man pressure washing patio

What is a Pressure Washer?

What are pressure washers for?

Here's What's in this Article...

Most people are familiar with the pressure washer or at least know that pressure washers exist. For most they may not own a pressure washer themselves but have family, friends or neighbors that own one. It is quite common to find a number of household surfaces being overwhelmed by dirt, algae, grime grease and more.

If you were to clean these areas with your physical prowess you would find that you would be working at it for hours and then there would be those crevices, corners and heights that you may not be able to reach leaving certain parts “uncleanable”.

Pressure washers can solve that problem – they can help you to get rid of years of build-up in a fraction of the time it would take you to do it without the help of the pressure washer. They provide a lot more pressure than you would get from your garden hose.

Even a low capacity pressure washer will do a lot more work in a lot less time than you could get done with your garden hose and your hands. By doing that, with a small investment you can actually save yourself time and money, especially if you do your research and buy a reliable model. More pressure washer info here.

Pressure Washer Types

There are a number of different types of pressure washers. There is the electric pressure washer, the gas powered pressure washer, the hot water pressure washer, the cold water pressure washer, pressure washers with chemical injection systems, portable pressure washers, skid mounted pressure washers and Trailer Rig pressure washers.

For consumer purposes the most popular types are the electrical power washers and the gas powered pressure washers. The one you choose again depends on where you will be cleaning and what you will be cleaning. If you are interested in a pressure washer for commercial purposes then you should probably choose a gas powered washer and if you are looking for a pressure washer to use in and around your yard a gas powered one may also be your best bet as you may not be able to always reach an outlet depending where you will be cleaning.

For most households and cleaning around the house, a simple electrical equipment will be more than good enough as they are portable, easy to use and affordable. Luckily there are plenty of products available for purchase and some of them are extremely popular too.

So what about pressure…

When it comes to hot and cold water pressure washers a lot of people base their purchase on the initial price as well as the cost of maintenance. While hot water pressure washers have their advantages if you just can’t afford it you could do just fine with a cold water pressure washer.

When pressure washing like any other type of washing, using hot water enables you to do a better job but cold water is great for residential pressure washing as often times it is only dirt and other types of build-up that are needed to be cleaned away and not too much grease and grime.

If you want a cold water pressure washer that will do an excellent job take note of the PSI of the machine. PSI means pounds per square inch, a higher PSI means that the machine will shoot water harder and thus will be better at cleaning even if you are only using cold water. You want to choose a pressure washer that has a PSI of between 3000 and 4000.

You may not see a pressure washer with a PSI rating but instead with a BAR rating a good choice is one with a BAR rating of over 210. The average residential pressure washer will have a BAR rating of 150 like the Nilfisk P150 2-10 X-TRA Pressure Washer. Another rating you can look out for is GPM which is Gallons Per Minute, those that dispense more GPM will help you to clean a large area faster like a block patio or driveway.

Various types

One other feature that you may find on a pressure washer is a chemical injection system. There are two different types of chemical injection systems used in pressure washers one after the pump and one before the pump. Most of the pressure washers on the market have this after the pump. The purpose of this is simply to create suction. What this means is that when you are operating a machine that has this features you will have less pressure.

The other type of injection system is where it is found before the pump. In this kind of system you will have the highest possible pressure. This is the kind of injection system you will find in higher end pressure washers. Both chemical and water are run through the pump and are sprayed out at a high pressure.

If you wish to purchase a pressure washer that can be used along with chemicals then you will need to choose the latter. It is recommended that you only place chemicals in these particular type of washers as if used with regular washers you will be shortening the life of the pump in your pressure washer. In most cases you are better off just using water when cleaning anything.

Commercial Washers

If you are looking for Commercial pressure washers you can choose from a Portable pressure washer, a Skid Mounted Pressure Washer or a Trailer Rig Pressure washer. You don’t have to be a big company to have these – you could simply offering pressure washing services to the individuals in your residential area. The most affordable choice of these three is the portable unit.

If you will need a pressure washer that will impress your clients then these probably won’t fly. They also don’t have a lot of features either. If you have a truck to dedicate solely to the pressure washer then you can opt for the Skid Mounted kind. This gives you the option of including your own water tank on the truck as well as chemical injectors where necessary.

But if your truck breaks down and has to be at the shop for a week then you will not have your pressure washer to use. It also really works the vehicle’s bed to have a pressure washer engine running for long periods inside. The Trailer Rig pressure washer gives a rather impressive look and you can customize the system to the size of the truck bed. These types are great for things like cleaning gutters or siding on a commercial basis.

These also allow you to use the system with other trucks should your truck become unavailable and since the washer won’t be sitting in the bed of your truck it will be a lot less wear and tear on your truck’s bed. If you put some thought into the layout of your pressure washer in your trailer you will be able to maximize your space to carry other things essential to your job.

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