Pressure washing is an excellent technique to clean and restore a variety of surfaces around your home’s exterior. Here’s everything you need to get started.
A pressure washer can help you clean vast expanses of hard exterior surfaces fast. A pressure washer can be used to clean a wooden deck, siding, an automobile, or concrete surfaces like a patio, walkway, or driveway. They’re especially useful when the old “brush and soapy water” routine is taking too long. Pressure washing is also beneficial since it can remove difficult-to-remove contaminants such as grease, tar, gum, wax, and even rust.
In this lesson, I’ll go over the basics of buying a pressure washer, what jobs it’s ideal for, and how to use it on different surfaces. I’ll conclude up by showing you a few instances of how a pressure washer works.
When do I need a pressure washer?
Any outdoor surface with caked-on dirt, grease, plant debris, or other material across a vast surface area can benefit from a pressure washer.
Avoid pressure-washing anything living, whether it’s people, animals, or plants, to avoid injury. If you’re pressure-washing near plant beds, cover them with garbage bags or other plastic to keep the spray from harming them.
Because pressure washers are typically used for larger or dirtier projects, it doesn’t make sense to use them on small areas unless you’re trying to remove a stubborn stain. Consider cleaning by hand if getting the machine out and setting it up takes longer than the amount of time you’ll be using it.
What kind of pressure washer do I need?
There are two types of pressure washers: gas and electric. The cost can range from around $100 for a low-end consumer device to thousands of dollars for bigger business models.
Pressure washers have specifications such as pounds per square inch and gallons per minute. The spray’s force is measured in psi. The volume of water going through the spray wand is measured in GPM.
Do I need protective gear to operate a pressure washer?
It’s vital to keep in mind that pressure washers aren’t meant to be played with. You should obviously put on protective clothing and avoid spraying other living things like dogs, plants, or bothersome neighbours. A regular garden hose has a psi of roughly 60, fire hoses have a starting pressure of around 100, and a medium-duty pressure washer can have a maximum pressure of 2,800 psi. When using a pressure washer, always sure to use eye protection. For any loud, gas-powered model, ear protection is also a good idea.
How does a pressure washer work?
The pump is the key to getting so high psi from a regular garden hose attached to a pressure washer. A pump in any pressure washer, whether electric or gas, pressurises the water before sending it to the spray wand.
How do you hook up a pressure washer?
The pressure washer itself features two connections: one for bringing water to the pump via a conventional garden hose, and another for connecting the pump to a high-pressure hose with the spray wand attached. The majority of units feature a detergent syphon hose, and any electric pressure washer will have a power cord.
What do the colors on pressure washer tips mean?
Your washer’s spray wand should come with a variety of interchangeable tips so you may modify the angle of spray for each operation. Changing the angle of the spray alters the force with which the water strikes the surface. The sharper the angle, the less direct pressure you’ll apply to whatever you’re spraying.
The water is concentrated into one little forceful stream when sprayed at 0 degrees. As the angle is increased, the spray spreads out across a larger region, reducing the force of the spray at any given spot. The lighter the touch on the area you want to clean, the larger the angle of the spray tip.
There is no clear formula for determining which tip is best for particular job. The end result is determined by the combination of spray angle and pressure rating of your washer. Start with the sharpest angle tip and work your way up if you’re unsure about the hardness of the surface you wish to spray.
Color coding should also assist you in deciding which tip to utilise. From the most dispersed spray angle to the most direct, the tips usually map to the following order: black (65 degrees), white (40 degrees), green (25 degrees), yellow (15 degrees), red (15 degrees) (0 degrees). It’s still a good idea to consult your manual to choose the optimum tip for the job for your particular pressure washer.
How long can you run a pressure washer?
If you set up your pressure washer correctly, you should be able to operate it for an extended period of time using an electric type. The tank capacity will be the limiting factor for run time if your unit is gas-powered.
What’s the difference between a pressure washer and a power washer?
Water at ground level is used in a pressure washer. A heating element in a power washer heats the water before spraying it out. Power washers are more suited to cleaning stains containing living microorganisms, such as mould, due to the heat. The majority of household washers are pressure washers rather than power washers.
Can you damage concrete with a pressure washer?
Absolutely. Using the wrong tip on a pressure washer is the leading cause of unintended surface damage. If you’re unsure, start with a wide spray tip and transition to a tip with a more direct angle as needed, especially if you’re using a new pressure washer or washing a new surface for the first time. A excellent place to start is with the white 40-degree tip.
How do you use soap with a pressure washer?
Although there are pressure washer-specific detergents for various types of operations, you may use practically any type of liquid soap or detergent with a pressure washer. Your pressure washer will have a syphon hose or basin that you fill with the soap of your choice. Make sure any detergent cutoff valves are turned on before using the pressure washer as usual.