Pressure Washing Your Roof

Does your roof look fuzzy? Perhaps you have moss or mold growing on your shingles, and you're worried that your roof needs to be replaced.

Don't spend the thousands of dollars it costs to replace your roof when you can use a gas pressure washer to blast the moss and lichen away to reveal that your roof is still perfectly fine.

Pressure washing your roof will effectively remove several years worth of grime, but be careful. When moss gets wet, it gets slick. Working on your roof can be very dangerous, and the last thing you want to do is fall off.

The first thing you want to do is make sure you're using the proper spray tip. Blasting full-power on your shingles can cause damage by blasting away the granules that protect it. 

I recommend that you begin with a medium pressure spray pattern and adjust accordingly. Aim the pressure washer toward the bottom of the roof to avoid spraying water under the shingles where it can leak into your home. 

Keep the tip of the wand at least one foot from the surface when you begin, and clean only a few shingles at a time. Should you need more power on a tough spot, slowly move the wand closer to the surface. Be sure as you're doing this to continuously be inspecting the roof to make sure you're not causing any damage.

Be sure you always stand on a dry area so you maintain traction. Minimize the amount of steps you take and don't drag your feet or you may scrape off more granules.

Remember these tips and always put safety first, and you'll have a freshly cleaned roof in no time!

How to Clean Your Deck

Pressure washing a deck is a great way to spruce up for your upcoming fourth of July party!

Some may say to sand your deck and re-stain it, but sanding is exhausting, messy, and dusty.

Pressure washing your deck is the cleanest, easiest, and most efficient way to get the fresh new look you desire. A pressure washer can be used to not only strip old stain or paint, but also to remove ground-in dirt, mold, and mildew.

I recommend using at least a mid-sized pressure washer, because having that 2400+ PSI of pressure will make blasting grime a lot easier.

Stripping and Cleaning

1. Use a standard spray tip and spray loose dirt and leaves off of your deck.

2. Change to a chemical tip and spray down your deck liberally with deck and fence cleaning solution. Coat it completely and leave it settle on the wood for a few minutes.

3. Switch to a more narrow spray for heavy cleaning. Move your wand in a stroking motion to loosen the filth. Be sure however not to use the most narrow spray. The zero-degree spray is so powerful you could end up shaving lines into the wood, so steer clear unless you want your deck looking like a zebra.

4. Rinse your deck with a water spray and let it air dry for 48 hours.

Staining Your Deck

1. Protect yourself from looking like a deck. Wear protective clothing over your arms and legs. It may be a good idea to wear clothing over the rest of you as well so the neighbors don't dial the police.

2. Wear protective goggles. And if you're using a solvent-based stain, be sure to wear a mask as well to protect against inhalation of toxic fumes.

3. Use stain that doubles as a sealer. This way it'll stay looking nice longer, and it'll keep the wood protected and help prevent warping. Test it on a small area to be sure it looks the way you want.

4. Pour four gallons of stain into a five-gallon bucket. Mix the stain thoroughly with a long paddle. Then pour some stain into a smaller bucket to use with a paint brush for more detailed areas like the rails and benches. Use the larger bucket for your roller as you stain the deck flooring.

5. Fully saturate the wood with the stain. Any exposed ends need to be coated multiple times until all of the pores are saturated.

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.