| In the midst of the hot steamy, fog the all-night star | | | | could go on forever, over the years I have cleaned it |
| employee of a Mobile Power Washing Company, | | | | all. Carefully, watching the environment and putting |
| emerged wearing rubber boots and yellow rain gear | | | | the dirt back where it belonged. |
| rubber pants. He had just cleaned over 12,000 square | | | | Often, I have thought while using a "Hydro-Twister" |
| feet of concrete, including the loading docks, trash | | | | (a device the size of a lawn mower that swirls the |
| areas, sidewalks and about a quarter way up the side | | | | high-pressure hot water on to the surface) doing |
| of the massive Home Depot box store on "A-Street" | | | | flat-work (concrete) that if mankind ever vanished, |
| and, 400 shopping carts. | | | | mother nature would reclaim human civilizations in less |
| Luckily, our Power Washing Hero, is paid both a set | | | | than a few decades, as the dirt blew and re-covered |
| salary and a per-square foot commission. Tonight he | | | | the entire area. |
| worked alone, but it was cold, so he spent a good | | | | Most employees of power-wash companies make |
| part of the evening making both fog and ice. The | | | | pretty-good money, much higher than minimum |
| night before he cleaned 4 1/2 fast food restaurants, | | | | wage. Power-wash companies that do a combination |
| the night before that he cleaned a large parking | | | | of property management services and street |
| structure, the night before that a stadium, with a | | | | sweeping generally pay the highest. ServiceMaster |
| small crew of three, but tonight he worked alone. He | | | | has power-washing services available and some of |
| didn't mind, he can keep the 15% commission on the | | | | their employees are hired by the corporation on |
| job, which adds another $90.00 to his paycheck next | | | | company owned units, while other employees hired |
| week. | | | | directly by the franchisees of the company. Most |
| When he interviewed for the job they asked if he | | | | have benefits as part of their pay. |
| wouldn't mind working nights, which he preferred as | | | | Today we see many immigrants who take up power |
| he likes to sleep in. He gets up around 1 or 2 pm and | | | | washing as a business, generally these companies |
| goes to sleep around sun-rise. At first it took him a | | | | start up and participate in the underground economy, |
| while to get use to those hours, now he has no | | | | so the workers are paid in cash and do not receive |
| interest in changing. Someday, he would like to own | | | | benefits. Typically, this is unfortunate also since these |
| his own business, but on this night, he just glad to | | | | small companies do not comply with environmental |
| work without anyone looking over him all the time, | | | | requirements of local NPDES permits, such as blocking |
| telling him what to do. As long as he gets all the | | | | off the storm drains and removing the wash-water |
| work done, with no complaints, he pretty much feels | | | | affluent, while cleaning gas stations, parking lots, |
| like he works for himself anyway. | | | | drive-thrus at QSRs (quick-service restaurants) or |
| And on this night he got done in record time, thanks | | | | trash areas. |
| to the rain, which speed up the process and saved | | | | Generally, employees are paid fairly by legitimate |
| him a stop in cleaning the shopping carts using a | | | | companies and on the bottom end of the pay scale |
| blow-up kids swimming pool to collect the wash | | | | by new market entrants that do not follow all the |
| water. By having the shopping carts already wet, | | | | rules, and a legitimate company has to perform as |
| that saved one step in the cleaning process. | | | | promised and there is a competitive aspect for good |
| As the Founder of The Wash Guys, a mobile washing | | | | quality employees. This means for now, with |
| and cleaning franchising company often folks ask me | | | | low-unemployment figures (under 5.5%) it is a decent |
| what it is like to do the kind of work our teams do. | | | | job. |
| Not long ago a couple of students; Mike and Colin, | | | | Many municipalities, transit districts and companies hire |
| from Ryerson University in Ontario Canada, asked | | | | their own power-washers in-house, who are paid |
| me to describe a day in the life of a power-washing | | | | very well, with benefits. You will see them out at |
| employee. | | | | night cleaning bus stops, facilities, concrete and side |
| Before I started franchising my company, I ran a | | | | walks, sometimes you see them out working during |
| power-washing rig for 10-years, very much like the | | | | the day. Often, such employees will do other jobs |
| ones we later franchised. Some days, I worked so | | | | along with their general job description. For instance, |
| hard, I barely had time to sleep. I use to laugh to | | | | a golf cart preventative maintenance employee may |
| friends and say; | | | | also power wash the facilities at the Golf Club and |
| Thank God for dirt, that was a very smart thing to | | | | clean the golf with the company's pressure washer. |
| make the World out of on that first day! | | | | In the future, this particular job will be done by |
| Needless to say, we never ran out of work, | | | | robotics, already there are companies, in Michigan, |
| something always needed washing. I have cleaned | | | | Montana and California that have developed |
| bridges, buildings, trucks, trains, runways, sidewalks, | | | | trailer-able shopping cart washing units, that look like |
| trash compactors, shopping carts, insides of car | | | | a mini-car wash. This prevents the spread of diseases |
| washes, chicken coops, wind generators, gondolas, | | | | for shoppers and it is a much better process to |
| stadiums, amusement parks, factories, and well I | | | | collect the dirty waste wash-water affluent. |