Why You Should Own A Pressure Washer – Geek Review

A pressure washer is a great tool for washing your car, home, driveway, and fence. They are easy to use, conserve water, and are a sound investment for any homeowner.

While most homeowners have a few essential power tools, like a drill or impact wrench, another item everyone should have is a pressure washer. Because? Because it is a multipurpose tool with many different uses around the house.

You can save money on the car wash, keep up with household maintenance, and a pressure washer makes all kinds of jobs easier than ever thanks to different attachments and accessories.

Many people consider buying one to wash a car or clean a driveway, but the investment will pay off in countless ways. So here’s what you need to know about a pressure washer, and why you’ll want one.

What is a pressure washer?

A pressure washer or pressure washer uses an electric or gasoline motor to force water at extremely high pressure through a nozzle. Attach a hose to the pressure washer and pump water through a hose with enough power for the dirtiest jobs. It’s like having the power of a “car wash” at home.

Pressure washer nozzles often come in several different spray angles, helping to remove dirt, grime, rust, and more. You can use a wide angle nozzle to spray the side of a house or something more concentrated to remove grease or grime on a driveway.

You can choose from three main styles: a gas-powered hot water pressure washer, or a cold water pressure washer that runs on gas or electricity. For most, a regular electric cold water machine is perfect.

Gas hot water options are typically the most expensive and are the ones you will find the professionals using. For most homeowners, a regular electric pressure washer is more than enough. However, if you don’t want to use an extension cord, a pressure washer will work in more places if it has a long enough hose to feed water into it.

When to use a pressure washer

So what would you use a pressure washer for? Well, anything in the house that is difficult to clean or where you would normally pay someone else to do it. These little gadgets are great for cleaning anything. I use mine for all kinds of tasks, and you can too.

Get a pressure washer to wash your car, bike, RV, boat, ATV, driveway, gutter, window, deck, swing set, or patio furniture. The list goes on and on. You can even spray and clean a barbecue, fence, brick, or the sides of a house, not to mention those stinky trash cans. Once you get one, you’ll find a wide variety of usage scenarios.

If that long list of suggestions didn’t convince you to buy one, I don’t know what will. I use my pressure washer to pressure wash my trash and recycling bins once a month, since our HOA requires them to be in the garage or backyard, and I don’t want them to stink up the place. That’s on top of regular car washes and dusting my patio furniture, thanks to living in the desert.

I use my pressure washer for everything mentioned above, except cleaning an RV, boat, or gutters, since I don’t have any of those. For everything else, a pressure washer is one of the best and fastest ways to get any job done.

Make your dirty old driveway look like new, or clean up your patio and picket fence to make sure it lasts as long as possible. Again, the possibilities are endless, so buy one and see what you’re missing.

How much water does a pressure washer use?

Depending on where you live, water and drink conservation can be important. If so, you’re probably wondering how much water a pressure washer will use. Fortunately, they are much more efficient than a garden hose.

On average, a consumer grade pressure washer wear approximately 1.5 gallons of water per minute (GPM). Your typical garden hose will spill around 7 to 9 GPM. A pressure washer is substantially better in terms of water use and waste. That’s a big difference, especially for home or business owners.

The narrow nozzle limits the amount of water used per minute, while the high-pressure outlet makes cleaning things easier. The combination of the two means you’ll get jobs done faster and use much less water. Ideally, you’ll want a pressure washer with the highest PSI and lowest water usage.

PSI Rating Matters

Next, we want to talk about the different power level ratings for a pressure washer, also known as PSI, which is an essential factor you’ll want to weigh before buying one.

PSI stands for pounds per square inch, which is how powerful the water can flow from the nozzle. Gas-powered pressure washers typically offer a higher PSI rating, but they are also noisy, have gas fumes, and are more expensive.

Electric models generally have a lower PSI rating, but that doesn’t mean they don’t measure up. For most, anything around 1600-2000 PSI is great for light jobs around the house. However, if you plan to clean brick, concrete driveways, or other large projects, you’ll probably want something closer to 2500 PSI.

It goes without saying, but a pressure washer is not a toy. Higher PSI models can cause injury and even strip your vehicle’s paint. High power options should be used with caution.

What pressure washer to buy?

Now that you know a little more about pressure washers and realize how useful one can be around the house, here are some options worth shopping for.

Depending on the model or make, you’ll get different features like wheels for portability, a built-in hose reel for storage, detergent reservoirs, or even extra nozzle heads. Most come with at least 4-5 different nozzles. And yes, you can buy models that will heat the water and do dirty jobs, but those are even more expensive.

Before you buy a new pressure washer, consider what you will use it for at home or in the workplace. You will want to look at different hose lengths, water usage, and PSI strength. So, try them out for spring cleaning, summer car washes, and any other DIY household chores.