Buying a Pressure Washer

 Fun with a pressure washer

I'd recommend buying a pressure washer. There’s no way I could have guessed I would have so much fun with a high power burst of water. 

To be thorough, the process is slow, messy, wet and repetitive. Just the type of job I like. Over the years I have given the paths and driveway a cursory going over with a hosepipe but over time moss, dirt grass and weeds have taken a hold and even a good sweeping with a stiff brush wasn’t doing the trick. 

It’s taken three full days to work my way around the concrete but the results are amazing. I was thinking of getting the driveway resurfaced this year but it can wait now. Apart from the multitude of cracks it’s come up like new and will be less slippery in the winter months. I’ve also cleaned an unpainted cement rendered wall which has also come up like new.

Even sweeping before I started I still collected at least 10 compost bags of slop from the clean. I’ll add this to the compost bin.

I did a bit of research to get the best pressure washer for my needs. Apart from the drive, walls and paths I will be using it to clean my car, wheelie bins, guttering and some brickwork. One tip is to get the best one you can afford and luckily that was €100 and I found there are loads of makes that were suitable within that budget that had five star ratings for their power and attachments.

The washer only weighs around 10kg so is easy to lift, portable and easily stored. There’s a place to put the detergent, but as the power is good at 130 bar I didn’t need to use any for the jobs I was doing. I also got a decking brush which will come in handy as I have a few square metres of it near my shed. The brush is contained so it doesn’t spray water and mess everywhere. 

Pressure Washer Uses

When researching and buying a machine think about how you will use it, what other things may you need it for once you have it? I’ll be cleaning the plastic on my polytunnel in winter. Check the specification is suitable and has the power you need.

BAR: This is the force at which the water is pushed out at, the higher the force the easier it is to remove dirt.

Light Use – 100 bar:

• Garden furniture
• Garden tools
• Motorbikes
• Bicycles
• Rubbish bins

Medium Use – 110 to 130 bar

• Car Cleaning
• Boats
• Lawnmowers
• Fencing
• Guttering

Heavy Use – 130 bar +

• Brickwork
• Decking
• Patios
• Concrete driveways

As mentioned I went for the 130 bar as I knew my jobs would be demanding.

Other considerations such as water flow should be taken into consideration but most of us have more than enough pressure to cope.

If you intend just to use it to clean your car, then you the lower end of the range is more than good enough. I’d still be tempted to get a more powerful machine and hold the lance a bit further away so the paintwork doesn’t get damaged. You never know when you might need that bit of extra power.

Power is one thing, however it is important to look at other area such as hose length. Some pressure washers can be heavy so a longer hose can be useful so that you don’t have to carry or wheel it around when doing the car. Most entry models come with a 4m pressure hose at least as standard but I managed to get one with a 5m hose and pleased I did.

There are a multitude of accessories, many of which you might never use.  This might bump up the price of the washer at the expense of power so if you start with a basic kit of a good spray attachment for the lance you can’t go wrong. It might be an idea to check if the manufacturers do more accessories if needed so you can pick and choose at a later date. All of the products come with a one or two year guarantee so at this price you won’t need to take out the extra guarantee larger retailers try to push on you to bump up their profits.

When it comes to using the lance - Let the force be with you. You will soon find out the best way to clean.  If you haven’t invested in a power washer I’d recommend it as I’ll probably use more than I would a vacuum cleaner.