Cons: Potential damage: In inexperienced hands, a pressure washer can cause damage to your car's paint, trim, or delicate parts. High-pressure water can strip away protective coatings and even force water into vulnerable areas, leading to rust or electrical issues.
Cons of Pressure Washing
The high-pressure water used in pressure washing can be powerful enough to cause damage to certain surfaces. Delicate materials, such as older or fragile wood, may be susceptible to damage if not handled properly.
Instead of relying on high pressure to blast away dirt and grime, soft washing uses a combination of low-pressure power washing and cleaning solutions to clean surfaces. These solutions settle in the layers of dirt, eating them away from the inside. The cleaners then use low-pressure power washers to rinse the surface.
Electric pressure washers often come with a lower price tag than gas models and tend to last about three to five years. On the other hand, gas-powered pressure washers have a lifespan of between five and seven years.
Gas pressure washers typically cost more than electric pressure washers. But they last longer and offer more power. You'll also need to pay for the cost of fuel for gas pressure washers, and the cost of the electricity to run an electric pressure washer.
Choose Your Pressure Washer's Cleaning Power
Medium Duty Pressure Washers: 1900 - 2788 PSI and 1-3 GPM. Best for home and shop use, clean everything from exterior siding and fences to patios and decks. Commercial Pressure Washers: Start at 3100 PSI and up to 4 GPM.
Consider a light- to medium-duty pressure washer. As with stucco, use a wider-pattern 40-degree tip for painted brick. If you have vinyl siding, look for pressure ratings between 1900 and 2800 PSI — a medium- or heavy-duty pressure washer — and a pressure tip with a 40-degree pattern.
Choosing Cleaning Power: PSI and GPM
Use the PSI rating to help you determine how powerful the water stream will be. The GPM measures the volume of water delivered through the pressure washer. This number will help you determine how fast the pressure washer will clean, and how effectively it will rinse away debris.
Best alternative ways to power wash vinyl siding include gentle scrubbing using soft brushes and mild detergents, using a garden hose with attachments, using environmentally friendly cleaning solutions such as vinegar or baking soda, and choosing soft washing systems using low pressure.
It can damage your shingles.
Pressure-washing them blasts away dirt, but also can remove parts of the shingles and reduce their expected life span. It can also affect the adhesive between shingles, and even the underlayment below the shingles. This can pave the way for leaks, water damage, and other problems.
The strong spray from a pressure washer can cause serious wounds that might first appear minor. Wounds that appear minor can cause a person to delay treatment, increasing risk for infection, disability or amputation. The fast, strong spray can throw objects that strike and injure others who are close by.
What is the negative impact of a washing machine? The negative impacts include high initial costs, maintenance requirements, and increased utility bills. They also take up space and can consume a lot of water and electricity.
Key Takeaways: Power washing can cause visible damage to concrete surfaces, including etching, pitting, and deterioration of joints.
Gas pressure washers can typically run for about 30 minutes before they need a break. Electric models can usually go for an hour or more. If you're using a hot water pressure washer, you'll need to give it breaks more frequently – about every 15 minutes.
One of the primary ways power washing can cause electrical issues is through water ingress in electrical components. High-pressure water can penetrate electrical outlets, light fixtures, and other outdoor electrical components, leading to short circuits and electrical shocks.
As a rough guideline, aim for a machine that delivers 2,000 to 3,000 psi when you're in the market for one. Typically, 3,000 psi is more than sufficient for most household tasks. Even at their lowest settings, these pressure washers should be gentle enough to effectively clean surfaces like wood and siding.
2,000 PSI is enough to power to effectively clean concrete surfaces. You will have to use an aggressive nozzle, keep the tip closer to the surface and spend more time than you would when using a more powerful product, but you can obtain good results with a bit of hard work.
The average cost to pressure wash a house ranges from $500 to $900, with most people spending around $700 to pressure wash a 2,000 sq. ft. vinyl-sided home with normal grime levels, including the cost of all labor, equipment usage, and other materials.
Choose a pressure washer with a suitable psi (pounds per square inch) rating, typically between 1200 and 2200, and use a wide spray nozzle (25 to 40 degrees) to minimize the risk of damaging the vehicle's paint and other surfaces.
Vinyl siding can withstand a powerful gas pressure washer (2,500-3,000 psi). Aluminum, stucco or soft-grain wood homes will do better with a less powerful washer (about 1,200-1,500 psi).
Pressure washer PSI (pound-force per square inch) can reach insane numbers. The typical home pressure washer can go as high as 4000 PSI, and it only takes 2,901 PSI to punch through the skin. Power washers that reach 40,000 PSI can even puncture steel.
Fastest Way to Remove Dirt: Pressure washing is one of the fastest ways to clean the vinyl siding. Cleans without Damage: If you do it correctly, pressure washing vinyl siding is safe and won't damage the siding. Get the Best Result: Since pressure washing is a top-down process, you will get the best results.
If you're looking to complete some heavy duty tasks, then you'll want to get your hands on a pressure washer with between 130 to 150 bars of pressure. This is ideal for jobs such as cleaning pool tiles, large paved areas or working with stone.