A garden hose with a regular nozzle does not provide enough pressure to wash a vehicle without a lot of scrubbing but is it cost effective to buy a pressure washer just to wash vehicles? Yes, there is the convenience factor of being able to wash your vehicle in your own driveway but how many washings will it take to recover the investment from purchasing a new pressure washer?

When you reckon about it a pressure washer can wash more than vehicles. If you have a paved or concrete driveway you can use your pressure washer to wash the driveway where you park your vehicle. The pressure is ideal for removing grease and grime and it will make a concrete driveway appear snow white. While you are at it you might as well wash the sidewalk and front porch too.

Tree sap, pollen, mold and grime can leave your home looking dull and dirty. If your home has vinyl siding or is bricked then you can use a pressure washer to wash the gunk away leaving your home looking sharp. If you wash your home on a dry day the runoff water will be excellent for plants and shrubs next to the house and some water will make it into the lawn.

Is your back deck starting to look ragged? Pressure washing prior to priming, painting or staining is brilliant for removing dirt. When it rains your deck can be tracked with muddy footprints or paw prints from pets. No problem. Just break out the pressure washer and spray the dirt away. The pressure will provide a deeper cleaning than an ordinary garden hose.

A pressure washer is not a toy water gun to be pointed in the direction of another person. The high pressure water stream could hurt someone.

Pressure washers can be gas powered or electric powered. While a gas powered pressure washer provides more mobility an electric one is lighter in weight. A gas powered can be hard to crank and an electric one just needs to be plugged in. A gas powered requires fuel and emits fumes. An electric powered will require extension cords. Both types of pressure washers will require the same length of hose.

Pressure washers are rated by the amount of pressure produced and the water consumed. The water pressure produced is generally measured in psi (pounds per square inch) and water consumption is measured in gpm (gallons per minute). The cost of a pressure washer will depend on the type (gas or electric) and the product specifications (maximum pressure and maximum water flow rate). The brand name and component grade will also play a role in the price. An industrial grade product that is designed for commercial use with higher quality components will be more expensive than a product designed for household use.

The cost of using a pressure washer includes water consumption and power consumption. The cost of a gas powered pressure washer is easily calculated by keeping track of how much fuel is poured into the tank. The cost of running an electric pressure washer will be added to an electric bill. An electric pressure washer for household use will generally by 120V or plugged into an electrical outlet. Pay particular attention to the Amp rating. If you are curious about how much power an electric pressure washer will consume compare it against a household item such as a vacuum cleaner. Products with similar ratings should consume comparable amounts of energy.

After you buy your pressure washer and take it home you will find that it has many more uses than simply washing vehicles.

Pressure washers are used in commercial, industrial, residential, and other settings to clean a variety of objects, structures, and surfaces simpler. There is of course a huge difference between the amount of pressure, area of coverage, and distance that water can be projected from in industrial or commercial models of pressure washer, versus those made to be used at home.

Industrial and commercial pressure washers are used in factories to clean large machines, loading docks and concrete flooring, and used to clean many large structures, commercial buildings, parking lots, and a number of other things that are hard and even impracticable to clean with the average water hose.

High powered industrial pressure washers can loosen and remove ingrained grease, oil, metal fragments and debris from large porous surfaces areas, better and quicker than you could with water hoses and scrub brushes. Many city street departments use pressure washers to easily remove graffiti from bridges, building walls, sidewalks, and signs in their communities.

Residential pressure washers are available in small, medium, and large sizes, numerous colors, and vary in the features they offer. Pressure washers are either powered by electric or gas fed motors. Electric models are lighter in weight and often cost less, but they are also less powerful and often don’t clean as well as the gas powered models can.

On the other hand, gas powered pressure washers are heavier than electric powered units, making it more of a chore to go them around to continue cleaning with and they do release a regulated amount of pollution into the environment. If lightweight, compact, eco-friendly models are more appealing to you, consider electric powered pressure washers. If the job is a huge one, a gas powered pressure washer is usually the better choice.

