A pressure washer is a magnificent tool that will help you keep your home’s exterior dirt- and mildew-free, but many homeowners have misconceptions as to how the process should work; it’s a bit more complicated than simply waving the pressure hose across your home as if it were a magic wand and expect it to be clean.

Briggs & Stratton 2700 PSI Pressure Washer
Image source: PressureWasherDirect.com

To begin with, be sure that you choose the right machine for the job. For example, an electric machine is not powerful enough to handle the average-sized home, but plenty suitable for tackling the job of cleaning your car, a small boat or even patio furniture.

So here is some education: Pressure-washer capacity is measure in cleaning units. These are calculated by multiplying water pressure (in psi – pounds per square inch) by flow rate (in GPM – gallons per minute). Whereas an electric pressure washer operates at about 2400 cleaning units, a gas-engine model may operate as high as 6200 cleaning units (professional models can reach 16,000). The effectiveness of a given machine is directly related to cleaning units.

This means that a gas model will be helpful but probably won’t give you the desired results. Often the best results come with a combination of a pressure washer and hand tools.

If your home is suffering from a mildew problem, pressure washing alone will not solve the problem. Try pre-treating the mildew stains with a solution of liquid bleach, Jomax Mildewcide and water (use a pump garden sprayer to apply). After spraying this on, scrub the areas and rinse; now, pressure wash using a multipurpose siding cleaner. This will leave a nice surface free of streaks.

A technique that is effective for pressure washing involves washing from the bottom up and then rinsing from the top down.

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Chimney Maintenance for the Fall
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