it applies to our house washes, we don't lose money on our budget/basic plan but it allows me to compete with lower price advertising. During a sale is when I upsell the appeal of gutter scrubbing, the protection of a polymer coating and the added enhancement of brushing windows. If people still opt for the budget plan that is their prerogative. Our house wash mix makes the gutters look much better. People walking by on the street are at a great enough distance that un-brushed gutters will not make the house look terrible.

Let me throw this at you as a devil's advocate... why not include roof washing in your house wash? Their is nothing that detracts more from curb appeal than a dirty roof. I don't care how clean the gutters are. I've been touting offering different plans and levels of service for years. Its a great closer. I don't ask if they would like to hire us. That's a given. I ask which plan best suits their needs. There isn't a separate option for getting another estimate ;-)
Hey Ken-- I can't dispute what your saying cause as always it makes sense. When two people are right it comes down to philosphy. Your way which of course is professional is more involved. Your way of doing things at times is for the more advanced and also aimed at a higher intellect. Obviously your very detailed and if someone took your route and did it right they can probably make more $$$ then doing it the way I do it which is just about as KISS as possible.

I look at House washes as whats the least I have to do to make this house look great If the homeowner doesn't want any extra's done to it. I can't have my Company Clean a House and not cleaned the outside of the gutters because thats the least that I would do so others who see it will be interested in getting there house done.

Yes alot of there roofs look like #### but that is a big upsell which I try to do but I could never add that in with our basic price because if I did there basic price would be in the thousand dollar range. I get your point about that so I'm only making this statement to show my point.

In a nut shell if someone calls and says I want you just to rinse my house lets say with just cold water... We have a minimum amount that we charge to show up to a job and that is $200. So if they want a house rinse only for whatever reason and they understand completely what that entails then we will do that... But when they call for a price to Powerwash there house our basic price includes the shutters and exteriors of gutters & that for me is the easiest way to make them happy and anyone else they recommend me to.. Its Philosophy.... Or is it laziness on my part ..lol Whatever its what works best for me at this time
 

David Vicars

New member
When I lived in Ohio, gutter scrub came with the house wash. It wash priced accordingly. When I moved to SC people looked at me like I was crazy with my pricing. I had to line item everything, house wash, gutter scrub and so on. Most of time they take the gutter scrub, but if they didn't it was their choice.
Also, everybody that has been in Lowe's thinks they're a pressure washer.
 

Jeff LeCours

New member
Just did another good size gutter scrub job, 25 buildings. They added it on as we showed up to start the job. Glad I had Bobs Gutter stuff on the trucks. Got to order some more. I don't know what it is this year, did more gutter scrub jobs than all the past 9 years together. Adds some good $$$$ to a job and the homeowners love they way it looks
 

highland

New member
We just completed 133 townhomes using Gutter Granade on the gutters. It works great and the owners were impressed. Other pressure washers had never gotten them clean.
 

Don M.

New member
I think of it differently, John. Just about any carwash you go to has options ranging from a quick pass through the washer for $10 to pretreating wheels, adding car wax and tire shine for $25 to a hand detailing for $100+. If the car wash had your philosophy, every car would leave with gleaming wheels, shiny rubber, a conditioned dashboard and would be ready for a car show. Following your train-of-thought, people would see that car and want the same for their vehicle. Here's the issue with that. Not everyone will want a super premium service all the time. In the winter I want to rinse off the salt and be out of there. That's worth $10 to me. If I had to pay $25 I would go to your competitor down the street.

I am a believer in the loss leader philosophy. As it applies to our house washes, we don't lose money on our budget/basic plan but it allows me to compete with lower price advertising. During a sale is when I upsell the appeal of gutter scrubbing, the protection of a polymer coating and the added enhancement of brushing windows. If people still opt for the budget plan that is their prerogative. Our house wash mix makes the gutters look much better. People walking by on the street are at a great enough distance that un-brushed gutters will not make the house look terrible.

Let me throw this at you as a devil's advocate... why not include roof washing in your house wash? Their is nothing that detracts more from curb appeal than a dirty roof. I don't care how clean the gutters are. I've been touting offering different plans and levels of service for years. Its a great closer. I don't ask if they would like to hire us. That's a given. I ask which plan best suits their needs. There isn't a separate option for getting another estimate ;-)

I couldnt agree more. Several times this year our $197 house wash got us in the door, only to convert to a 500-600 house wash. I've raised my premium package price twice this year, and that doesnt stop people. We did a gutter scrub sample just the other day for a woman and it went from a low $300 job to just right over $500. We were there 1hr and 15 minutes.
 

Randy Borio

New member
OK, OK see now here's the thing, a few weeks ago I tried a "new" cleaner for gutters Totally Awesome Cleaner from Dollar General. Took the paint right off the darn thing. Lucky for me it was my house, and the back side. So LOOOOONG story short, we are getting new gutters. The sales rep laughed REAL hard. He almost hurt my tender feelings. Anyway when he stopped laughing, he told me that that the gutter companies actually recommend using a 50/50 mix of water and distilled white vinegar. So maybe I'll try that on the back of the garage before they come and put the new gutters on.
 

Jeff LeCours

New member
OK, OK see now here's the thing, a few weeks ago I tried a "new" cleaner for gutters Totally Awesome Cleaner from Dollar General. Took the paint right off the darn thing. Lucky for me it was my house, and the back side. So LOOOOONG story short, we are getting new gutters. The sales rep laughed REAL hard. He almost hurt my tender feelings. Anyway when he stopped laughing, he told me that that the gutter companies actually recommend using a 50/50 mix of water and distilled white vinegar. So maybe I'll try that on the back of the garage before they come and put the new gutters on.

Randy, why dont you just get what works and what the pro's use. Why Dollar General stuff and why White Vin & Water. We have now done thousands and thousands of feet of gutter and hundreds of other contractors have to Using Bob Pressure Teks gutter cleaner. Also why dont you just repaint your gutters
 

Scott Davis

New member
Randy, why dont you just get what works and what the pro's use. Why Dollar General stuff and why White Vin & Water. We have now done thousands and thousands of feet of gutter and hundreds of other contractors have to Using Bob Pressure Teks gutter cleaner. Also why dont you just repaint your gutters

Yea but Jeff alot of guys also use purple power or simple green. Ive never tried them so I cant attest to their ability but some guys swear by them.

Randy, It sounds like you either used it in too strong of a solution, let it dwell too long or scrubbed too hard. Ive taken paint off of the gutter with F13 too by scrubbing too hard and had to repaint. Im all for finding a cheaper solution if it works.
 

Henry Bockman

New member
I've never tried f13 or Bobs stuff, I usually just use my house wash (Powerhouse) and I rarely ever have a problem getting them clean just X jetting the soap on, then rinsing it off in 90 seconds or so.
 
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