Pressure Cleaner Techniques and Tips

Almost everyone has seen a pressure cleaner being used and many have used them quite often for some hardcore cleaning around the house. They come with different pressure washing ratings from 650psi to a whopping 30,000psi, the later being used on large industrial installations. However the average householder is concerned with the more modest 1000psi to 2000psi, which packs enough power and pressure to clean the most stubborn grime and dust around the house both inside as well as outside concrete driveways, patios and walkways.

Always be careful when operating the pressure cleaner, especially so, when around children and pets. They can prove to be dangerous and also sometimes fatal when misdirected on small kids and the elderly. It delivers highly concentrated water stream, which looks harmless but is in fact very damaging to human tissue.

Essentially a pressure cleaner consists of a motor which drives the pump to force the water out with great speed through a nozzle, which may be interchanged for different applications. For instance use a nozzle tip with a single small hole to direct a thin powerful stream of water to flush out dirt and dust from hard to reach places, small openings in walls and cabinets or sliding shelves that a thicker jet stream cannot reach. Some pressure washing nozzles throw triangular stream to target multiple cleaning points at the same time, thus saving time and energy. Try using softer pressure and fatter stream on asphalt and tiled driveway surfaces to clean. This will ensure that the surface area is cleaned without dislodging and damaging the tiles and the surface, which may otherwise be stripped out from a more accentuated pressure.

Higher capacity cleaners should be used more frequently on concrete garage surfaces and workshops, where ordinary pressure washing is not sufficient to remove the grease and other solvents used in those places. Never forget to wear safety goggles and also put on gloves for added safety. Gloves are necessary for getting a firm hold on the nozzle which may slip out of hand and hurt or damage something.

These mean and powerful cleaners work great on old stubborn stains effectively but cannot match the look of new concrete surface. All it does is to lighten the stains and streaks by the use of extra strong chemicals fortified in water that sort of bleaches the stains to make them look less evident. Concrete is a tough surface to clean. More so when pressure cleaning has never been done before or has been rarely applied. It is definitely recommended to use strong industrial chemicals with more efficient hydro twister type unit to cover more area with lesser time and more efficiency. When using chemicals with a pressure cleaner, it is essential to put on some extra safety gear like rubber boots and jeans in order to prevent chemical burns on the lower body. Use the cleaner on concrete slabs in the patio, driveway, garden path, wherever dirty grime stained concrete stares you in the face.

It is better to use an electric pressure cleaner because it's safer in small and enclosed environment. Gas powered pressure cleaners tend to exhaust noxious and toxic gases and requires a lot more precautions when operating. When using a gas cleaner, be careful not to tank it up with gas when it's hot, or it may be dangerous. When first operating the cleaner, please read all instructions about switching off and on, nozzle fixing and replacement and suitability of the cleaner and nozzles for particular task.