6 genius ways to clean with a pressure washer

A pressure washer is one of the most useful cleaning tools when it comes to keeping your outdoor spaces shiny and looking fresh.

While you may know the basics of how to use a pressure washer, you may be wondering how to use a pressure washer to its full potential. Most things outside can use an annual or biannual wash-down to keep dirt, moss, and mildew to a minimum, which can help extend the lifespan of your outdoor possessions.

Here are six ideas for how to use a pressure washer to get the most out of it at home.

1. Make your deck look like new

The quintessential ad for most pressure washers is a person cleaning a deck, and this is one of the most common and best uses for the tool. You can blast away that building mildew, and give the deck boards back their original luster. However, cleaning the deck is about more than just aesthetics.

If mildew is allowed to build long enough, it can become a safety hazard, as it’s quite slippery, especially when wet. Keep your deck clean and safe with an annual scrubbing, if you have and know how to use a pressure washer like the Ryobi RY142300.

Be careful while washing not to linger in one place too long, particularly if you have a wood deck. The high pressure from the nozzle, even the correct nozzle, can gouge deck boards, particularly wood boards.

Keep the sprayer the recommended distance away, and keep the nozzle moving so you don’t put too much pressure in one place at a time.

2. Strip paint faster and easier

Sometimes you can use the propensity of a pressure washer to damage material to your advantage. If you’re looking to repair your siding, fence, or deck, stripping the old paint by hand can be a huge, backbreaking project.

A pressure washer can remove in minutes the same amount of paint that might take hours to remove with a hand scraper. A pressure washer nozzle made for paint stripping, like the Simpson Cleaning Universal Turn Pressure Wash Nozzle, is a great option because it can handle a max PSI of 2,600 and temperatures of up to 212°F. A pressure washer with a PSI of at least 2,000 is recommended for stripping paint, as well as using hot water, if you can.

As with most pressure washer projects, make sure to keep the stream moving and don’t let the nozzle get too close to the boards so you don’t accidentally damage the wood boards themselves.

If you don’t need to strip the paint, but want to freshen it up, you can give your painted house or fence a good cleaning with a gentler pressure washer nozzle.

3. Pressure wash caked-on grass under the mower deck

At the end of the season, or after a particularly wet day, the bottom of the mower deck can get filled with grass and mud. This packed-in debris off-balances your mower and restricts airflow, which can reduce the cutting efficiency of the machine.

You can dig it out by hand and with sticks and gardening trowels, but if you know how to use a pressure washer like the Karcher K4 Power Control, that’s by far an easier way.

If it’s a push mower, just close the gas line, flip it over, and spray out the metal interior, making sure to get around the blades. If it’s a ride-on mower, you’ll probably have to remove the mower deck to wash it, so it’s only realistic once or twice a season.

There’s nothing better than firing up a mower with a clean undercarriage.

4. Get the gunk out of those garbage cans

When was the last time you cleaned out your outdoor garbage cans? It’s certainly not a regular chore on most people’s weekly list.

While a garden hose can often do a passable job, it might not always be enough to get all of that stuck-on goo off. A top-rated pressure washer like the Sun Joe SPX3000 is a quick and easy way to make those cans look just like the day you brought them home from the hardware store.

Aesthetics aren’t the only benefit. The cleaner you keep your cans, the less likely you are to attract rodents, raccoons, and flies. Pressure washing for the win.

5. Remove bugs, mud, salt and more off your vehicle or boat

Mud. Salt. Vegetation. Insects. No matter the vehicle you drive, whether it’s a car, truck, SUV, boat, motorcycle, ATV, or something else, it’s going to come back home dirty sometimes. You can get out there with a hose and a sponge and go to work on it, but if you can use a pressure washer, then you can reduce the amount of energy that job requires.

With the Wholesun Pressure Washer, you can add your soap right into the water, blasting away dirt and scrubbing your vehicle down all at the same time.

Be careful to use only one of the softer nozzles so you don’t accidentally strip the paint off of your vehicle's body. No amount of cleanliness is worth having to get your car repainted.

6. Get rid of dirt from bricks, concrete, and asphalt

Hard building materials can gather moss, mold, and mildew just like a deck, and a pressure washer is just as effective on your driveway, garage floor, and brick or stone walkways.

A powerful machine like the Dewalt DWPW2400 can strip away those grimy layers and bring back the original color, as well as prevent dangerous slippery conditions when the layers of mildew get wet.

What’s more, a good pressure washing can remove the moss and weeds that inevitably grow in the cracks and crevices of a driveway or walkway, lengthening the lifespan of your hardscapes.

If you’re working on a paver patio or walkway, be careful not to wash the grout out from between the bricks.

How to use a pressure washer

That said, you do need to be careful when using a pressure washer, particularly when it comes to the nozzle or tip that you’re using on the machine for each task.

A narrow nozzle that shoots out high pressure may blast away even the most stubborn dirt and moss, but it also has enough force to cut vinyl siding or even wood. Too wide of a nozzle will wet an area down, but it might not have much in the way of cleaning power behind it.

Then there’s always the question of when to use a cleaning solution of some kind, and when to simply let the water do the work. As with any tool, always read the manual to fully understand how to use a pressure washer and the specific requirements of your specific tool.

Don’t wash anything that’s delicate—windows, screens, plants, and electronics are all no-nos for a pressure washer.

Always wear the proper safety equipment when pressure washing, which includes close-toed shoes, preferably boots, eye protection, and gloves.

Pressure washers tend to send debris flying, and that debris can come into contact with your face. The pressure from the hose can cut wood or plastic, so imagine what it can do to your hands and feet. Always wear protective gear and do not wear open-toed shoes.

Keep it clean, but stay safe.