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.
