February 18, 2008
Today, News 14 ran an article and opened it with a call to "put away the pressure washers." Below is a link to the article and following that, my reply.
http://news14.com/Default.aspx?ArID=592914
As a company who has been pressure washing professionally and commercially for the past 10 years, I must say that I take exception with that opening statement.
I believe it is fair to say that we ALL realize that our water situation is critical and that it is up to everyone to do their share to conserve, including us pressure washing companies that are often, of late, misrepresented by the media. We, as an industry, are often portrayed as the bad guys. What YOU see are un/under-educated service workers out trying to waste YOUR water in our attempt at making a fast buck. You see laborers dressed in the faded, often dirty work clothes, work boots and driving the pickup trucks. In truth, what you see are underachievers who are too lazy to find a “real” job. You see an industry that has made a foothold based on cosmetic desires rather than real need. That couldn't be further from the truth.
We are, in fact, a group of professionals who take just as much pride in OUR profession as do you, the journalists, who have cast a shadow over our industry. Allow me to introduce my industry to you. We are a hard-working group who do physically demanding jobs in the heat of a summer day or the cold of a winter night. We are the workers who have risked much to start and grow a company and have found a modest success in the past. We are a menagerie of professionals with college degrees or life experience, but we are professionals one and all. We clean, restore and preserve the greatest things of all, YOUR investments.
Yes, pressure washers clean. That is our job. But that is merely the surface. State law requires restaurants to have their hoods cleaned no less than every six months. As a leader in that industry has observed, often most restaurants require more frequent cleaning in order to maintain a healthy and safe environment. Residential pressure washers clean houses and decks. This cleaning not only lengthens the life of building materials, it removes potentially harmful molds, fungi and algae that can cause respiratory problems for residents and compromise the substrate. Commercial pressure washers do not simply clean a building, they are lengthening and restoring the life of brick, stone, mortar and wood. When repairs and maintenance do become necessary pressure washing is the first and necessary step in preparing a surface to receive the repair/maintenance – whether that is a fresh coat of paint or the more serious waterproofing to repair the substrate.
As an industry, we have been talking among ourselves about ways to stay in business while conserving water. We understand better than you might think the need to conserve water. Not only is it imperative to our industry, but we are also public consumers. We have been in conversations with government officials about the water restrictions and we are devising a plan that will not only conserve water, but will actually ADD water to our ground water system. Imagine that. This industry that is so often a scapegoat by the media, has actually devised a way to not only continue providing our services, but to add water to our dwindling ground supply.
Pressure washing has only been banned recently, yet public perception has put a strain on the industry for much longer. The media has in the past and continues today, to cast our industry in a negative light. While there is truth to the statement that certain industries are being restricted, those restrictions are in reference to use of City water. We are not required to put our pressure washers away. We are merely required to find alternative sources of water – which we are doing. And several in our industry also have the capacity to reclaim AND clean the water we use. How many other professional consumers can make that statement?
Your article begins by telling the general public that our industry is finished. I say to you, put your pens away, stop typing at your computer, and do some research. Educate yourselves about our industry before you report its demise. We are a group of professionals who, by the very nature of our industry, are not only afraid to face the tough times. We started our own companies. We know, understand and embrace risks. We face those risks and seek solutions, rather than hide our heads in the sand or wait for someone to give us the answers.
http://news14.com/Default.aspx?ArID=592914
As a company who has been pressure washing professionally and commercially for the past 10 years, I must say that I take exception with that opening statement.
I believe it is fair to say that we ALL realize that our water situation is critical and that it is up to everyone to do their share to conserve, including us pressure washing companies that are often, of late, misrepresented by the media. We, as an industry, are often portrayed as the bad guys. What YOU see are un/under-educated service workers out trying to waste YOUR water in our attempt at making a fast buck. You see laborers dressed in the faded, often dirty work clothes, work boots and driving the pickup trucks. In truth, what you see are underachievers who are too lazy to find a “real” job. You see an industry that has made a foothold based on cosmetic desires rather than real need. That couldn't be further from the truth.
We are, in fact, a group of professionals who take just as much pride in OUR profession as do you, the journalists, who have cast a shadow over our industry. Allow me to introduce my industry to you. We are a hard-working group who do physically demanding jobs in the heat of a summer day or the cold of a winter night. We are the workers who have risked much to start and grow a company and have found a modest success in the past. We are a menagerie of professionals with college degrees or life experience, but we are professionals one and all. We clean, restore and preserve the greatest things of all, YOUR investments.
Yes, pressure washers clean. That is our job. But that is merely the surface. State law requires restaurants to have their hoods cleaned no less than every six months. As a leader in that industry has observed, often most restaurants require more frequent cleaning in order to maintain a healthy and safe environment. Residential pressure washers clean houses and decks. This cleaning not only lengthens the life of building materials, it removes potentially harmful molds, fungi and algae that can cause respiratory problems for residents and compromise the substrate. Commercial pressure washers do not simply clean a building, they are lengthening and restoring the life of brick, stone, mortar and wood. When repairs and maintenance do become necessary pressure washing is the first and necessary step in preparing a surface to receive the repair/maintenance – whether that is a fresh coat of paint or the more serious waterproofing to repair the substrate.
As an industry, we have been talking among ourselves about ways to stay in business while conserving water. We understand better than you might think the need to conserve water. Not only is it imperative to our industry, but we are also public consumers. We have been in conversations with government officials about the water restrictions and we are devising a plan that will not only conserve water, but will actually ADD water to our ground water system. Imagine that. This industry that is so often a scapegoat by the media, has actually devised a way to not only continue providing our services, but to add water to our dwindling ground supply.
Pressure washing has only been banned recently, yet public perception has put a strain on the industry for much longer. The media has in the past and continues today, to cast our industry in a negative light. While there is truth to the statement that certain industries are being restricted, those restrictions are in reference to use of City water. We are not required to put our pressure washers away. We are merely required to find alternative sources of water – which we are doing. And several in our industry also have the capacity to reclaim AND clean the water we use. How many other professional consumers can make that statement?
Your article begins by telling the general public that our industry is finished. I say to you, put your pens away, stop typing at your computer, and do some research. Educate yourselves about our industry before you report its demise. We are a group of professionals who, by the very nature of our industry, are not only afraid to face the tough times. We started our own companies. We know, understand and embrace risks. We face those risks and seek solutions, rather than hide our heads in the sand or wait for someone to give us the answers.