There are many practical uses for a pressure washer around your home, which is why they have become such a well loved item to own. A pressure washer can provide you with up to 50 times more pressure to clean with than your garden hose. The size, included features, and powering source that is the right choice in pressure washer for you depends on what you will using it to clean the most. It also matters if you only intend to use your pressure washer to keep dirt rinsed off outdoor fixtures, surfaces, and things like bikes and furniture, or you need a pressure washer capable of cleaning away stubborn grime and mildew.

Small pressure washers work just fine for cleaning items like small pieces of outdoor tables, chairs, and loungers, or bikes, bird baths,, windows, and garden decorations. But a larger pressure washer is needed for washing cars, trucks, RV’s, fountains, driveways, sidewalks, and the siding on your home. Trying to use a small pressure washer for larger cleaning jobs strains the capacity of the pressure washers motor, and is more likely to hurt your pressure washer.

Alternatively, you don’t want to use a large pressure washer for small jobs because the added pressure provided by larger pressure washers can strip the paint off, cause cracking and other hurt to small items.

For removing stubborn grime, mildew, and rust from fixtures and structures, you will want to choose a pressure washer model that includes a detergent tank for convenience. This makes it simpler to apply detergent to the dirty area to aid in softening imbedded dirt and grime for removal. You will also want to choose a pressure washer with adjustable nozzle settings and even attachments like scrubber wands that can be added to the nozzle for even more power to scrub away stubborn stains.

Pressure washers can be perilous and care should be taken to protect yourself and other people and pets in the area whenever you are operating a pressure washer. You should always follow the manufactures guidelines for the safe use of your pressure washer. You should also remember that the surface you are standing on can become slippery when it gets wet, so you need to wear proper shoes to prevent slipping and falling.

Goggles are also recommended to prevent debris from flying into and injuring your eyes. Look over the area before using your pressure washer and remove debris and other things that could become perilous projectiles when pressurized water is applied to the area.

Small electric pressure washers and small gas powered pressure washers can be found at affordable prices. The internet is a excellent tool to use to compare a variety of pressure washer models before you choose which one to buy. Online you will find many useful reviews of pressure washers to help make your choice simpler and you are not likely to find as much information like this in your local stores.

Power Pressure washers have become a very common sight for household users, and there are an entire range of machines with different levels of PSI cleaning efficiencies to meet all your cleaning needs, all from light weight cleaning to intensive challenging task for your pressure washing business. To get the right power pressure washer, you need to know what you are cleaning, where you are cleaning, and how often do you clean.

Armed with this knowledge, you would then be able to narrow down your choice more efficiently. Cleaning a home and cleaning a commercial site demand very different types of power pressure washers to do the job. For commercial business use, you need more powerful units capable of blasting away industrial grim and harden grease, hence requiring units with higher PSI or pounds per square inch pressure power. Hot water models are preferred for more effective cleaning.

Conversely, for home use, cold water models will suffice, and the benefit of this is that they cost less as well as use less fuel compare to the former. Knowing where you need to clean is also a driving factor to your choice of machine. Take for instance if you need to clean up your summer lodge in the middle of the woods where AC power is unreliable at best, it is advisable to choose diesel or gas powered pressure washers instead of the electric versions.

But, be warned that diesel or gas powered pressure washers can only be used outdoors. You cannot use them indoors especially in terribly ventilated space as the carbon dioxide emissions from the machines could be fatal. In answering to the question of how often you do you clean, you would be able to derive a clear indication of the type of machines required.

If you need to do weekly household cleaning, get a reliable machine and value for money. If you are running a pressure washing business, then it is advisable to get commercial machines for extended usage. Knowing your cleaning needs will greatly help guide you to ultimately find the right power pressure washer, be it for household use or for your pressure washing business.

