What hose and hose reels should I buy when starting a soft wash business? PLUS SECRET GOLD NUGGET 

Thank you for all of your videos and insight. When I realized I wanted to start doing this as a side-gig, I purchased equipment, SLOWLY. One month I would buy a high quality, non-marking, hose. In a month I would purchase another, and in a month I would purchase a trigger gun, and so on. I found a Honda GX270/3.5GPM/3800PSI pressure washer (brand new) at a pawnshop and purchased it for $350.00 (probably stolen), but whatever. I also found Whisper Wash surface cleaners at pawnshops as well. I spent $100 on one and $200 for the second; an absolute STEAL!! I purchased a reel for my garden hose at Tractor Supply. I took it off the wheel cart and mounted it. $120 and it's perfect! I use the Gilmour commercial grade garden hose (the expensive rust colored hose) and have 200 feet on it. I purchased my hose reels AFTER I started doing jobs. I remember pulling hoses from the bed of my truck, taking the time to unroll them, doing the job and rolling them back up. Such a pain in the ass, but, as I made money, I bought needed equipment and supplies, mostly to be more efficient (hose reels/ball valves, etc). Don't be that guy that buys a $20K+, fully equipped pressure washer rig/trailer and spends the next 12 years paying it off. Buy smart, and purchase as you make... If I could retire right now and do this full time, I would. Good luck to all of you reading this and watching John's videos. I certainly appreciate him sharing his expertise and his time!

Thanks for all your videos. I've been looking all over for a hose reel for my pressure hose. Not too worried about getting one right away for my garden hose but I'm going to end up getting the general hose reel

ok finally making a comment... Cant thank you enough John for the videos and everything you have shared. I am going through a rough patch trying to find better jobs and also have been trying to start my own farming business for the past 5 years and just keep spinning my wheels..i decided to get into powerwashing/detailing/window/carpet/flooring cleaning and then i looked it up and discovered you. Wow thers a lot to powerwashing i didnt know as i was only a detailer for private jet planes... i cant wait to start raking in the bucks as long as my parents let me work out of their homes.. its hard out here in the bay area but i will let you know my progress.. just bought the same washer u started with. the simpson 4.0gpm with aaa triplex pump and 2year warranty on pump and 3 on motor or whatever.. i had a little more then 1k to start but still almost broke lol.. i had 50k in credit and 10k in the bank not too long ago but now im in some debt after trying to start my farm and watched my 10k dwindle to 3k now lol.. hoping i make it bud! thanks again.. maby ill make some videos of my first job or something anyhow ill keep in touch

Thank you for all the great advice! You really are helping me start out!

Thanks, ive been draggin my hoses around and my machine around, i want to make a skid so bolt it to and just run the hoses to the house. Its tiring but I'll look into reels

Excellent videos John.. I’m learning a ton of good stuff from you. Keep making the awesome videos..cheers

Glad to see someone saying start small and build up

What up John. Great vid. Are you gonna show the metering system build when it:s done? Love the channel man thanks for everything.

Subscriber here. Thanks for doing these videos John. Still in the planning stages so I appreciate the advice of a veteran washer.

Your old set up is basically identical to mine. This is my 2nd week of business so hopefully I can grow up reasonably fast. But I am building a Softwash system to hopefully have ready this weekend.

Appreciate the honesty and realness

There’s 3 guys i watch on RU-vid. You’re always in the feed and ive learned a lot. Thanks

Dude, great content. I’ve watched a lot of your videos and learned a lot. I’m in the process of building my own setup. On the handle that won’t spin, you could take the nut off and get two jamb nuts(they’re thinner that a regular nut) and put some thread lock on them and jamb them up tight against each other but leave just enough slack that the handle itself isn’t too tight to turn. Shouldn’t back out and should spin freely. Just an idea, and again, thanks for all the tips. It’s been a huge help.

Hi there, looking at the handle on the hose reel, I see a nut on the handle side, can you loosen that to allow the plastic handle to turn? Great videos, thanks!

I decided to buy general pump reels too instead of titan

Love the video John. I noticed the issue with the Titan real is actually that bolt in the back of the handle. If you look at the side of the handle it basically holds that bold like a wrench. Instead of trimming the black handle trim the ears of the handle around the bolt to that it doesn't bind up. Just my observation.

Instant like crew checking in lol!

That helped man. I have 150 feet of the stiffer Simpson hose and was about to return it for the more expensive stuff. Im just going to keep it for now until i learn and make a few bucks.

Man! Nothing more valuable than first hand experience!

