An Introduction to Pressure Washing &

Hot Water Applications

• The 3 ingredients necessary for a quality clean

• A chemistry lesson: How soap works [VIDEO]

• The Swedish chemist who explained why hot

water cleans better than cold water

• Advantages of hot water over cold water

pressure washing applications

What you can expect to learn about in this eBook

Hi Ross,

Linda and I are extremely

pleased with your work. Have

a great day!

-- Dick Panda

Testimonials

I had been searching for a

local company to clean the

house, driveway and

concrete patio. The web site

led me to contact TEMA for a

quote. I received a quick

response and an immediate

quote that was very

reasonable. The job the crew

did made me feel like I was in

a new house again. Fast,

competent, courteous

service. Very satisfied.

- Dan Jackson

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“You need to soak those dishes!”

To wrap your head around how hot pressure washing

works, think no further than your kitchen sink

1

Imagine this. You are

standing with your hands

on the front of the kitchen

sink the morning after a

nice dinner of homemade

macaroni and cheese. Last

night, it tasted so good – it

was clearly a night for

comfort food. But this

morning, looking at these

dishes, you are regretting

that you succumbed to the

carb coma of the night

before without tossing

these bad boys in the sink

for a good soak.

It would have been nice if

someone had thought of

those plates and baking

dishes before falling asleep

on the couch!

But here you are and

2

you’ve got your work cut

out for you!

If you are a bad human or

if you have a really

outstanding dishwasher

you might put the dishes in

there. Chances are,

however, that you are

noble. And your

dishwasher, though

moderately effective, will

not be able to dissolve the

dried-overnight-cheesy

residue out between the

tines of all of those crusty

forks.

You are going to have to

soak those dishes.

Question is: will you use hot

or cold water?

TEMA came out to my house

and preformed an exterior

power washing project. Their

response time was very timely

and the price was

competitive. The crew was

professional and friendly. All

together it was great

experience. I highly

recommend TEMA to anyone

looking for a power washing

contractor. - John Martynyszyn

CLEANING: A Familiar Scenario

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DEFINITIONS

Solute – the thing that is dissolved

Solvent – the substance that the solute is dissolved into

Solution – the resulting combination

Example:

salt + water

=

saltwater

1

SOAP: A Chemistry Lesson

Soap has been around for a very long time. Over five

thousand years ago, the Babylonians were making soap

using ashes and plant oils. The biblical book of Leviticus

taught the High Priest how to conduct the Burnt Offering,

a ceremony whose by-products created the elements of

soap: animal fatty bits and ashes.

We use soap to clean dirt and grime off of things. The

best way to remove grime, is to dissolve it. Water alone

doesn’t work to remove grime because most grime

contains grease. Water by itself cannot remove grease.

Water alone would never be able to clean automotive

oil, bacon grease, or peanut butter off of surfaces. Soap,

is required to dissolve grime that contains grease.

The most efficient way to dissolve grime is to turn it into

solution. In chemistry, a solution is created by combining

a solute and a solvent.

How Clean Happens

Click the picture of soap to the left to watch a video from MIT.

(continued)

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ü Soap cleans nonpolar or greasy substances.

ü Detergent cleans polar or nongreasy substances.

2

Almost all substances fall

into two categories: polar

and nonpolar. Water, for

example, is polar and oil is

nonpolar.

Nonpolar solutes will only

dissolve in nonpolar

solvents. Polar solutes will

only dissolve in polar

solvents.

Salt is a polar substance. It

will dissolve in water

because water is also

polar. Butter is a non-polar

substance. It will not

dissolve in water because

water is not nonpolar.

SOAP is magic! It that has a

polar head and a nonpolar

body.

The nonpolar body of soap

can connect to the

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nonpolarity of the grime.

The polar head of soap

can be washed away in

water. This process is called

emulsification.

In emulsification, the

nonpolar grease can be

dissolved with the nonpolar

components of soap and

then washed away with

polar water.

A little chemistry goes a

long way!

Now that you know how

soap works, we’re going to

look at the two other

ingredients that hot water

pressure washing

treatments bring to the mix

to effect the most

effective, powerful,

complete, and long-lasting

clean!

APPLICATIONS FOR PRESSURE WASHING

ü Vinyl siding

ü Cedar shake siding

ü Windows

ü Roofs

ü Decks

ü Patios

ü Driveways

ü Walkways

ü Pool decks

ü Fleet trucks

ü Industrial buildings

ü Commercial buildings

MATERIALS THAT CAN BE CLEANED BY PRESSURE

WASHING

ü TILE

ü BRICK

ü WOOD

ü CEMENT

ü ASPHALT

ü RUBBER

ü GLASS

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1

HOW PRESSURE

WASHING WORKS

Soap is only one

component that helps to

clean grime. There are two

others: agitation and heat.

