A pressure washer is an excellent all-in-one outdoor cleaning tool that are extremely productive and water-conserving. Many homeowners use them regularly to clean their home’s exterior and have them sparkling fresh for each new outdoor season. However, many of them wrongly assume that they’re magic wands that you can simply wave over your house and it’s clean in a jiffy. Naturally, the truth is a bit more complicated than that.
As with any other tool or power equipment, you need to pick the right machine, the right accessories, the right detergent and know how to use them correctly, so that the entire job goes quickly and smoothly.
In order to get the best out of your pressure washer, over time you’ll need to adjust it and add a few accessories to make it more functional and efficient. Here are several tips that can help you handle your pressure washer better and make your outdoor clean-up project run as smoothly and safely as possible.
Choose the right attachments
By choosing the right pressure washer attachment, you’ll be able to save a lot of wearing and tearing of your equipment, as well as water, time and effort. Depending on what you want to accomplish, you can decide on different pieces of equipment. For instance, washing a glass patio table will need a different type of an attachment than cleaning a second-story window.
Pick the best detergent
There’s a wide range of pressure washer detergents available on the market that have many different applications. If you’re going to clean heavily soiled surfaces, your best choice is a multi-purpose cleaner, while a heavy-duty degreaser is perfect for oil and grease stains on your garage floor or driveway.
On the other hand, wood surfaces such as sidings, decks and fences require something different from the ones you can use on your vehicles. Therefore, pick carefully, as the detergent you choose will have a big influence on the cleaning performance of your pressure washer and the final results.
Extend your reach
If balancing on the top of a ladder is not your favourite thing, add an extension wand. This will significantly extend your reach up to nine feet and let you access gutters, second-story windows or any other areas that are difficult to reach. If you also add jet soap and flush nozzle, you’ll be able to propel soap and water to places regular pressure washer nozzle can’t.
With the wide range of new Karcher pressure washers and all kinds of nozzles and attachments of great quality and innovative design, you’ll have no trouble finding what you need and getting the cleaning finished stress-free.
Use a rotating surface cleaner
Most pressure washers leave distinctive “zebra stripes” on garage doors, driveways, patios and almost any types of large flat areas, making those surface appear unevenly clean and unappealing. You can avoid this by using a rotating surface cleaner attachment that has dual high pressure and rotating jets that can break up the grime and dirt, without leaving uneven streaks.
Change spray patterns
A multi-tip hose nozzle will allow you to use different spray patterns and eliminate any potential damaged individual spray tips. Turn the nozzle head to change patterns from pinpoint to a wide fan. This will allow precise cleaning and the use of detergent and flush options. Some pressure washers come with an additional option of changing from high pressure to high flow without changing nozzles, which saves your time and energy and makes cleaning more effective and efficient.
Stay safe
Make sure you take necessary steps to stay safe and avoid injury. Water and electricity don’t mix and as you’ll be getting wet while pressure washing, check for power lines before you put up your ladder. Avoid blasting over the electrical cables, the meter, exterior lights and outlets.
These are the tips that will help you restore the sparkle of your home’s exterior and go back to enjoying and relaxing in your backyard!