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downstreaming

Jeremy Pate

New member
newbie question...
my downstreamer dilutes at about 10:1.
The SH i'm using is 10%.
These past few houses I've done I've been pouring the sh into a bucket, mixing in the soap, and stirring it up... adding no water.
I've been assuming this means roughly 1% is hitting the surface but I just ran across a post with some confusing math that has got me 2nd guessing now...
What do you guys suggest?
 

Jeremy Pate

New member
What kind of soap do you use? Are u sure of the downstreamets ratio?

deluxe dish detergent oxi, oxide cleaning power.
Some stuff I got from the dollar store.
Doesn't have any warnings on it about mixing with bleach.
I can upload a pic if necessary.
and on the downstream ratio, I filled up a bucket with 1 gallon of water and it took roughly 2.5 minutes for it to empty (my machine is 4gpm).
 

Jeremy Pate

New member
my downstream injector is adjustable if the solution needs to be stronger.
I'm looking into getting a small drum from univar within the next few weeks.
 

John Orr

UAMCC Treasurer
Knowing the ratio of your downstreamer is helpful, but other variables include: ambient temperature; the temperature of the water you're using; the % of sodium hypochlorite - which will change depending on age/exposure to sun/air. The performance of the downstreamer itself will degrade over time - especially if you don't use a ceramic ball. All of these variables will affect the ultimate % that actually is applied to the surface to be cleaned.
 

Jeremy Pate

New member
should I continue to use it like I am or dilute it in the bucket then let the downstreamer dilute the rest?
I've only used it on a few jobs and the houses weren't really moldy so I cant really tell how good its been working.
 

Doug Rucker

UAMCC Board of Directors
Jeremy, you can get the Green Wash from Paul, Kassander, Russ Johnson, Pete Marantey, and JRacenstein. I do use it occasionally, but I mianly use Roof Snot from Russ Johnson for all my Roof Cleanings and House Washings.

As for your Down streaming are you have any problems cleaning?? I see you said you ran across a post about the math, and seemed confusing to you, but I didn't see anything about whether or not your mix is cleaning or not. also what type surface are you cleaning, vinyl? brick? stucco????
 

John Burdine Jr

Contributing Member
Your math is basically right, technically 10:1 has a total of 11 parts, one part being injected, so your a little under 1% hitting the house. A quick tip for down the road...a common problem with downstreaming I used to have (especially with hose reel, couple hundred feet of hose whip line etc) is that there is a bottle neck a the trigger that reduces the venturi effect. You want a gun rated for at least 12gpm, the best I've found is a blue one rated at 13.2 gpm, can't remember the name of it right now.
 

Guy Blackmon

New member
Your math is basically right, technically 10:1 has a total of 11 parts, one part being injected, so your a little under 1% hitting the house. A quick tip for down the road...a common problem with downstreaming I used to have (especially with hose reel, couple hundred feet of hose whip line etc) is that there is a bottle neck a the trigger that reduces the venturi effect. You want a gun rated for at least 12gpm, the best I've found is a blue one rated at 13.2 gpm, can't remember the name of it right now.

Great Point John!!

I would also get away from adjustable Injectors, they are unreliable at best and switch to a fixed injector.
 

Igor Zaric

UAMCC Board of Directors
Interesting point about the gun...How's that affecting DSing? I have 8GPM and my gun is rated at 10....What would 12GPM gun improve? Thank you
 

Jeremy Pate

New member
cleaned my 1st really moldy house today since getting the downstream setup and using these new chemicals.
Works great!
definitely wanna get some 15% sh or at least some 12.5 though.
I dialed the adjuster down a bit.
didn't really measure how much but I'm guessing somewhere between 7:1 and 9:1.
house came out looking good.
 

Gene Beck

New member
Don't know about 15% sh. Strongest I can find is 12%. Try to contact local chemical companies in your area. I get it in 55 gallon drums.
 

Bill Booz

UAMCC Board of Directors
15% by volume 12.5% free chlorine available are the same thing and many people are referencing the same chemical.. It can get very confusing if you want to talk about the actual amount of free chlorine available in any given situation. It's best to know what you are looking for and try to get near it. But if you want to have the exact same #'s every time , forget it. Your SH is losing free chlorine every day and that is changing the %, also your injector will draw differently with various length hose and will draw differently as it ages. Just keep it weak and increase if you need to. It is fine to add water to your bucket if it seems to strong. If thick green algae is disappearing in seconds it's probably too strong for vegetation. I would avoid the oxi-clean type surfactants, they are changing your ratio as well. Probably helping at first and making your bucket stale within 1/2 hour. Try the stuff Doug listed or the green stuff. Both are good.
 

Cameron Queen

New member
+1 on what all the experienced guys seem to be saying here: don't try and turn DS ratios and your mix into an exact science / one size fits all because you'll just drive yourself nuts. It frustrates me that it's that way (I like everything to be very regular and specific) but I think the way forward really is to stay flexible and adjust based on all the myriad factors mentioned... such as temp, freshness of your love, injector, hoses, etc, etc... in the long run you'll save time by adjusting on the fly and always paying attention to how well your mix is working, as opposed to tapping your calculator trying to compute exact percentages :)

Sent from my Galaxy S3 Android
 
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