Pressure Washer Information

Updated July 2009

Page: 4 of 5

In this report

Exterior Paint

Pressure Washer Links

Pressure washer buyer's guides

The-Power-Washer-Advisor.com offers excellent information on what makes for quality in a pressure washer. Troubleshooting tips are included.

"How to Pick the Perfect Pressure Washer" from PressureWashersDirect.com is helpful.

Lowes.com has a brief, nicely organized buyer's guide.

Pressure washer safety

Water under pressure can be quite dangerous, and around 3,000 people head to hospitals each year as a result of pressure-washer injuries. These include chemical burns to the eyes, skin lacerations and thermal burns.

The University of California at Davis publishes an excellent guide to pressure washer safety.

Protecting the items you pressure wash

Pressure washers can also damage the items you're trying to clean if you get the nozzle too close, use too much pressure or use the wrong nozzle for the job. Experts say that unintentionally stripping paint is another problem. Reviews indicate that it's important to read the owner's manual carefully. Before using a pressure washer to clean an object of value, practice on something else made of the same material.

An article by Mike Allen in the May 2007 issue of Popular Mechanics notes that tire manufacturers warn not to use any pressure washer to wash the sidewalls on tires; it will definitely damage them. In the following issue, an article on how to paint a house warns that when washing siding with a pressure washer, it's important to avoid any caulked areas or places where the water might penetrate through the siding. Using too high a pressure can damage cedar or any other soft siding material as well. The author, Steve Willson, uses just an electric pressure washer with a low psi rate of 750 to clean siding, saying that although it takes longer, it's safer for the siding.

"Be Careful Where You Point That Thing: High-Pressure Washers Lead to Car Problems" also warns about damage to vehicle engines and outer surfaces.

Pressure washer use and maintenance tips

You can watch a video on how to use a pressure washer to clean siding at Bob Vila's ThisOldHouse.com.

"Deck Pressure Washing" includes tips on how to pressure wash a deck without ruining it.

Pressure washer manuals are specific about how long you can leave the trigger off without damaging the pump. This is a good article explaining what can go wrong -- and why it can void your warranty.

Pressure washer accessories

Bill Link's article in the October 2007 issue of Workbench magazine, "High-Pressure H2O," recommends several pressure washer accessories as especially useful:

A water broom attachment for quickly cleaning a big area, such as the Karcher T100 (*Est. $60)

A gutter-cleaning attachment and a telescoping wand for reaching high siding without a ladder. (Experts strongly advise using an extension wand or telescoping wand rather than trying to use a pressure washer on a ladder, which is very dangerous.)

He also recommends the Briggs & Stratton Precision Spray Selector wand (*Est. $50) that includes the same types of nozzles you'd usually buy and exchange separately. However, we found a review at Sears.com that says this wand is heavy and requires two hands to operate -- and if pointed up, causes an unpleasant drip down the user's arm.