Wash Away the Winter Salt

All winter long, your vehicle's been getting coated with salt and grime from the roadways.

The salt not only looks bad, but can also corrode the paint job.

As winter is coming to a close, it's time to think about pressure washing all of that salt buildup off the pain, wheel wells, and undercarriage of your vehicle.

Rinse Thoroughly - Even though your car may not look that dirty, there's still tiny granules of salt, dust, and dirt that can be gently rinsed away without brushing them against the paint.

Blast Beneath - Spray clean the undercarriage and wheel wells with an angled extension wand or a pivot nozzle to keep pipes, wheel wells, and framing from rusting.

Use Soap - Fill your chemical injection system with pressure-washer approved detergent and soap up the entire vehicle.

Scrub-a-Dub - Use a rotating brush on tough stuck-on grime to scrub it loose and save your elbow grease for another day.

High-Pressure Rinse - Start at the top and rinse downward in smooth side-to-side overlapping strokes with detergent-free water to blast away all soap and grime.

Spray With Care - Pay attention, keep some distance, and angle your wand to avoid causing damage. Start with the wand a couple of feet from the surface and gradually move closer if you need more pressure.

Spring Cleaning With a Pressure Washer

Warmer weather is creeping in, and soon you'll be faced with spring cleaning. Luckily, you have a pressure washer, right? If not, then you're missing out! Pressure washers make spring cleaning fun and effective.

So what kinds of pressure washing tasks should you be concerned about at the start of spring?

Surface Cleaning

Start by taking a look at what areas have gotten the dirtiest over the winter. walkway and driveway areas can stand to be cleaned of salt, gravel, and dirt accumulated from car tires and snow clearing. You could also use a surface cleaner to get an even, streak-free clean over larger surfaces.

Your house may begin to look a bit weathered and require some pressure washing too. Use a wider tip on siding than you would on your driveway. 

Pressure Washing Decking

Decking is likely dirty from coming in and out. Power wash your deck so you're the first to be prepared for spring and summer barbecues.

A big area you may not be thinking of is your garage. Back your cars out onto the street, clear storage away from the walls so the floor is empty, and take a look at what Old Man Winter has dragged in! Mud, oil, grease, dirt, gravel, salt, and who knows what else. The crud that falls from your tires and undercarriage each night when you get home has made your garage floor into a filthy sand box.

Switch to an angled tip and spray this gritty sludge outside. While you're out there, you might as well switch to a wider, softer spray nozzle and clean your cars. Now that your garage is clean, it doesn't make much sense to pull a dirty car back in, does it?

As you can see, there are plenty of spring cleaning jobs to do that can be made easier and much more fun with a pressure washer!

Belt Drive vs Direct Drive

Working with pressure washers on a daily basis, I come across the "belt drive vs direct drive" quite a lot. The most common question tends to be "When is it necessary to spend the extra money on a belt driven pressure washer, and what are the benefits to the extra cost?"

A belt driven pressure washer is definitely higher quality and more reliable than a direct driven pressure washer. The reason they are better is that there is less heat transfer from the engine to the pump resulting in less wear and tear on the pump's seals. Heat is the number-one killer of seals in a pump. Also, on belt driven models, the pumps run on a gear reduction pulley system. This means that the engine will run at 3600 RPM’s  but the pump will spin at 1800 RPM’s.

Overall belt drive pressure washers are well worth the extra cost if you expect frequent use. These types of pressure washers can be used on a daily basis and still hold up over time. Also, when considering your application, if you plan to use the pressure washer for several hours at a time, there is no question you should purchase a belt driven washer!

Another benefit to the belt driven gas pressure washer is the ability to be somewhat gravity fed. You can pull water from a height that is either equal or higher than the pump's inlet. However, you cannot pull water from below the pump's inlet with this pressure washer. This is beyond useful in mobile applications; direct drive pressure washers would require an inline water pump to supply the unit with the required GPM.

Belt drive units do require new belts when they begin to wear and stretch. A stretched belt will result in lower performance, with lower PSI and GPM. There's no exact time when the belts need to be replaced. It's determined by the use and the quality of the pressure washer. Generally, the belts will last a few years.

With all of this being said, if you're a professional who will consistently use your pressure washer for several hours per day, there's no reason to purchase anything but a belt drive pressure washer. In the long run it will provide much greater service and lifespan than the direct drive units. Lastly, for the common homeowner who's not going to use the machine every day, belt driven washers are unnecessary overkill. Direct driven units are perfect for the weekend warrior. I wouldn't suggest a belt driven unless it's being used for professional applications!

All About the MTM Foamer

The MTM Long-Range Detergent Foamer is one of the handiest tools to have along with your Pressure Washer! The uses for this tool are unlimited. It can be used for washing cars, or it can be used to spray thick detergent foam to the second story on your house. The most creative use I've heard of is spraying insecticide, and it worked fantastically!

