What Is A Pressure Washer?
The best way for me to compare an actual pressure washer to, would be the local car wash. You get out, put quarters in, and you hold a gun style nozzle, and water comes shooting out at high speeds. You can now get this type of results in your very own yard or driveway. Technology and innovation has given us the upper hand to bringing this high pressure cleaning, home. You can use a pressure washer for tons of different things including: washing the side of your home to get rid of dust, dirt grime. To wash your own car, or spray your deck to get rid of tree pollen, mold, and other foreign residues. The water is pressurized, and shot out at tremendous speeds, which gives for a nice clean surface after you are finished. In our article we took different types of pressure washers, and gave then a real life situation test. We concluded only a few models and types would stick out, and we wanted to get the best information for our readers that we could get and produce.
Generally I would say you need to get a pressure washer that is at least 2000 psi in power, that will do anything significant when it comes to blasting dirt and grime off of a car or patio and patio furniture. 3000 psi is the next range you are going to need to use when it comes to your wood and concrete surfaces, that type of material can handle a blast of 3000 psi or more. However, pure thick metal surfaces will need something in the 4000 psi range, such as metal siding, paint removals, or black top asphalt pavement. You would need to try and determine a median of different tasks you would try and tackle, to get a better understanding of what type of pressure washer you will be needing.
What Are The Different Types Of Pressure Washers?
Gasoline or “Fuel”” style is an older type, that was out first, that was a portable moving machine, resembling a generator of sorts, that you would put a garden water hose into, and crank the engine one. The water would go in, become heavily pressurized, and shot out the nozzle. It was mostly used by contractors that specialized in cleanups, and out door home and business maintenance. Usually you will find most gasoline powered power tools will have small engines, that are light weight, but very powerful at the energy they produce.
Electric: Very portable, and can be simply plugged in, and with the addition of a garden hose, the electric motor would pressurize a chamber constantly, allowing the water to be send out at a very fast speed. You can get a light weight style electric pressure washer, that is very versatile and portable, allowing you to take the pressure washer to new heights, and places easily, because its overall weight was light. The next type is the heavy duty electric styles, are larger in sizes, and mainly stay stationary, because of how large the 240 volt motor and housing is. With how technology is advancing, electric motors are becoming stronger than your typical gasoline engines. Allowing for better efficiency, longer lasting tools.
Greenworks 1500 PSI 13 Amp Pressure Washer
The best and ideal compact pressure washer for the average person. I personally one one of these and purchased it from Amazon. I fell in love with this device and mine has been running just fine for years now. I use it ever Sunday when I wash my truck, removing small gravel, clay mud from my inner fender wells, and tires. It can be used horizontally or vertically, to give you a better advantage to cleaning. It also has around 35ft of power cord, so you have that advantage on reach and distance. The hose itself is around 20 ft or so, over all 50 ft reach if you add the power cord, and the water hose length together. At 1.2 gallons per minute, and how cheap this pressure washer was, I was beyond happy with the end result, and gave this a 5 star review on Amazon. When we leave to go on our ATV and camping trips, this is packed in the trailer with everything else. Its a necessity to have if you deal with ATV, dirt bikes, or off road activities. However, its so useful and versatile, I bet it can be used just about for anything you can throw it at. You get a standard limited lifetime warranty against any manufacturer defects.
Rendio 3000 PSI Electric Pressure Washer, 1800W
I have used quite a few, and I was thinking after my own experiences, a major known brand would have taken the lead. However, after purchasing the Rendio 3000 PSI portable electric pressure washer, I was amazed at how well it actually performed for me. All the fittings were included, it was multi functional, and I use this to clean, my boat, my RV, ATV, Lawn Mower, etc. It also came with some quick connect spray tips, so you have different styles to use depending on the job you are doing. From gardening, to heavy duty deck cleaning. I also noticed when I released the grip on the handle and trigger, the motor shuts down, conserving energy and increasing efficiency as well. The motor is 1800 watts and as explained above, it can churn out 3000 psi of pressurized water. If you need to remove rust, mold, oil, mildew or grease, you will enjoy the Rendio 3000 psi pressure washer. I would put this in the “medium” category, but to tackle hard to remove surfaces, I have found having the constant power and energy of a gasoline powered pressure washer helped. Rendio provides a 3 year standard warranty on this pressure washer.
Westinghouse WPX3100 Gas Powered Pressure Washer with Soap Injection
With a scrape and damage resistance hose, you can count on power 3000 psi of deep cleaning pressure, and its easy to fill gas tank, makes using this power washer a breeze. It has the never flat wheels, so you can transport this pressure washer virtually anywhere. 208cc 4 stroke engine provides 2.5 gallons of pressurized water per minute. I personally used my own, to remove hard to clean mold and tree pollen from an investment property I owned, and it only took me about 2 hours to do the complete brick walls, and the building was two story. The pressure was constant, the hoses were nice and long, and only had to move it as I went to other sides of the building, to optimize length. This package even includes engine oil and always read the instruction guide, so you make sure you understand completely how to use this pressure washer. The Westinghouse WPX3100 comes standard with a 3 year warning.
What Are Some Awesome Pressure Washer Accessories?
Ryobi 11 inch Pressure Washer Broom – is an attachment that sprays water across the bar horizontally, giving you a greater cleaning area. It has wheels attached on some, which make it easy to slowly roll down a flat hard surface, acting as if it was a broom, giving you a better, and wider surface area to clean.
PowerFit PF31023B Surface Cleaner, 15-Inch – This is ideal for cleaning decks, patios, or hard surfaces that a person walks on. The light weight will make it easier to hold onto while you are in the process of cleaning. The radius gives you a better surface area clean, saving you time or money depending on who is using this tool.
Powerfit PF31052B Gutter Cleaner Attachment I purchased this tool off Amazon, because I needed something I could grip onto, when I was trying to clean my gutters, and after a quick and painless job, I ordered one for my friend who was a brand new home owner as well. The added bonus was how comfortable it was to use as well.
Conclusion
As we wrap up this review on the personal experiences I have had with my pressure washers, always remember that you need to be safe when operating these types of machines, that are anchored by their weight, and have hoses attached to them, while you are climbing ladders, steps, or high to reach areas. The combination of off balance, wet surfaces, and disorientation can result in a very bad accident. Also make certain you keep your pressure washers clean of dust, dirt, and any foreign objects in the water holding tanks, to insure a efficient and clean flow of pressurized water.
I did mention a few different styles of pressure washers in my article, however if I only was able to purchase one, it would be the Greenworks. I can literally take it anywhere, and I have never had to do any kind of small repair to the hose, patch work, or anything. It never has randomly shut down on me either, and I was worried that when it was laid over vertically, it was going to stop working. I also linked some accessories in this article, having different sets of nozzles can help you better tackle any kind of job you have at hand. Different degree of angles will optimize the performance of the spray and direction the water is flowing.