Winter cleaning

[FB7777]

Mike

Saw your post about the customer shoveling out for your arrival

How you digging the weather so far?

Do you wish you went with onboard water now?

Difficult to work in this weather as it is. Can't imagine hooking up water at each job

 

[Mikey P]

so far it hasn't been an issue. couple of hook ups in garages were extra easy.

I went 13 years at coit without a fresh tank so I'm use to it.

 

[Mikey P]

keep in mind most day time temps are in the 30's, so just right for this sweaty work..

 

[steve_64]

I hate looking for a place to hang my coat. I leave it in the van after set up most often cause of the rat nasty jobs I clean.

 

[FB7777]

Most outside water sources in the northeast are shut off by late October

I'd feel like such a POG hooking up to an inside faucet

 

[Art Kelley]

It's either that or you become a VLM guy.

 

[Mikey P]

How you digging the weather so far?

so far I'm loving the seasonal change. Four is 4 times more interesting than 1.2..


The snow adds so much depth and beauty to the landscape here....just incredible..

This guy and many others were going nowhere this day...just spinning and sliding.. Very fun to watch..

down in the valley it's more like this..

 

[steve_64]

I loved winter in utah. Its great here too but sometimes its a bit to long.

 

[Mikey P]

Most outside water sources in the northeast are shut off by late October

I'd feel like such a POG hooking up to an inside faucet

we have the type that shuts off deep under the home here.

and these..

 

[Mikey P]

I have two of these out back


fun to look at and use..

 

[Doug Cox]

Mike- Does your van fit in your garage?

 

[Mikey P]

yes it does.

 

[Mikey P]

so how anal are you fellow snow birds about getting the snow off your vacuum hose before reeling it in?

 

[Mark Saiger]

so how anal are you fellow snow birds about getting the snow off your vacuum hose before reeling it in?

I'm not



Just end up wiping the snow out and wiping up everything else....

 

[Old Coastie]

It is nearly down to 50F here. Brrr.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I use a towel and get off what comes off easy. Roll her up.and let the rest melt off. It's a pain but mud is worse and more work.

I'll do everything I can to keep from pulling the hose through mud.

How many days till summer?

 

[hogjowl]

It is nearly down to 50F here. Brrr.

I had to break out the long pants today. It was 65.

 

[hogjowl]

I use a towel and get off what comes off easy. Roll her up.and let the rest melt off. It's a pain but mud is worse and more work.

I'll do everything I can to keep from pulling the hose through mud.

How many days till summer?

Yeah, and I always wipe down my wrenches after mechanical work.

 

[Able 1]

 

[Desk Jockey]

Keith don't encourage him. It just makes him worse.

 

[Scott S.]

I hate looking for a place to hang my coat. I leave it in the van after set up most often cause of the rat nasty jobs I clean.

alot of the time ill hang mine on the door over the top, not on the handle.

 

[Scott S.]

so how anal are you fellow snow birds about getting the snow off your vacuum hose before reeling it in?

mud, hose washer
snow, like saiger i just wrap it up most of the time it barely has snow on it, but when you have to go threw a snow bank like saiger, then yeah maybe wrap a rag to get the bulk off. but really not a big concern.

you could always lay some towels down under your reel to adsorb the moisture so its not staying in your van.

i occasionally sit a dehumidifier in one van and let it run over night for that fresh desert dry feeling.

 

[Jeffrey Tobian]

we have the type that shuts off deep under the home here.

View attachment 10578


and these..

View attachment 10579

The thing is some times they leave their garden hose on the faucet and then take it off later . then the pipes breaks in side the house just before the valve , the water in the hose backs up in the faucet and breaks the pipe and when you hook up to there house you then flood their basement . So what I do is I always have a cap. I first cap off the faucet turn it on and then listen for the sound of the water running . If I can hear the water running with the cap on , I know the pipe is broken. I always carry water in my truck. I hate doing a carpet cleaning job and then I have to do a flood job for free. I think 10 percent of the pipes here in Utah are broken

 

[Scott S.]

buy an adapter kit and hook up inside the house.

 

[Russ T.]

Mike's cold in NV isn't what a lot of us see. He is probably fine MOST days without fresh water.

I'd quit if I didn't have water onboard!

So would Saiger...

Who am I kidding?!?!

 

[Art Kelley]

Not only is it much more efficient to carry water in the winter (where outside faucets are shut off) but that tank full of water over the drive wheel in the rear lets you plow right through snow on the road and gives you stability.

 

[Mark Saiger]

The thing is some times they leave their garden hose on the faucet and then take it off later . then the pipes breaks in side the house just before the valve , the water in the hose backs up in the faucet and breaks the pipe and when you hook up to there house you then flood their basement . So what I do is I always have a cap. I first cap off the faucet turn it on and then listen for the sound of the water running . If I can hear the water running with the cap on , I know the pipe is broken. I always carry water in my truck. I hate doing a carpet cleaning job and then I have to do a flood job for free. I think 10 percent of the pipes here in Utah are broken

This is also in another post....cut and paste here also

Now operating a garden hose feed in this kind of weather gets really difficult, plus finding an outside hook up not very likely....and even those frost free hook ups we have had them being broken when we tap into them....

Homeowners make the mistake of leaving a garden hose hooked up too long, they freeze and then split back inside the home and you cannot see.

Anytime we hook into an outside water spigot we are very leery of what could be waiting for a flood inside the home and you will be blamed for causing it...even though you just avoided them being the first ones to hook up to it in the Spring and flood their home.


This frost free pipe cost me about $1000 or more about 5 years ago....plus ended up doing about $800 worth of work for free too. Home owner was there, asked if we could tap into here outside spigot and we were listening inside for any leaks....sure enough....busted from hose on too long....she freaked as we got water on the floor, 4 ceiling tiles got sprayed and we could have killed her pups in their kennels down there.... (cost was $375 to a plumber to replace and fix, air movers to dry out and time, and broke a Punch bowl she had sitting on the steps as I rounded the corner going downstairs with airmovers....ugh...)

Then she asked me if I thought if she should worry about the spigot on the other side of the house too....Told her YES...WORRY!

But I am not testing it for her today!

So, we avoid tapping into anyone's water source....

 

[Scott S.]

I always tap into water inside the home. if i have to. both vans have tanks, and last us quite a while.

Even on commercial jobs we like to hook up inside.

 

[Scott S.]

Warning!!

IF you hook up to water on the customers house to fill your tank while your cleaning, and its super cold out and you do manage not to flood the customers house, you need to watch for when your tank is filled. as the water flow will stop or crawl, and this reduced water flow will allow the hose and spigot to freeze while your cleaning. So when you fill your tank while you clean just watch for the moment it does shut off and get that hose off the house as fast as possible.

 

[Clean Response]

The biggest pain in the winter around here is when I pull in the driveway and it has a slight coat of ice or snow and I go in to see the job and i come out and find my van has slide down the drive way. It has always stop when it gets to the bottom but it happens at least 2-3 times a year to me. Parking brake on and everything.

As for snow on the hose just depends how cold it is as for how much i try to clean it off but it is no big deal.