Backyard Tips and Tricks

Commercial pressure washer units are generally used in maintenance operations where many hours of cleaning are performed each week. There are many considerations to keep in mind when selecting a unit for your operation. Pressure washers are becoming more and more indispensable as new versatile units come to market that enable them to be used in hitherto labor intensive operations. Cleaner equipment lasts longer and performs better and pressure washers allow for significant time savings so the equipment can be cleaned more often. There are two basic categories of washers, hot water and cold water units. Which unit is right for your operation depends on the work that needs to be performed.

A hot water commercial pressure washer is an appropriate choice when the surfaces to be cleaned have oil or grease on them. Similar to what happens when washing dishes, hot water is much more effective when combined with soap in the removal of tough greasy stains. If you wash your dishes in cold water, you notice how much more difficult it is to get greasy stains out. Don’t buy the wrong machine for the job based solely on price. You will regret it because cleaning will become a nightmare instead of a quick effective process. Keep in mind also that many solvents or detergents will have a minimum temperature at which they are most effective in removing stains and dirt. Using them with cold water pressure washers will severely diminish their performance.

A cold water commercial pressure washer is an appropriate choice for jobs that don’t involve greasy stains and the like. The benefits include a lower parts count and typically a lower cost. They are not as effective at cleaning and take longer because heat helps a lot in the cleaning process. Some applications may require cold water. Also, some surfaces may be sensitive to hot water and must be cleaned with cold water. Not having to heat the water is a real energy saver and can reduce costs significantly when applied to the right job. A typical example of the use of a cold water pressure washer is cleaning a wood fence prior to painting. In this example, we don’t expect to encounter high soils or greasy stains.

There are many types of pressure washer pumps out there. The pump is the heart of any power washing system. There are three types of pumps, direct drive, belt driven, and gearbox driven. The gearbox version is simply a variant of the direct drive version with gears to adjust the ratios to fit existing motors, be it gas powered or electric units. For this discussion, we’ll stick to belt driven systems and direct drive systems. When choosing a pump, you should always keep in mind that there are two specifications you need to know. The flow rate of the pump and the rated pressure. The higher the flow, the higher the volume of water coming out of the nozzles. This is important depending on application as the more water that is available, the faster a cleaning job will be. The other important specification is the output pressure. Again, the pressure required depends on the job to be done. Most consumer applications can be satisfied with 2,000 PSI or less. Industrial pumps can go past 10,000 PSI. Always select the proper pump for your application.

Direct drive pressure washer pumps mount directly to the engine/motor. The drive shaft of the engine/motor is directly driving the pump. The advantage to having this arrangement is that there are fewer parts involved in the drive and a lower initial system cost. The disadvantages include increased thermal wear due to heat from the engine/motor being transferred to the pump and increased vibration/noise.

Belt driven  pressure washer pumps are more expensive. There are more components in the drive assembly. You also have to replace the belts every so often. The advantages are many. Having the engine separated by the belt means a lot less vibration transmitted to the pump. This contributes to longer pump life. The separation also means that the pump is exposed to less heat. Less heat means longer pump life. Last, but not least, the pump runs at half the speed or less than a direct drive unit. This also means longer life for your pump. Experts agree that although the belt driven system might cost more initially, the longer life of the pump means savings in the long term.

When you are ready to get serious, a gas pressure washer is the ticket for you. Sure, there are powerful electric power washers, but the gas powered units are just out of control. Imagine blasting away dirt and grime right down to the metal. Yep, with a gas powered washer, you can get more than 3,000 PSI of water pressure, enough to strip paint from most surfaces, and enough to carve your initials in the wood deck (not recommended, just saying). These units find their homes often in industrial environments where large jobs are a daily occurrence and there is plenty of work to be done and not enough time to do it. Gas fired washers are versatile because you are not tethered to the electrical supply. This means you can be out in the woods or wherever you need to be without looking for an outlet.

