The use of a pressure washer entails a lot of care because of the fact that it uses a highly pressurized mechanism to be able to propel water forcefully for stain removal and surface renewal. There are different types of surface area present and there are different ways in cleaning each of them. It is helpful to know the techniques and general considerations when pressure washing different types of area.

First of all, a pressure washer uses a wide range of accessories to be able to produce the right type of pressure depending on the surface area to be cleaned. For example, when you are cleaning a wooden floor, it is pertinent to use a flat fan tip to provide the right pressure for such a delicate surface.

Wooden surface areas are much easily damaged when you apply a high pressure within close proximity. If your power washer is has a 2,000 psi value or more, then be careful not to point the nozzle too close to the surface because too much pressure may ruin the wooden floor and make it fuzzy looking after pressure washing. Another thing to remember is to clean the whole length of the wooden board evenly so that “stop” and “start” marks are prevented.

All you have to do is to point the power washing tip from a safe distance working your way near the surface area you wish to be cleaned. The trick with wooden floors is patience and a little coordination. Instead of doing the usual “back and forth” motion of spraying, you have to gradually move the cleaning tip across the whole length of the board before moving on to the next area. For masonry surfaces, it is better if you spray the surface using a circular motion so you can prevent patches of un-cleaned surface from showing after power washing.

Power washing accessories are also helpful if you want complete coverage and absolutely wonderful results after power washing. Accessories such as nozzles or tips have different uses based on the degrees and spray angles they are able to convey on your pressure washer. Basically, a 0 degree angle is the smallest and will deliver the greatest power when it comes to removing dirt.  For easily removable substances or debris, a wider angle is used for more ease and safety when cleaning.

For safety purposes when using nozzles or tips, check that the accessory is tightly attached to the power washer so that it will not get damaged or damage others when you turn on the pressure washer. A loosely attached tip or nozzle is one of the common causes of injuries and accessory damage.

Using environmentally friendly cleaning detergents are also highly recommended as you can help save your environment while maintaining the beauty of your home. Make sure that the chemicals you choose are appropriate for the surface you are going to clean. Remember that wooden floors have different requirements, so read the label of the detergent first before application.

Lastly, when planning to clean structures such as roof tops with shingles, postage boxes, windows, vents, or flower boxes, it is important to secure them first prior to power washing . Aside from that, carefully apply pressure to the object as they are easily broken by the high pressure applied by the washer.

From construction firms to city agencies and even waste disposal companies, trailer mounted pressure washers can benefit from these self-sufficient systems. With space to store all the water and chemicals you’ll need to remove even the toughest of stains and marks, even in areas without water or electricity.

A trailer mounted pressure washer is generally a pressure washer of your choosing mounted on a custom built trailer, with accessories such as hoses, tool boxes, lights and generators. They really are the complete package for any pressure washing business.

Fully customisations to your need can be made if you go to the right places. Always remember you are the customer, and its YOUR business and YOUR money, and YOU will be the person using the system every day, so you need to be happy with the product, the layout and the design of the trailer and accessories BEFORE you buy.

Benefits of trailer mounted pressure washers:

• Operate independently from mains of water supply
• Trailers built to be durable
• Design your own layout for full customisation
• Choose the pressure washer you wish
• Multi industry suitability
• Low fuel and energy use
• Safe and reliable operation

You can either choose a single or double axis trailer, depending on the size of the pressure washer and accessories. Remember the bigger the trailer you buy, the bigger the vehicle you’ll need to haul it!

These systems sell for over $15,000.00 -  certainly not an investment to make on impulse! So you have seen that trailer mounted pressure washers are large pieces of equipment, and do not come cheaply. Therefore if you are seriously considering making a purchase, you need to know everything about the product.  There are many companies in the US which specialse in creating fully customised trailer mounted pressure washers and related systems, please contact us for more information and our recommendations.

I’ve heard many people give recommendations on what apparatus to use when washing a fleet of cars, but I would like some guidance on HOW to wash a fleet of cars?
What have you found to be the most effective method of rinsing down and the wiping off the cars?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

My answer to you is this….Use lots of pressure but keep a safe distance – remember the main reason behind using high pressure when rinsing cars is to remove the soap quickly!

