Using a pressure washer correctly will allow you to clean your deck or the outside of your house. You need to know how to use the cleaner properly and safely so that you do not damage your property or cause harm to yourself. You also want to choose the best pressure washer because they come in different sizes and capacities. Knowing a few things about their differences and settings will help you have the best success with your cleaning project.
Steps on how to use a pressure washer
Step 1: Prepare the area
Step 2: Choose a cleaning agent (optional)
Step 3: Connect the hose of the pressure washer to the water source
Step 4: Set or monitor the pressure level
Step 5: Select the appropriate pressure washer nozzle
Step 6: Start spraying
Step 7: Continue with pressure washing
Step 1: Prepare the area
Before you start using the pressure washer, make sure you have removed anything easily damaged from the area. As the name of the tool suggests, water will flow out at high pressure. If you are not careful, it can cause a lot of damage. If you are cleaning your deck, you want everything to be removed from the surface. If you are cleaning the exterior of your house, make sure you have identified the electrical box and other areas you don’t want to touch with the water flow.
Step 2: Choose a cleaning agent (optional)
Many people who choose to pressure wash their deck, concrete or siding also want to add some type of cleaner to the spray. This allows you to kill two birds with one stone …… or pressure washer. If you have mold growth on your deck or part of your siding, consider adding a 10% bleach solution to the water. When using the cleaner in the water, make sure it does not damage the siding of your home. You also don’t want it to damage any plants that may come in contact with it. There are several systems available as add-ons to your pressure washer that make it easy to mix additives and cleaning solutions into the water in the proper amounts.
Step 3: Connect the pressure washer’s hose to the water supply
In most cases, you usually get water by connecting the pressure washer directly to a water hose. This should provide enough water to drive the washer. Once you have it connected, you can start the pressure washer. Make sure you don’t touch the trigger until you want to start cleaning.
Also, make sure you use a good quality hose. If you don’t know where to start, you can use our best garden hose recommendations.
Step 4: Set or monitor pressure levels
While some pressure washers allow you to adjust the pressure with a pressure adjustment control, most do not. The nozzle allows you to adjust the width of the spray fan. Therefore, the wider the spray pattern, the less pressure will be applied to the entire surface.
With high-pressure washers, you adjust the pressure primarily by changing the distance between the nozzle and the cleaning surface.
No matter how you plan to adjust the pressure – you want to know the water output pressure level before you start. You want to have enough pressure to clean a surface, such as a deck, well. However, you want to avoid using too much force that could damage harder wood or the siding of your house. Always check the manual of your pressure washer first to see what settings they recommend for various uses. Then, experiment in an area where you won’t damage any surfaces, starting with lower pressure tips and more distance.
Step 5: Choose the right pressure washer nozzle
Most pressure washers use a quick-connect nozzle, which changes the output pressure and sets the spray pattern of the pressure washer. Knowing which pressure washer nozzle to use can help you get the job done right – and done safely. Nozzles are often color-coded to indicate a fan pattern, thus indicating pressure.
Red nozzles
Zero degrees, resulting in a tight pencil tip pattern. Since it does not produce a fan pattern, it produces the highest possible level of pressure cleaning. This is certainly not the nozzle you would use for general cleaning. You can use this nozzle to pressure wash metal surfaces or to really chew up stubborn concrete stains.
Yellow Nozzle
This nozzle produces a 15 degree fan pattern that is perfect for use as a virtual “scraper” to remove paint or stubborn mildew stains from PVC fences. For really stubborn stains, this nozzle is used more often than any other nozzle.
Green Nozzle
This nozzle produces a 25 degree fan pattern. Used primarily for cleaning, this is the nozzle you use for tough jobs that require a good balance between scrubbing power and surface finesse.
White nozzle
This 40 degree fan nozzle is perfectly suited for rinsing and fine washing. These are the nozzles for washing/rinsing glass or washing vehicles. These are excellent nozzles for wood decks and all fine substrates.
Black Nozzles
These nozzles are very effective when chemical additives are used. It creates a broad spray with minimal pressure and helps promote siphoning, introducing chemicals into the water stream. Black nozzles work best when using a pressure washer to apply soap or other chemicals.
Step 6: Start spraying
Depending on what you’re washing, you’ll need to use a slightly different technique. If you’re spraying your deck, use a sweeping motion, always away from the house, to apply the water. Use the same motion and direction throughout to prevent leaving marks on the deck surface. The tighter the spray pattern, the more likely you are to over clean an area or leave marks. If you are spraying from one side of the house down, use the same sweeping motion from side to side, always starting on the same side, but starting at the top of the house and working your way down. Remember to always hold the spray bar firmly during the cleaning process. Otherwise, you may injure yourself or someone else.
Step 7: Continue pressure washing
You’ll want to keep walking the pressure washer around your deck, patio or home until you’re thoroughly clean. If you experience problems with the washer, check the inlet valve or make sure the water supply is coming through correctly.
Making sure you follow these steps correctly and follow the manufacturer’s recommended procedures will result in a successful cleaning project.