Little late but on your titan hose reel I wonder if you spin the nut off of the handle side and tighten it to the metal spindle. I think the nut tightened to the handle is not allowing it to spin

Awesome thanks for the heads up ☺👍

Can i use a regular garden hose 1/2 for softwashing? Will the bleach harm the hose?

For soft washing I see some guys use different size hoses for soft washing. Would a 1/2 , 5/8 or 3/4 inch hose with either a 5.5 gpm 60 psi or a 7 gpm 85 psi pump . I want to get a system to be able to get the furthest distance

Another quality tip!!

just got my yard signs. going to be putting them all over today

Do you leave the washers outside? Are they okay like that?

That one cheaper reel you have on the pickup, can i purchase one for the water feed hose as well? Or just pressure hose

How many Ft of hose can you use on s 24v soft wash system and still get sufficient psi. I was gonna try to use 400 ft but wasn’t sure if I would still get good psi

What hose do you use for roof washing?

Where did you find the mixing valves and fittings, thank you

the first hose real was for powerwashing but whats the cheapest garden hose real that works , can u put a garden hose on that 3/8 small hose reel that 100 dollar one

What's your thought on electric sprayer for paver sealants?

Awesome thanks for the info appreciate it very much have a great day and be safe

Did your pressure washer pull from a. Buffer tank?

What is a good non-marking hose for a 4500 PSI 3 gallon machine

Good info on the reels

What is the black “fire hose” type hose you have on the titan real

Hey what brand is the original hose

What kind of house do you use for soft wash? What’s the cheapest route? Thanks man!

Supper helpful information thanks.

If my machine is 4400psi, do I need the hose reels that are rated for above 4000psi? Asking because the price difference between the 4000psi reels and 5000psi reels are significant. Sadly I have not seen anything between 4000 and 5000 for the hose reels.

where did you get your proportioner?

how many gallons is your soap tank right there?

hey man! Thanks for the video.

What are the proportioners function

Love your videos brother

Do you by any chance have a link to that specific pressure washer? And does it already come with a good downstream injector or do you have to buy one and install it? I tried to Google that pressure washer you said but many different models popped up. I have been using a 2.4 GPM Stanley with a Xjet and sometimes a ladder to hit the 2 story houses. The struggle is fucking real bro lol I seriously appreciate these videos. I'm tempted to do door hangers and yard signs, but the town I live in is small and poor so I spend most of my money on Facebook ads targeting other nearby cities, and offering a 20% discount for people who share the post. Spreads like wildfire.

Hey John I think I found a cheap fix to your titan hose reel handle not swiveling like the General pump reel, what you do is slide a 1” or 1”1/2 pvc pipe over your handle and it will reel hose without the problems

Hey John I’m pretty sure you’ve figured this out but the handle coming off is from the hose going on the wrong direction. When you put the hose on crank the handle so that it’s tightening the handle onto the nut. When you take the hose off you don’t touch the handle. Hope this helps if anyone else is having this problem.

What was the web site fortbe hose reel i.need a cheap one can someone resond back please and happy Pressure washing

Does your Simpson have a Honda motor or is it a Simpson motor?

LOL i had same issue I took two Bike peddles had to drill out hole a but and cut down peddle but that was driving me nuts... lol Thats my hack of the day

Thanks for the video. What are your quick connectors tot he hose reel?

Hey John, I've been watching some of ur stuff, I feel like I could give u quite a few tips. I like where you're headed, I'm a similar age I think I've been doing this professionally since high school. I have had my own business for almost 4 years. I'd like to show u my 2 trailer units and give u some pointers. Also, go with hannay hiss reels 😉

Thanks for the vids. Really helping a lot. Do you have an instagram account?

I have the same van, could I do a setup inside the van vs. a trailer? I don’t have room to park a trailer where I live.

So if i'm understanding correctly, can I use regular garden hose with a 12 volt soft washing setup, or do I need to buy high pressure hose?

Found this belt driven 4 GPM for only $940. Seems like a very good deal. Do you think so or am I missing something about this pressure washer? Was thinking of getting one similar to what you have in this video from Home Depot for only $699 but it's direct drive. Just getting started.

Hey man, really appreciate your knowledge and “to the point” videos! Ive been watching for a while now and wanted to ask you some questions about the business but didn’t know how you’d prefer me to do that…i didnt want to turn your comment section into a Q&A. If you feel so inclined and have the time please let me know how to communicate with you. Thank you! Josh

John I'm in same boat on soft wash system if anyway possible watch your videos alot may be to much to ask can o talk to you other then on these comment spots

I just bought an inline regulator from Amazon. So, the purpose is to open and dump water to keep the pump cool when I am not spraying. Because I hate when you're the furthest from your pump and you need to put the gun down to do something.