When entering the car washing business it is all about speed and volume. You won’t have time to spend 5 minutes rinsing each car. One small outfit I know will wash a car roughly every 2 to 2.5 minutes.

One man puts on the soap, he also takes a mitt on a stick and washes bonnet, windshields, roof, and truck, whilst another man uses wool mitts and wipes the car down, then they use a high pressure soft water rinse to take off soap from the car, then they follow up with another rinse.

They still have to towel dry them in the end as there are still a lot of blemishes to remove. Although they towel dry the cars, they are mostly dry already, so they just have a damp towel with clean water to remove the last marks from the windows, which are mainly due to the soap having dried on the tinted windows.

To get the economies of scale they will wash multiple cars at a time, soaping several before moving onto the rinsing and so on.

One last thing to remember is that despite all the pressure washing in world, the cars will NEVER be properly cleaned if you don’t physically wipe them down to remove the dust and dirt.

With a compact design and inovative design, this Ryobi is ideal for cleaning around the home and garden. This model has a large 1600w motor and a flow rate of 360l per hour. Onboard storage. Usually comes with a 2 year warranty as standard.

Features:

• 120 bar Pressure
• Powerful 1600 watt motor
• Compact design for easy transportation
• Lance with adjustable spray nozzles
• Sturdy housing for added stability
• Spray gun and detergent tank included

Technical Specification of the Ryobi RPW-120E Pressure Washer

• Power input: 1600 watt
• Water flow rate: 360L/hr
• Pressure: 120bar
• Hose length: 6m
• Weight: 8Kg

The Ryobi RPW1400E Pressure Washer is the new model from Ryobi. It has a 1400W motor and operates at a maximum pressure of 100 bar with a maximum flow rate of 360 litres per hour.

Although lightweight at only 8kg, this domestic washer (which comes with a 2 Year Warranty) is ideal for smaller cleaning applications. Due to the unique design it is a sturdy tool. The variable jet lance is fed by the 5m hose. It is usually supplied complete with detergent gun for the tougher jobs you may face.

Take into consideration that some deck strippers are rated at 13 on the Ph scale. Some of the acids used are rated at 1 or 2 on the Ph scale.

Think about the amount of damage that 4,000 PSI can cause in inexperienced hands to wood, siding and concrete. Shouldn’t there be some type of protection for consumers against these extremes?

Consumers are protected when legitimate companies share information with each other, work together and help each other. Car trunk pressure washers don’t even have a BUSINESS license now and they don’t care. Misdemeanor? So what? What do they care? They eventually have a breakdown and can’t afford to fix the equipment and go out of business. It’s just like gun laws, make a law against it and the only ones breaking the law are the ones who don’t care about the law anyway.

Does this have more to do with drawing a fence around established companies to make it extremely difficult for someone young like DJ with a lot of ambition, but no money to get into the business? I’m not saying that is your motive Henry, I’m just saying that is the first most obvious motive for anyone suggesting licensing.

When it all boils down there are only a couple of reasons to even consider licensing PW companies. Which of these do you agree with?

1) To raise more money through the state the same way licensing does now. That is why licensing fees are considered a TAX.
2) To make it difficult for entry into the business to protect existing interests.

When will we learn?

How many guys who’ve built up good profitable businesses will be knocked out because of past legal problems? How many good, honest businessmen will be regulated out of business? How much more will we have to pay for supplies when your talk about harsh chemicals results in the interference of the government making them almost impossible to get?

What about freon? Anybody used to be able to buy freon. Someone with no evidence claimed it harmed the ozone layer. It was almost 20 years before the claim was proven to be 100% FALSE, but an entire section of government had already been created to deal with a non-existent threat and because of that I can’t even juice up my own air conditioner anymore. AND LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PRICE!!!

You’re asking for the wind. If you get it you will reap the whirlwind.

The chemicals you are speaking of can be purchased by anyone. Licensing pressure washers will do nothing but add another tax that you have to pay each year. This is an open end tax that will do nothing but go up.