Gas pressure washers come in hot and cold water varieties. The hot water units are typically used in really tough environments where greasy stains are common. Food processing plants and municipal vehicle repair stations are typical candidates for powerful hot water power washers. When you need to clean up tough stains and do it in a hurry, a hot water unit can’t be beat. Hot water dissolves dirt and grime much more effectively than cold water does. There are many applications that don’t need hot water, however. An example would be power washing seating in a stadium. The seats get dirty from all the traffic and usage. Power washing the seats with cold water and soap is easy and effective. Imagine heating up enough water to clean an entire stadium of seats. The fuel costs would be enormous. Other uses for cold water power washers are cleaning fencing, sidewalks, etc., anything that involves removing dirt and debris in hard to reach areas.

Whatever kind of gas pressure washer you choose, hot or cold water, make sure you have a unit with an appropriate PSI rating and the right attachments. Different attachments are for different jobs. A simple call or visit to a manufacturer’s website can save you a lot of grief. There are attachments like water brooms with multiple nozzles for flooring, power rotating water driven brushes for siding and flooring, spray kits with multiple nozzles for wide or narrow spray areas. There are tons of attachments available and getting the right one will save you hours of work.

Cold water pressure washer units come in a wide variety of configurations to suit any cleaning needs. Due to the fact that they don’t require heating fuel to heat up the water supply, they can be used indoors and outdoors. There are many physical configurations of the electric units. Some look like upright vacuum cleaners with big plastic wheels. These units have capacities ranging up to around 4.5 gpm and up to 3200 psi depending on manufacturer. Larger portable units have metal frames and wheels for portability. There is also a box style which has all the components in a metal protective enclosure and optionally has wheels on it for added mobility.

If you are in remote locations away from AC power or in new construction where AC power is not easily available, then a gasoline powered cold water pressure washer may be just the unit for you. These units also come in diesel versions for locations where diesel fuel is more readily available. These units are for outdoor use only. These pressure washers come in a wide variety of mounting styles. There are units that are hand truck mounted style, cage style with wheels and skid mounted without wheels. Each style has its application.

Both electric and gas powered cold water pressure washer types have two available drive configurations. There are direct drive units and belt driven units. The direct drive units are lower maintenance. The belt driven units have a longer life due to the fact that vibration from the drive motor is not transmitted to the pump. The belt helps to isolate the vibration and extent the life of the pump. Direct drive units are more compact and are also more economical (read cheaper). If you are using the pressure washer for several hours a day, 7 days a week, then you will want to choose a belt driven unit. For those of you who use the unit once or twice a year to wash a car or wash the house and/or deck, a direct drive unit is a perfectly acceptable and appropriate choice.

Nothing says fun more than blasting dirt and debris off something with a power pressure washer. Your basic washer comes with a high pressure pump and reservoir, spray hose and nozzle, and an electrical cord. You simply fill the reservoir and/or use a water hose to connect it to the water supply. Plug it in and you are good to go. The small electrical units can spray water out of the nozzle at pressures of over 1400 PSI. That is an astounding amount of pressure. Please be careful as this much pressure can really hurt you so keep your spraying confined to inanimate surfaces only. Speaking of pressure, make sure you get the right unit for the job. If you use too much pressure, you can rip the paint off almost any surface with the right washer. A friend of mine was trying to get in with his in-laws by cleaning their cars but managed to strip the paint off one of their older cars with his power pressure washer! Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Wood surfaces are especially vulnerable. It is easier than you think to gouge the wood on your deck with a power washer. If in doubt, test a small inconspicuous spot before going for the gold.

Anyway, now that we got the precautionary messages out of the way, what else can we clean with this? Well, another application is cleaning the siding on your house. If you have not done any maintenance to the exterior of your house since disco was on the air then I’ve got a job for you! Power washing your house should be done carefully. Make sure that the windows near your large screen television are closed.

If you like dirt and rocks spraying all over the place then cleaning the driveway is just the ticket. Fire that power pressure washer right up and blast that dirt, those rocks, and anything else standing in the way of a clean driveway away! These power washers can send rocks flying so make sure that your car, people and pets are not anywhere near you when you do this. There are so many things that you can clean which can be so much more fun with a power washer. Let your imagination run free. Dirt bikes anyone?