Agitation

Agitation is the impact

that is applied to a dirty

surface. Back in our kitchen

scenario, a scouring pad

and elbow grease would

help to dislodge the grime

that an emulsifying soapy

soak would create. In the

carwash, the heavy canvas

strips that slap against the

exterior surface of the car

do this job. In the bathtub,

it is the bristles of the scrub

brush, the rough bits of the

loofah, or the fibers of the

washcloth that agitate the

surface of the skin,

releasing grime that the

soap has loosened.

In the case of pressure

washing, the water that

shoots out of the nozzle is

dialed up to a high

2

pressure. This pressure

creates the agitation in the

pressure washing equation.

Heat

Heat is the third factor that

contributes to effective

cleaning.

Swedish chemist Svante

Arrhenuis discovered the

relationship between heat

and the speed of molecule

movement.

The resulting increase of

molecular speed from heat

increases the activity of the

cleaning agent. It also

reduces the surface

tension, allowing the

cleaning agents to

penetrate more deeply

into the surface.

Svante August Arrhenius,

Swedish Chemist Arrhenius won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1903. He published theses on electrolysis, acids and bases, electromotive movements. After studying chemistry, he turned his attention to geology and astrophysics.

EFFECTIVE CLEANING HAPPENS WHEN THESE THREE

KEY ELEMENTS ARE IN PLACE:

Soap – chemically breaks the bond between the surface that is to be cleaned and the grime that is adhering to it.

Agitation – the friction that is applied to the cleaning equation that physically dislodges grime which the cleaning agent has loosened through the emulsification process.

Heat – increases the speed with which the molecules move. Faster molecule movement increases the activity of the cleaning agent. Heat also decreases the surface tension of the water so that the surface can be penetrated more deeply, allowing a more robust cleaning.

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Whether Hot or Cold, You’ll Always Get These

Advantages with a TEMA Clean:

ü Proven Experience

ü Friendly Customer Service

ü Professional-grade, professionally maintained pressure washing equipment

ü Trained field technicians

ü OSHA Certified Waste Disposal Protocols

ü Safety-focused company

ü Eco-friendly detergents, soaps, surfectants, and inhibitors

Now you know how soap works and how the “pressure” in

pressure washing creates the agitation necessary for an

effective clean. Thanks to Svante Arrhenius, you know how heat

increases the effectiveness of a pressure washing application.

You might be wondering what the advantages are of a hot

water pressure cleaning application over one completed with

cold water. Is it really a big deal?

So glad you asked!

Deeper More Penetrating Clean Advantage

After cleaning, we treat surface areas with microbial growth

inhibitors. The heat from hot water and the industrial-grade

pressure settings allow deeper penetration into the surface for

a deeper in the first place and a deeper penetration of the

mold inhibitors after the cleaning has been completed.

Longer Lasting Clean Advantage

Because the clean is a deeper clean than generic pressure

washers and cold water applications can effect, the clean

that we get lasts longer. Though the appearance with a cold

water clean may be the same, this deeper penetration

ensures a longer life cycle for the clean.

Hot Water vs. Cold Water Pressure Washing

Applications

Honda Hot Water Pressure Washer by BE Pressure Supply Inc. Image used with permission.

Speed Advantage

The hot water pressure washing application works so well that

it takes half the time to complete the same job using hot water

as it does when using cold water. This is a great advantage for

interior cleaning jobs where business

Eco-Friendly Advantage

We only use cleaning agents and inhibitors that are safe for

people, pets, plants and building materials.

We follow EPA guidelines for waste water disposal, ensuring

that all of the run off from our jobs is properly disposed. This

prevents our customers (and us) from getting hefty fines.

Water Saving Advantage

As of the time of this writing (July 2015), the western third of the

United States is in drought condition. While this doesn’t affect

Ohio directly, we like knowing that we are able to conserve

water while providing deeper and longer-lasting pressure

washing services. By decreasing the amount of time it takes to

complete a job, the heat we use allows us to decrease the

amount water that is consumed per job.

ARTICLE SOURCES: Bishop, Calvin. 2007. PDF “Hot Water vs. Cold Water: Whey the difference in pressure washers?” EPA. Pressure Wash, Power Wash Discharges. http://www.epa.gov/region6/6en/w/pw.htm Encyclopedia Brittanica: http://www.britannica.com/biography/Svante-August-Arrhenius National Drought Mitigation Center. “U.S. Drought Monitor.” http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home.aspx Nobel Prize Organization: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1903/arrhenius-bio.html

VIDEO SOURCES: Massachusettes Institute for Technology. MITK12 Videos Channel, YouTube. Posted Feb. 7, 2013. “What is Soap?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-u4zP5s9is&feature=youtu.be

IMAGE SOURCES: Savante Arrhenius – Wikipedia, Creative Commons license. Diagrams of soap – inspired by video source above.

I hope you have learned a lot about how hot pressure

washing with our eco-friendly soaps and

detergents can create the fastest and most effective

clean for your cleaning project.

If you have any questions or

would like to schedule a free consultation for your residential, commercial,

window, fleet, or industrial cleaning job, don’t hesitate

to reach out!

We do windows. Just don’t ask us to wash your dishes!

--Ross Kollar

P: 330.531.3131

E: mailto:ross@temacleaning.c

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