If you want to clean your driveway quickly and efficiently, use a pressure washer of at least 3100 PSI. Using pressure washers with pressures ranging from 1000 to 2300 PSI will also help you clean your driveway, but it will take a long time.
Medium Duty 2000-2800 PSI
They're great for cleaning concrete, brick, and wood. They work especially well for cleaning patios, sidings, roofs, decks, and fences.
To clean concrete effectively, use a power washer with a pressure rating of at least 3000 psi and a flow rate of at least 4 gallons per minute (gpm).
However, in general, a psi of 3000-4000 is commonly used for residential driveways.
As mentioned earlier, we recommend using a pressure washer that's capable of at least 3,000-4,000 PSI. This range is a good middle ground between too powerful and not powerful enough.
Each concrete structure has a normally acceptable psi range. Concrete footings and slabs on grade typically require a concrete of 3,500 to 4,000 psi. Suspended slabs, beams, and girders (as often found in bridges) require 3,500 to 5,000 psi.
Often more affordable than higher strength concrete, 2,500 PSI can be useful for driveways and walkways. However, some may choose a stronger concrete, like 3,000 PSI, to avoid excessive cracking. A good use for this concrete is a walkway on the side of a home that doesn't receive excessive traffic.
The RYOBI 1800 PSI 1.2 GPM Electric Pressure Washer is the perfect powerful yet portable option to get the job done. This pressure washer is ideal for light duty applications like cleaning small driveways, sidewalks, decks, windows, patio furniture, campers, bikes, boats, and many other recreational applications.
Any machine capable of producing at least 1,500 pounds per square inch (psi) of pressure can clean concrete, but the work will go much faster if you choose a model producing 2,500 to 3,000 psi, like the gas-powered option below.
Concrete and asphalt require more cleaning power. You'll want to use the turbo nozzle on the 1600 PSI for hard-to-clean driveways, sidewalks, and patios as well as brick paving. For wood decks and painted surfaces, switch to the gentler 40-degree nozzle.
It is generally recommended that you wait at least a week before driving on the surface with a passenger vehicle. Even then, the slower curing areas, such as the edges, will not be as hard as they need to be. For this reason, you'll want to be careful until the concrete is fully cured.
A 4000 PSI pressure washer is ideal for heavy equipment, concrete surfaces, brick walls, construction sites, stripping paint and lifting oil stains. Again, a 4000 PSI pressure washer should not be used on house siding; 4000 PSI is strong enough to cause some serious damage!
The typical concrete strength used for a driveway is in the 3000 psi to 4000 psi range, although temperate areas of the country may use lower strengths.
There's no doubt that electric pressure washers from 1,300 to 2,300 psi can wash a concrete driveway, but it'll take longer. If you have a large driveway with lots of stains, you'll want more power to do the job faster. I chose the 3,100-psi gas pressure washer and cut the job time in half.
Most electric pressure washers create 1300-1700 pounds per square inch of pressure (PSI) with a water flow of 1.5 gallons per minute (GPM), but experienced contractors recommend between 2000 and 3000 PSI and a flow of at least 2.5 GPM to clean dirty concrete effectively.
If you want to clean your driveway quickly and efficiently, use a pressure washer of at least 3100 PSI. Using pressure washers with pressures ranging from 1000 to 2300 PSI will also help you clean your driveway, but it will take a long time.
Soft surfaces, such as decks and siding, usually require more cleaning power than harder surfaces such as driveways. For hard surfaces, such as concrete and brick, a higher PSI pressure washer with 2000-3000 PSI of water pressure is ideal. Such a device can effectively clean dirt and grime from these hard surfaces.
2,000 to 3,000 PSI
Good for cleaning concrete surfaces with light to moderate oil stains, most automotive cleaning, pools, many industrial applications.
You can power wash concrete all year as long as the temperature is about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Most homeowners and businesses prefer to do it in the spring or summer to reduce the spread and growth of algae and mold. It also reduces pollen, which can affect allergies.
Light-duty pressure washers are rated at 2,000 PSI or less and are suitable for cleaning automobiles, motorcycles, boats, bicycles and all-purpose cleaning. Medium-duty pressure washers produce 2,000 to 3,000 PSI and can be used to remove grease and grim from concrete, sidewalks, decks and siding.
Most electric pressure washers create 1300-1700 pounds per square inch of pressure (PSI) with a water flow of 1.5 gallons per minute (GPM), but experienced contractors recommend between 2000 and 3000 PSI and a flow of at least 2.5 GPM to clean dirty concrete effectively. …
MEDIUM-DUTY pressure washers in the 1,800 to 2,000 PSI range can tackle bigger projects like large SUV's, RV's, siding and fencing, decks, garage floors and driveways.
For instance a foundation is 3,000 PSI, sidewalks are 3,500 PSI, front steps are 3,000 PSI, etc. 3.) What are Typical Specifications for a Quality Sidewalk? Concrete for sidewalk slabs must consist of 3500 to 4000 PSI, a combination of 3/4 blend of sand, stone and cement and also 6 to 7% air included in the mix.
The bare minimum is usually between 2,000 and 3,000 psi for fill and simple surfaces (e.g., patios or sidewalks). ACI sets 2,500 psi as the structural concrete minimum. Pavement, slabs, and footings can be up to 4,000 psi. Suspended slabs, beams, and girders (typically found in bridges) might be 5,000 psi.
The higher the PSI the more durable your concrete will be and will thus be resilient to cracking. The average residential project uses a minimum of 2,500 to 3,000 PSI; however if you're concerned about cracking then we recommend talking to your concrete contractor about stronger products on the market.