Tricks of the Trade - To use a Surfactant or Not

• Posted on 16 January 2025
• By Trudi Weickum
• Posted in bleach additive, scented soap, scented wash soap, surfactant
• 0

This #TricksofTheTrade we are talking about surfactants. I know some guys out there that don't use surfactants and they think it is a waste of time. Everyone washes differently.

This #TricksofTheTrade we are talking about surfactants. I know some guys out there that don't use surfactants and they think it is a waste of time. Everyone washes differently. My professional opinion is that it is very important to use surfactants. Now being a female, a mom, and a wife, I've run an internal cleaning business for over 17 years also. So for me, when I am washing sheets, I don't wash them in just bleach. Bleach is the whitener and the disinfectant. It doesn't clean; the laundry soap is what cleans. So when you are washing a house, you're killing the mildew, and you are disinfecting and brightening. So by adding surfactants, like our Lemon Wash, and other brands and types, just make sure it is SH stable able. A little bit of surfactant will loosen up all the bug debris and clean off all the dust and dirt. It won't remove the organics. So hand-in-hand, this surfactant and SH are going to do the job and get you a cleaner result on your pressure washing jobs. Also, there is a lot of talk about "pre-treating concrete." I am going to use another household analogy again. If you have baked on egg on your plate, you're going to soak it, put it in the sink, put soap on it, and soak it to loosen it all up. Same with pre-treating. Concrete is going to be very porous. It's going to have all that dirt and grime, so when you pre-treat, that's going to loosen it up. Whatever surfactant you are using, make sure it is SH stable, because if it sits in your SH, it will weaken it. Even some surfactants recommend that if it is mixed with SH, to only have it sitting for a couple of weeks. We've had our Lemon Wash tested by the manufacturer multiple times. It is 1 oz per 10 gallons, and I have left it on my trailer for 4-5 months because my trailer is a commercial and if I don't have any big jobs. During the summer months, my truck tends to sit there. The SH is just as strong as when we originally poured it. This has worked for me.