How do you use the hose a just a hose holder ? how do you get it started without it falling off or bending so much is cracks

Lange is a solid dude

Can you give the name of the “cheap one” you talk about?

THANKS.

Where do you get your grey non marking high pressure hose at?

I prefer the general pump reels over Titan I know titans are all the rage but honestly they are not worth the price they just look pretty.......and trust me starting out you don't want a grand in damn hose reels I started with the cheap 100 dollar reels also and those things never let me down

So what would be the right hose reel of you was to buy one now being where your at in your business today ?

Hey John, what is the best way to contact you? I gotta question on something I don't want to broadcast on YT! THANKS BROTHER! 💪

I started my Business printing flyers off of Word, And i got allot of business. I printed 2 up on an 8X11 sheet 1 ream is 500 x2 = 1,000 flyers i put them in plastic Bags i put rock in every bag and tossed them out the window like a news paper..... And it works i still print my own flyers and hire some kids in neighborhood to put them on doors only difference is i now use Door hanger bags you can order from Uline ......... bags are a must weather they are big ziplock bags or order a from uline i get 5,000 at a time now. the reason bags are a must is because if it rains the Flyer can bleed on the door then you have a BIG mess to clean up.... And that goes for the professional Door hangers you get from a print shop.... But with todays printers and Now i use photoshop my wife designs and does all the printing so i can sell and work jobs, You can make professional looking flyers.. But dont knock the black and white flyers if thats if thats all your budget will allow you because if you can sell and your truck,van or Trailer looks clean and professional you will get work from them. Nice Video BTW

Subscribed 👍

LOL. You have the handle adjusted wrong. Very simple fix. Out of 500 rings and soft wash equipment we build we never had one like that.

Thanks.

I made the mistake buying a pressure hose that was 1/4 and not 3/8. It killed my downstream set up.

Cool video Southeast softwash send me your way

Where do you get the cheap hose reel & 250 feet hose

👍👍👍

Can I get a link too your yard sign

2020 whats everyone goin with now r the hannrys any goot

Where can I get the $100 hose reel I'm strapped for cash

You can buy better handles for those reels for a few bucks.

chicago

Know someone who spent $10K building a trailer rig, took four months to build, went out and did five houses and then gave it up. I think he sold it for $9K.

Rest in Heavenly peace Johnny Boy🙏🏽❤️

Spread the peace around the nut so that the nut spins instead of being locked in.

Yea for 3 or $400 those handles are bullshit. Hell no! However since you e already bought then just grab you a piece of 1” pvc cut to about 4” or so and slide over the handle. The pipe will allow the handle to turn inside it while you hold the piece of pipe in your hand. Sucks to have to do that after spending $400 but it’s better than the handle coming off on you all the time.

Buying one I can afford, it isn’t the nice 4-500 dollars ones

That machine now runs 1200-1300 and that’s the cheapest I could find.

I keep washing the wrong houses. Somebody help.

10-12 bucks a sign is a rip off. I'm getting mine for about 5 bucks a piece delivered. I buy 100 signs at a time. If you are serious about using signs, that's about as small an order as you want to go. Your signs will get stolen or thrown away. Secondly yeah you can go the cheapest route for equipment, but it's not going to last. Especially if you start doing much business. In general you get what you pay for, holds true the majority of the time. Although better equipment costs more money, it will last longer and work better than cheap stuff. AND who wants to look like a chump when you have equipment failure on a job? Doesn't make a good impression when it takes good impressions to drive word of mouth. Just my two cents worth.

Are people really that lazy to reel up 200ft of hose? Try doing a huge driveway with a 2gpm machine and it takes you 2 days.

great blog, let's see some gutter cleaning

PUT WASHERS ON THE INSIDE AND IT won't COME LOSE

🙄

RIP

They don't want you I like the manual real they want you to quickly go to Electric and then fall completely in love with the electric model but because they made a shity handle you've got a bad taste in your mouth so you're like fuck the whole company and I don't blame you

All. I can say get the hose real ASAP. If you get a hose double braid, it is a nightmare to get it coiled back up. I did one job without, and I found the general real and have been very happy with it for a long while now. My real is literally bolted onto my Dewalt pressure washer.

And here is some easy math to get the ratio correct when batch mixing. Say 30 gallon tank. 12.5 SH Now divide 30/12.5= 2.4 want batch strength is 4% Multiply 2.4 x 4= 9.5 So in that bucket, you will put 9.5 gallons SH and the rest water plus surfactant