Any Joe homeowner can buy a 4000 psi pressure washer. How is licensing PW’ers going to protect them? Because if you have to raise your prices to cover legal expenses and training required by licensing more and more of those poor consumers are going to resort to doing it themselves.

What’s keeping you from getting a contractors license now and pointing out to your customers how more “legit” you are because you are licensed?

I vote no. This is one industry where some one with a little money, a lot of integrity and a lot of ambition can start with nothing and go a long way.

Is licensing currently in the talks or on the agenda? An official stance on this from the UAMCC would be appreciated.

A ryobi pressure washer will do fine. An experienced user will know what chemicals to use for cleaning as well as the pressure and jet sizes to use. To DIY just be careful and try to stay even with your cleaning.

Yesterday I went to Sears and they had a floor model pressure washer (ie, used) 2550psi Craftsman for $203. Came with everything and appears new, but when I got it home and tried to start it, it failed About 40 pulls later my arm was too sore to continue and I gave up.

With pressure washers, more than any other product I can think of, you can’t go cheap. You need to spend more than $200 (new) to get something decent. I went through two that were under $200 in the SAME DAY. One broke after about five minutes, and the second broke just after I finished my job (thankfully).

I haven’t purchased one since, but if I ever have a need, I’ll put up the money for a good one.

Should I use my ryobi pressure washer to wash a previously stained cedar fence?

As there are many different PSI washers available, there are different tips you can use. Just don’t use a 0 tip and don’t get too close to the fence with the wand.

The hotter it is, the faster you have to work. Try to work in the shade when staining and keep a wet edge. If the material dries and you overlap you will get what we call a “flash mark” – meaning that the material will be shiny in the overlapped area.

More and more folks are purchasing ryobi pressure washer units for home use which is excellent. However, you should be wearing a suitable particulate mask (not the pedestrian sanding or sweeping kind) AND full eye protection whenever you clean. The water is customarily under a minimum of 1500PSI of pressure and part of the cleaning process is to remove stubborn and stuck on leaves, twigs, stones, bird poop, flaked paint, dirt, etc. courtesy of that pressure.

Often, cleaning or mildewcide chemicals are used in conjunction with the pressure washer. Any of these things – dirt, dust or chemicals – can seriously hurt your eyes if they strike them. Regular corrective lenses are not sufficient. Use a full goggle style of protective eyewear if possible but keep them properly shielded.

Homeowners and new or infrequent users should also realize that they’re possibly breathing in a lot of debris, dirt, pollen, bacteria and mold spores as a result of the pressure cleaning, especially since they’re usually standing closer to the surface being cleaned because of the shorter homeowner wands. They surely should NOT inhale the junk or dirty water vapor they’re shooting off of surfaces or any of the chemicals that they may be using. An N95 particulate mask that also handles nuisance vapors should always be used. The ones with the breathing valve in them are the more comfortable to wear, even though they cost upwards of $5 each. A box of 10 can be purchased for proportionately much less.

Be safe as you clean!

Features:

• 5 quick release spray nozzles
• On-board detergent storage
• Large wheels for easy movement
• Quick release hose attachments
• 9 metre steel reinforced rubber hose
• Powerful 4-stroke petrol engine
• Pressure adjustment control

Specifications:

• Power output: 7hp
• Pressure: 200 bar max
• Engine capacity 211cc
• Water flow rate: 600 litres ph
• Hose length: 9 metres
• Motor type:4-stroke Subaru petrol
• Weight: 43kg

Included as standard:

• Power lance

Petrol Engines
It is important to read all instructions regarding petrol products. 4 Stroke engines require oil and some machines are supplied dry (No oil to start with). Running a 4 stroke petrol machine without oil will result in the engine seizing and is not covered under warranty. 2 Stroke engines will have a mix of oil in the petrol this normally 1 part oil to 50 parts petrol but not always, again please read the instructions supplied with your machine. Petrol engines do require more maintenance than electric engines but if reguarly maintained they will normally give many years of use.