Pressure washers are the most efficient way to clear outdoor surfaces. They use pressurized water to blast dirt off a range of surfaces, restoring old paths and walls to their former glory.
However, it isn't always clear what you can clean with one of these appliances. The internet is awash with clickbait headlines warning against pressure washing different materials, and sometimes it can seem like there's no point in pressure washing anything at all.
This is a definitive list of what you can pressure wash. All of these surfaces can be cleaned with a good pressure washer - as long as you're careful and know what you're doing.
What is a pressure washer?
Pressure washers are exactly as they sound. They use pumps to force water through a tiny opening. Because water can't be compressed, this creates powerful pressure - thousands of pounds per square inch. This water pressure can blast dirt away from surfaces but isn't powerful enough to damage the surface underneath, making for effective cleaning.
1. Patios, pathways and driveways
The most common use for a pressure washer is to clean paving, whether that be on a patio, a pathway, or a driveway. The pressurized water can blast away algae, dirt, and mildew, restoring paving slabs, bricks, or poured concrete to its original color.
There's no real trick to this - just use a medium-wide fan spray and work across the surface of the paving to remove the dirt. Just keep a broom or a giant squeegee like this at Amazon on hand - if you don't push the dirty water off the surface of the paving onto a lawn or into a flowerbed it will just resettle and look dirty again.
However, there is one important exception. Never use a pressure washer on a gravel path or drive. The pressurized water can kick up the tiny rocks, blasting them into walls, furniture, and more importantly, people.
2. Outdoor furniture - but be careful
Outdoor furniture can pick up a lot of dirt and algae, and one of the best ways to keep it clean is with a pressure washer. There are just a couple of things to bear in mind when you use a pressure washer to clean outdoor furniture.
Before you do anything, check that the furniture can be washed. Most outdoor furniture sets and pieces have advice on how to clean them, and if you can't pressure wash the furniture, the website you bought it from should tell you.
If you can pressure wash the furniture, you should slowly ramp up the pressure. Outdoor furniture expert and H&G writer Charlotte Olby suggests taking it slow. 'Test a small patch of the furniture that isn't exposed - the inside of a chair leg or tenon joint that isn't on display. Whatever the material, the paint or wood treatment can be blasted off with strong water pressure. Start small and slowly increase the pressure to clean the furniture without damaging the paintwork or staining.'
Cheap painted aluminum furniture is one of the worst culprits for this and will flake under pressure, and softwood furniture like beech is liable to chip. Rattan furniture will break, too. Cheap poly rattan furniture can crack under water pressure, though a pressure washer is a great way to remove UV bleaching. Hardwood like teak, or acaia, however, should stand up to a little pressure washing.
If your furniture uses glass, don't use a pressure washer on it. If your furniture has a propane tank inside - such as a fire pit or fire table - do not clean it with a pressure washer. If there are electrics in your furniture - as in some gazebos - do not clean it with a pressure washer.
3. Decking
All of the above also applies to decking. Decks are almost always made from cedar, which is a softwood that can be damaged by high pressure. Most manufacturers or wood suppliers will tell you if the deck can be pressure washed at all.
Start with the pressure as low as possible and build up the pressure slowly. Test the pressure washer on a disused corner of the deck. If there's any sign of damage, stop using the pressure washer.
Just as with pressure washing paving, keep a broom on hand to push the dirty water off the surface. If you have grooved decking, use a broom with rubber bristles like this from Walmart. The bristles can get into the grooves and remove all the surface water.
The most important thing to consider is that pressure washing removes stains and seals. After the water has dried, which usually takes a couple of days, reseal the deck to protect the deck from water damage and rot.
4. Vehicles
You can also use pressure washers to clean trucks and cars. In fact, most pressure washers come with a detergent nozzle. This uses a pressure differential to draw soap out of a small canister. The mix of detergent, air, and water makes for thick foam, perfect for covering a car.
Again, you need to be careful. Use low pressure, as high pressure won't create the foam you need and can damage car paintwork. Work your way up the car from the bottom to the top so that there's minimal dripping from the top to the bottom, which can cause streaks.
Then, all you need to do is remove the soap nozzle for a regular, low-pressure nozzle. You can even just use a hose - at this stage, all you need to do is rinse the soap off the car.
5. Walls and fences - including vinyl
Finally, you can also use a pressure washer to clean walls. It's just like paving - the principle is exactly the same. Pressure washing is especially great for brickwork, blasting algae, moss, and dirt from the surface of the wall.
While you have to be careful, you can also use pressure washers on vinyl. That's great news if you have vinyl siding because it's a much more efficient way of cleaning than scrubbing algae off by hand. Just use gentle settings and increase the pressure as and when you need it.
Pressure washers are invaluable, but they can be a little temperamental. Learning how to fix a pressure washer can save you a lot of time, stress, and money.
