Pressure Washing Information On The Internet Isn’t Always The Truth

We did a job that demonstrates what pressure washing cannot do after a nightmare tenant.

But then the property owner called to express her concerns – based on information she got from the internet.

Background information:

Her garage reminded us of this mess!

One of our property management clients called for pressure washing the concrete of a driveway and garage for one of their owners. When they asked us to do the job, they mentioned the tenants had recently been evicted and had obviously worked on vehicles in the driveway and garage, leaving behind some large grease stains.

Their description of the condition of the concrete was understated at best.  There weren’t large stains so much as there were a few sparsely scattered clean areas. Some of the oil stains were so thick they were like a heavy coating of grease.  Imagine taking one of those white dust masks and smearing it with used grease before trying to breathe through it. That’s what it was like breathing in this garage!

Our pressure washing crew did the best they could cleaning the concrete, but the stains were so set it wasn’t worth the cost of the degreaser to use it.  The grease and oil were just too deep for any surface treatment to make a difference.  So we used hot water and high pressure to wash the build-up away.

The property owner’s call:

A few days after we finished pressure washing, the owner of the rental home called us with a lot of questions. The conversation started off shaky because the owner had what she thought was good information about how to clean concrete from a fairly reputable website.  But without any first-hand experience, she fortunately decided to ask us questions rather than flat out say we did a bad job. And that attitude is what allowed us to explain the reality of the situation to her.

In the end the owner realized the only way to fix her garage and driveway concrete would be to replace it.  It’s never the kind of news we want to give, but in a situation this bad, its the only one we can give.  We even wrote an explanatory letter for her to use in a lawsuit against the previous tenants.

Whether for your own home, a concrete pad at your workplace, or for a rental property, its always important to clean up oil spills as quickly as possible before they seep too deeply into the concrete.

And don’t take generic pressure washing information on the internet as the only solution to your unique problem.

Consult with an experienced professional pressure washing company to get the real answers!