PRESSURE WASHING NEAR ME
Pressure washing near me may be closer than you think. As we describe what, why, how we approach each pressure washing job, you might learn enough to give it a try yourself. There’s plenty of business out there. Why not give something back. Don’t get me wrong, Ray, Owner, we’re not trying to talk you out of spending money with us. We just never want to take your money for granted.
What are you Pressure Washing?
Residential Pressure Washing/Soft Washing
- House
- Eves
- Gutters
- Fencing
- Driveways
- Garages
- Entrance Ways
- Back Decks/Patios
- Patio Furniture
- Paver stones
- Flag Stone
- Cement
- Roofs
- Pool Decks
- Patio Furniture
Commercial Pressure Washing
- Entry ways
- Remove gum
- Remove grease from exits
- Clean dumpster areas
- Signs
- Awnings
- Vehicles
- Roofs/exhaust vents
- Over all building and eves soffits/fascia/gutters
Do you want to do it yourself? Here are few things to help
A quick education on pressure washers. The 5 main things to consider. Then we’ll finish with our recommendation for which brand/unit we think will give you the best value.
Gas or Electric – Are you ready for me to state the obvious…get ready. One you plug into the wall. The other uses gasoline. TaDa! Here are a few more details.
– Your typical Electric pressure washer is priced lower. The other thing you will notice very quickly is the reduced PSI (pounds per square inch) and GPM (gallons per minute). Keep reading and learn about these two measurements matter. From what we have seen, your typical electric pressure washer, they tend to cap at 2000 psi and 1.2 gpm. You’ll get a little more output than your garden hose and most likely less distance. It’s a great tool for rinsing your car, pushing some light dirt off your decks. It won’t actually clean, it is more for maintenance. The starting price is typically in the $200+ price range.
– Gas offers a few advantages. Of course, you won’t be tied to the length of your extension cord. You might be surprised how much freedom it will give you. Let’s get to real meat. Gas pressure washers will normally start around 3,000psi and 2.4gpm. You can go up to 10,000+psi and 10+gpm. You’re going to penetrate deeper and be able to wash/rinse faster and better. This level will actually help you clean better and more effectively. For better residential cleaning, you’re going to want to start at 3,000psi and 2.4gpm.
Unless you have an unusual need, this level is going to be effective…even for something simple as washing pollen off your patio (electric doesn’t seem to be able to get the job done in our experience). Pricing as a general rule will start around $500
PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch) – At first you might think this what does the actual cleaning. What it actually does is break up the dirt, corrosion, etc. With a gas pressure washer,the water will shoot considerably more powerful and further than an electric pressure washer or a garden hose. You must be aware that depending on which “tip” at the end of the barrel you are using, the intensity of the water flowing can easily etch/damage cement, brick, wood, vinyl, seriously hurt your body. Make sure to learn about tips that are attached to the end of the gun. You’ll get a better understanding about how to use the tips later
GPM (Gallons Per Minute) – either by itself or combined with detergents, this is what does the actual cleaning. Once the debris is loosed up with the intensity of the water flow, the water is what cleans the surfaces. The more water the better. I bet you can imagine, even if the crud is broken apart, it still needs to be removed.
Hot or Cold – before we go into detail, our opinion is using a cold water machine will more than meet your needs by a long shot. Let’s talk about hot water units. Just like cleaning dishes, hot water will make it easier clean with heavily soiled/oil/greasy spots. Are you creating super heavy oil stains like you would see at a gas station. Maybe grease levels coming from restaurant frying oil. The final question, how many thousands of dollars are you willing to spend, yes, thousands.
We use cold water machines for roughly 95-98% of our pressure washing jobs. We are all about making sure your project meets and exceeds you expectations. When you are starting with 3,000psi, that level is going chew up most, if not all, the things making your house, fence, decks, garage floors, entrance way. Add the increased water flow to wash and rinse, you will be happy. With pricing starting in the mid hundreds, we think you’re going to agree with us that a cold water pressure washer will meet your needs.
Pressure Washing Near Me Tips
There are variety of tips that you can use. They have universal color coding, making it easy to use different machines or replace different tips.
Your tip colors are determined by the the angle of the spray leaving the barrel. The angle affects the force/impact of the stream flowing. The actual velocity is determined by the PSI and GPM of your machine.
Let’s talk about the extreme tips, RED and BLACK. Your red tip has a 0 (zero) angle. Regardless of your machine’s psi, this one can be very dangerous if you aren’t paying attention. It can etch cement, make brick walls crumble, do serious damage to your body. Black tips are the exact opposite. The water coming out is more like a light rain shower. This is the tip that is recommended for dispensing detergents and when you only need a light rinse
BONUS – Here’s a secret that very few pressure washing companies near me will share with you. Detergents are just as important as psi and gpm’s. With good detergents, they can do a great job loosening up the grime. Add a little pressure to do the final scrub, then hit it with a lot of water, it will look great. Home Depot and Lowes offer good detergents for standard cleanings.
Our recommendation…are you feeling the suspense Btw, we use several different machines depending on what your/our customer’s goal is.
The Predator 3200psi 2.8gpm from Harbor Freight
Why? 3200psi, a couple 100psi more than others, 2.8gpm compared to others that are normally around 2.4gpm. Pricing is around $400 as opposed to $500+ for many others. Here is the real kicker, Harbor Freight offers an “idiot proof” warranty. Most others have conditions, then they require you to leave it and let the repair it. May take a day, a week…you see where I’m going with this. And that’s only if you didn’t void the warranty.
What does “idiot proof” mean….drop it off a cliff, they replace it, on the spot, no questions asked. Not kidding. As of this this time I write this, a 1yr runs $75, 2yr $125. Steep, maybe. Don’t let us talk you into it. As long as you maintain it, change oil, you should never have a problem. We fewer problems with this unit than other well known brand names. Take it all with a grain of salt. We use our machines every day. So, we are putting a lot more abuse on them than you will probably ever do over a decade
