Pressure Washers

I got thinking about Pressure Washers, as one does, and they really are useful, and not too expensive.  When you own a home, there are a lot of time saving uses for one.  Now, I'll confess, it's usually my husband who uses ours, cuz, frankly, our power washer is too heavy for me to lug around.  But if my man gets it out of the basement and brings it to me, I'll happily find a use for it...



Now, they're a power tool, even if you don't picture them as a some manly jack-hammer or something.  And, because they're a power tool, they can be dangerous.  One does have to be safe when using them.  The water comes out very fast and it can harm soft materials, like your body!  Don't get your foot or hand in the way!  And don't be tempted to wash the dog with it!  Similarly, use caution on car decals, or molding on the house, etc.  And, best to wear safety glasses.

Here's just a few of the uses for a pressure washer:

Wash the car or boat.  Or maybe you have a jet.. You can use the pressure washer to rinse off, then suds it up, and rinse off again.  But, as mentioned, be cautious if you have any decals on your car (or jet).

Power wash the drive way or side walk.  The water pressure will further damage weak concrete, so be careful.

Decks and porches.  Over time, wood decks and porches tend to get a dull grey look to them.  The pressure washer washes that away so you're ready to stain, or treat the wood.  Similarly, you can remove old paint from porches, or steps.

Lawn or patio furniture can be pressure washed. Although I wouldn't advise this with wicker - you may end up with pile of wet kindling.

You can wash your siding.  Just be sure to be careful around moldings and glass.

Use the pressure washer to clean out your mower deck.  My husband thinks this is very cool, although I have to admit, I can't fathom why you would want a clean mower deck!  (This falls under my category "Whatever makes you happy honey".)

Rinse away grime from your BBQ grill grates.  Do you know that the BBQ instruction book instructs one to clean the BBQ after every use?  I don't know about you, but I just close the lid when I'm done cooking and burn it off for a minute or two.  I always thought that would suffice, but when you take those grates off, they're in need of some serious cleaning.

Power washing is perfect for cleaning the garage floor (assuming you can get to the garage floor!).

Speaking of floors, I actually used the pressure washer to clean an area rug when our cat had an unfortunate stomach problem.  I really couldn't face cleaning the rug with my hands, and the pressure washer was all hooked up in the driveway...  I just took the rug outside and blasted it with the power washer, sprayed it with Resolve, washed it again, and hung it to dry in the breeze.   Way better than the alternative!

Anyway, in my humble opinion, pressure washers are a pretty cool tool to have around the house!