Pressure Washing/Cleaning

[fatlazyless]

What is the benefit to using a pressure washer?

At least for removing mildew/mold from flat surfaces like a dock or deck; wood, cement, tile, or plastic, doesn't a mix of water and clorox applied with a sponge or ten dollar garden style hand pump sprayer do the same job without using high pressure water. You just spray it on a sunny day, let it dry, and the mold will disappear from a wood railing or deck.

Probably, there is a good use for a high pressure washer that I don't know about?

[NightWing]

A pressure washer in the hands of an inexperienced user can rip the vinyl siding off a house, blow shingles off a roof and even knock old mortar out of brickwork.

That being said, I hired a guy who has a P/W business (not near the lake) and he did a flawless job, although the cost was over $500 for a small to medium size house and free standing garage. He spent most of a day on the job.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

"...What is the benefit to using a pressure washer?...Probably, there is a good use for a high pressure washer that I don't know about..."

As a brand-new landlord, I felt justified in spending $1500 for a brand-new pressure washer: As advertised, I realized that it pumped 1300-psi.

(That's a LOT! Don't ever aim the spray at your bare feet!!!)

What I didn't realize, was that it pumped 8 gallons per minute!

There's no garden hose that can supply that kind of volume, so I had to attach two garden hoses—one from a willing neighbor, and one from the house. (8-gpm will pull down a single garden hose flat in 30 seconds).

The rate of high-pressure water was so great, that the replaceable fittings would show wear inside!

Anyway, it's such a handy cleaning tool, you'll find things to clean with it 'til you wear yourself out.

After an afternoon of:

1) removing paint from concrete,

2) digging trenches in the yard,

3) removing vines from the fence,

4) cleaning all the gravel in the driveway,

5) cleaning the roof,

6) cleaning the concrete garage floor,

7) cleaning the wheels of all the cars, (and especially whitewalls, if you have 'em—as I did),

8) driving 4x4s into the lake bottom for your dock,

9) frightening squirrels away (my dogs wouldn't get anywhere near my pressure-washer,

10) removing algae and mildew from decks,

11) removing lichens from trees and boulders,

12) blasting Autumn's leaves into piles,

13) unintentionally removing the decals from the sides of my truck

14) cleaning under the hood,

15) blasting all the cobwebs out from under the eaves,

16) cleaning windows on the 1st and 2nd floors

17) cleaning the undersides, differentials and transmissions of all the cars, you can just...

18) spray high-pressure water up in the air for 50-feet—for a quick, misting cool-off of everything surrounding you.

19) Drive nails. (No forget that, it didn't drive nails).

If the dock needed a less-slippery surface, the pressure-washer I had would rip-up the grain of the wood!
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Gee, I miss that washer!

(Tim Allen would've too...).

[Bear Island South]

That is hilarious...thanks for the laugh
and I believe every word of it, I have used on on those.

[trfour]

Why didn't you say something, I would have sold this puppy to you for $500.00.
The guy that gave it to me said it wouldn't run. When I brought it home and took a look at it, I guess he thought, being a pressure washer, that water is what they put in the gas tank. I drained the fuel tank and carb bowl,
flushed out the system with carb cleaner put fresh gas in and walah, it started right up with half a pull on the starter rope, and purrrrd' like a kitten! Then I hooked up a garden hose and ran it to check out the pump and I'm going to tell you something, "This thing could end the war in Afghanastan, from my back yard"!!

Pictures, Big Ben, and Osama Who?