The MTM Foamer comes in two versions. One version has a ¼” quick connect attachment that will attach to any gas unit. The other is an MTM Hydro electric model to fit the ever so popular Karcher electric pressure washers. However, it must be noted that the electric model can only to be used with the Karcher electric pressure washers, and will not fit any other version or brand of consumer electric machines.

These foamers come with a 34-ounce bottle that can be used with practically any chemicals or detergents imaginable. Driveways, roofs, cars - you name it and it will clean it. They spray foam that's about as thick as shaving cream! It will shoot 20-30 feet, and is comparable to the X-Jet Nozzle, but for half the price. This will make any tough grime job easier to clean, and you may actually have fun in the process. 

Changeover from soap to rinse is incredibly quick. The unit also has an adjustable spray pattern so the jobs it can do are practically limitless. It injects detergent down-stream so it is safe to use with a variety of harsh chemicals. The chemicals wont run through your pressure washer pump, so there's no risk of damaging the seals!

In essence, if you have any application using any type of detergent or chemical, the MTM Foamer makes tough jobs a joyful breeze. If you own a pressure washer, I suggest you make sure to add at least one of these versatile tools to your arsenal. You wont regret it!

How to Pressure Wash a Grill

Summertime is unfortunately over, along with the warmth of the sun, the cold drinks on the patio, and the sweet charred smell of barbecue.

With the winter about to officially begin, you've only got a few days left above freezing. That means you're almost out of time to finish the last of your pressure washing.

Perhaps you've pressure washed your house, your cars, and your walkways. But did you pressure wash your barbecue grill? Open up that lid and look at all of the crusted on grease and burnt on meat bits.

You don't have to leave that for Spring! Quick, pull out the pressure washer and let's get to work blasting that old crud off the grill in preparation for the next great grilling season!

Check out my article explaining how to easily clean your grill over at Pressure Washers Direct.

Pressure Washer Storage - How to Winterize Your Pressure Washer

So you've had a great time all year blasting away filth with your pressure washer, but now it's winter and it's time to put it away until next spring.

Following proper procedures for pressure washer storage is important to ensure that it runs properly in the spring. Below is a short list of steps to take to ensure that your gas pressure washer is properly winterized.

1. Fill the gas tank and gas lines all the way to prevent condensation from building up inside.
2. Add fuel stabilizer and run the engine to circulate it through the fuel lines and the carburetor. While you're running it, it may also be a good idea to operate the gun to circulate the water through the pump.
3. Pump clean water through the injector line to flush out any remaining cleaning detergents.
4. Turn off the pressure washer and water flow, and press the trigger to clear out any remaining water.
5. Disconnect and remove the hoses and clear any remaining water from the pump by pulling the start-cord until no more water spits out of the water pump.
6. To help preserve the pump, you can use a pump saver, which screws into the water inlet. Models may vary by manufacturer, so be sure to follow the product instructions carefully.
7. Store in a cool, dry place with sufficient protection from the elements.

For more pressure washer information, visit Pressure Washers Direct.

How to Pressure Wash Gutters & Peaks

We all have high places that are hard to reach with our pressure washers, but if you're anything like me you don't want to pull out the ladder to reach them.

With the Ladder Saver, you can actually pressure wash hard to reach areas without using a ladder. I have personally tested this product, and here are my thoughts on it.

The Ladder Saver is a cheap but effective way to clean peaks on a house or any other hard to reach places. It will apply pressure washer detergents, but only if your pressure washer uses a down stream injector. This means your unit siphons detergent after the water has gone through the pump.

If your unit has a fixed detergent tank, it will not draw detergents. If you are having problems siphoning cleaning solution with your Ladder Saver, I recommend the down stream chemical injectors (adjustable or non-adjustable flow).

After receiving your chemical injector, it is essential to ensure that the arrows located between the two connectors are pointing with the flow of water (away from the pressure washer). This may require you to switch the two connecting ends. I have many people who are unable to draw chemicals because they installed the injector backwards.

In order to reach the full potential of 60 feet, I do feel you need around 4000 PSI. If you use 4000 PSI, you should be able to reach up to 60 feet. If you use 3000 PSI, you'll likely only reach up to 40 feet. I do not recommend using this product with anything less than 3000 PSI. If you have under 3000 PSI, I would suggest using a high pressure soap shooter.

I recommend this product to anyone that needs to clean up to 3 stories. While the telescoping wand is one of the best options for cleaning heights, the ladder saver is a way to do a fairly decent job for 1/4 of the price without killing your back in the process.

Telescoping wands are by far the best way to do some serious cleaning, but they do weigh around 13 pounds for the 24 foot wand, and without purchasing and using a wand belt, they are almost impossible to control. Also, many people don't have the ability to hold the 24 foot wand up; and even if they can, it will almost certainly cause their back to hurt. For that reason, this is by far the best alternative.

So to conclude, the Ladder Saver is a fantastic all-around alternative to a telescoping wand when it's assembled and used properly.