Pressure washers are highly beneficial cleaning systems for virtually any residential, commercial, or industrial user. The more powerful pressure washers can accomplish tasks that most cleaning equipment can’t even touch, like stripping paint, degreasing heavy-duty equipment, and removing the most stubborn oil, dirt, grime, and soil residues from concrete, walkways, driveways, sidewalks, brick, building exteriors, and much more. Some pressure washers can even detail cars! But, when it comes to the various applications these machines can be used, pressure washer operators are often limited by the lack of power connection in working in external environments.

Facing this problem should not be a deterrent to purchasing pressure washer equipment, as a solution is here: gas powered pressure washers. Pressure washing machines powered by gasoline afford users a fantastic deal more mobility than standard electric pressure washing equipment. By using gasoline to generate power, these machines allow users to work in areas where an electrical supply is not necessarily present or available. Just reckon of all the applications that will benefit from this ability: agricultural, marine, construction, and virtually any commercial or industrial pressure washing application in remote exterior locations.

Noise can be a concern when using gas pressure washers, as they tend to be louder than models powered by electricity. Yet, in light of the increased noise, gas-powered models produce a fantastic deal more power. Many pressure washers powered by gasoline motors feature anywhere from 3 HP to 50 HP of sheer power. Even though the power options have been narrowed down, when purchasing gas pressure washers consumers must know the different types of models available. Pressure levels, flow rates, and temperature options are the primary modes of differentiation. Pressure levels range from 1500 psi for lighter tasks to 8000 psi and beyond for the most powerful pressure washing available. Flow rates offered can range from 2 GPM to 8 GPM. Choosing the proper flow rate and pressure level depends upon the application at hand. Generally the more powerful the feature, the more quickly the user can accomplish the task at hand.

The greatest degree of delineation among the various gas pressure washers available lies within the temperature options. Gasoline-powered cold water pressure washing machines can be used for a range of lighter, residential pressure washing applications, but do not afford users the advanced cleaning power associated with heated machines. Models with heat come in two variations: hot water and steam. Hot water pressure washing equipment is much more powerful than cold water pressure washers, as it can dissolve substances much more quickly.

As cleaning power increases with temperature, hot water pressure washing equipment, with temperatures up to 210 ºF, cannot reach the advanced power of steam. Steam pressure cleaners reach astoundingly high temperatures up to 330 ºF, which allows operators to sanitize and disinfect surfaces while cleaning, degreasing, and quickly removing even the most challenging substances.

Despite the wide array of features and power options available on gas-powered pressure washer equipment, one thing is for sure: all gas pressure washers afford users maximum mobility and power for tackling any commercial or industrial pressure washing application.

About Author

Daimer is a major manufacturer, importer and worldwide exporter of the industry’s leading line of KleenJet® steam cleaners; XTreme Power® carpet cleaners, hard surface cleaning machines, floor buffers/scrubbers/burnishers; Super Max® and Vapor-Flo® pressure washers; and the line of Micro-Blasting® Eco-Green® ecologically friendly green chemicals that use unique technologies and a patented, proprietary chemistry.

For more information, please contact a Daimer Product Specialist at 1-800-471-7157 or by visiting http://www.daimer.com.

What brand and type and power level of pressure washer should I buy to clean OIL Stains off the driveway?

Would I need electric or gas powered? I got some tough stains on my driveway street area’s that I want to clean up. My car USED to leak oil and I despise the oil stains onb the ground…They are kind of Ancient stains and I tried all types of chemicals already to clean them but they didn’t completely work. I want to try a pressure washer / cleaner now.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Buy yourself a container of oil remover for hard surfaces from Halfords – Gunk or items listed below and treat the ancient stains with that first scrubbing the surface with a stiff brush. The top 3 driveway cleaners are:
1. Swarfega Oil & Grease remover
2. B&Q Patio and Drive Cleaner
3. Clarke Concrete Cleaner