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Using a pressure washer to clean your home or commercial space can save you a lot of time and money, especially if you have decided to clean it yourself. Driveways, sidewalks, patios, pool decks, courtyards and even outdoor barbecues can be cleaned quickly and effectively with this tool, but it is important to know how to use it properly in order avoid damaging these surfaces, the machine you’re using, or harming yourself.

Pressure washers come in a few forms: garden hose attachments or single motorized power hoses. They essentially take the pressure of flowing water and funnel it so that a greater pressure is exerted over a smaller, more defined area.

Garden hose attachments are simply added to your run of the mill garden hose for a more dramatic, more powerful cleaning effect. These are not as powerful as the motorized pressure washers and can be found at almost any local home and garden store.

However, if you are looking for a more powerful cleaning tool, the motorized versions are substantially more powerful than the simple attachment models. These are powered by a gasoline or electric motor and have a more rigid hose end, called a spray wand, with a handle and a valve that controls the flow of the water. Just like the garden hose nozzle model, the spray wand also uses interchangeable nozzle attachments and all of these give it differing degrees of power, concentrating the water in slightly different ways that have a drastic effect on the quality of your cleaning.

Before attempting to use your new washing tool, be sure to read your owner’s or user’s manual thoroughly. Not all washers function in exactly the same way and it is important to know how to handle the model that you’ve got. Neglecting to do so could result in breaking the tool itself, damaging surfaces or hurting yourself.

All motorized models will come with a variety of attachment nozzles, each designated for a specific cleaning task. The most common nozzles and their respective uses are as follows. The sixty five degree spray pattern, the wides of the nozzles, is the safest nozzle and is suited for applying cleaning fluids or detergents on to exterior surfaces before washing. The forty degree spray pattern is also fairly wide and is adequate for light cleaning, while the twenty five degree tip is before general cleaning, and the fifteen degree wide spray pattern is optimum for heavy duty cleaning. The smallest, most powerful and most dangerous of these is the zero degree nozzle. Exercise caution and good judgment when using the zero degree nozzle, as it is meant for only the toughest of cleaning jobs.

Because of that, safety glasses, ear protectors and working gloves are essential accessories for any pressure washer cleaner, no matter whether the cleaning is commercial or just around the home. Do not wash without these safety accessories and avoid washing when around small animals or children. After looking over your model’s functions, choosing the appropriate nozzle and putting on your safety gear, it is only a matter of retaining control over the spray wand’s handle and focusing the stream of water in the areas which need cleaning.

Learn more on High Pressure Hose and Pressure Washer Parts.