Posted: 2/26/2012 11:10:13 AM EDT
| Going to buy a pressure washer this spring (or now for a good deal) for general use around the house. Want to clean the shadow box fence, concrete patio and sidewalk (main driver right here, shady area stays blackish and one small area even gets slippery whe wet), and vinyl siding. What does the group recommend? |
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I bought a 2700 psi washer with a Honda motor from Sam's Club last fall for about $300. It works great for around the house stuff. No leaks, 1 pull start, my only gripe is the gas tank could be bigger, but other than that, I have had no problems. http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod2030701 |
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I'm going to buy a new one this spring too. Looking for anything Honda engine 2.5 gpm/2500 psi or greater When it comes to pressure washer, multiply the gpm by the PSI to get the relative cleaning power of the machine 2.5*2500 = 6250 The one mentioned above is similar: 2.3 * 2700 = 6210 |
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Best deal going IMO is a Ridgid from Home Depot. I got one last year. Subaru engine and CAT pump. Nicely made and think I paid about $399. ^^^ this. triplex pump, great engine. excellent value. mine is in the background of the picture below. secret discount: get a 10% off at Lowes coupon from the US Post Office "Moving Package" bundle (free at your local Post Office) –– and Home Depot will honor it. ar-jedi 
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I thought standard procedure was to put the pressure washer on the bottom part of your cart at WalMart and walk out the door? The receipt checkers will know the signal and let you through no problem. 
You might want to check Northern Tool. They use Cat pumps in a lot of theirs and most are made in the USA. |
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Thanks! I think the USPS moving package is done online now, and you can't just walk in to get it. What's the model # on the Ridgid.. The cheapest (online) is $599. Looks like the price went up! Sorry about that. Basically, that the model that I have. I really like it and recommend it. |
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<––- Owns a pressure washing business.
If your doing the driveway with a wand, good luck to you. It might be an better option to rent a pressure washer and a scrubber to do the pavement. I understand having one around the house, but after about 10minutes of doing the driveway youll want to throw it away and call someone to do it. We have 2 20HP honda's on 8GPM machines, 3500psi, 2 scrubbers(surface cleaners), etc etc. Id be happy to post pics of the rig if wanted. |
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<––- Owns a pressure washing business. If your doing the driveway with a wand, good luck to you. It might be an better option to rent a pressure washer and a scrubber to do the pavement. I understand having one around the house, but after about 10minutes of doing the driveway youll want to throw it away and call someone to do it. We have 2 20HP honda's on 8GPM machines, 3500psi, 2 scrubbers(surface cleaners), etc etc. Id be happy to post pics of the rig if wanted. Not that you don't have a nice rig but I have a lot of concrete around my house. I use my small pressure washer to clean my driveway and haven't had any issues. I'm sure it takes me quite a bit longer than you can do it in....but my labor is free. I could either be wasting time here on AR15.com or pressure wash my driveway. 
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I agree, its all about saving money. Ill DIY until I realize its either just not worth or I get myself in trouble.
If your using the wand with a white or yellow tip, then itll work fine, but your taking 2in of dirt/grime off every pass, guessing your forearms and shoulders get a good workout? Go see if you can rent a scrubber, youll never ever do it the other way with the want, Ill guarntee it. For an average driveway, we charge 75 bucks or so, thats out the door after our chemicals, gas, and time. Thats just our business, cant speak for others. 
WE just finished doing this screen enclosure, the entire enclosure was bigger than my house. 
If yall need any advice on what chemicals to use or the best way to do something feel free to ask, but I wont be much help as far as small machines go 
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I agree, its all about saving money. Ill DIY until I realize its either just not worth or I get myself in trouble. If your using the wand with a white or yellow tip, then itll work fine, but your taking 2in of dirt/grime off every pass, guessing your forearms and shoulders get a good workout? Go see if you can rent a scrubber, youll never ever do it the other way with the want, Ill guarntee it. For an average driveway, we charge 75 bucks or so, thats out the door after our chemicals, gas, and time. Thats just our business, cant speak for others. http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/3968d1f4.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/7f6ad2b5.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/b71a5e63.jpg WE just finished doing this screen enclosure, the entire enclosure was bigger than my house. http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/cc7ed5a5.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/547794bf.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/234fb5e8.jpg If yall need any advice on what chemicals to use or the best way to do something feel free to ask, but I wont be much help as far as small machines go I've never been one to turn down a free offer for help!! What do you recommend as far as house exterior cleaning chemicals....in particular for mold growth on siding? |
I've got a narrow sidewalk (about 2/3 normal size) that is in shade a good portion of the day. Its a little green/black and after a good rain is actually a little slick in a few spots. I put some bleach (both 5:1 and straight out of the jug) in a sprayer then let it sit and even scrubbed a little bit on it with a stiff bristled push broom. Some areas turned out okay but others not so much. The little "hobby" pressure washer I have now is electric and the label says 1,500 PSI. It just doesn't cut it unless in a point and thats just not effective at all. By all means... please share some tips! 
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I agree, its all about saving money. Ill DIY until I realize its either just not worth or I get myself in trouble. If your using the wand with a white or yellow tip, then itll work fine, but your taking 2in of dirt/grime off every pass, guessing your forearms and shoulders get a good workout? Go see if you can rent a scrubber, youll never ever do it the other way with the want, Ill guarntee it. For an average driveway, we charge 75 bucks or so, thats out the door after our chemicals, gas, and time. Thats just our business, cant speak for others. http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/3968d1f4.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/7f6ad2b5.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/b71a5e63.jpg WE just finished doing this screen enclosure, the entire enclosure was bigger than my house. http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/cc7ed5a5.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/547794bf.jpg http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/imguessingurgay/234fb5e8.jpg If yall need any advice on what chemicals to use or the best way to do something feel free to ask, but I wont be much help as far as small machines go I've never been one to turn down a free offer for help!! What do you recommend as far as house exterior cleaning chemicals....in particular for mold growth on siding? What kind of siding? Vynl? We use pool chlorine mostly, bleach is not as strong, however with vynl siding, you damn near use as much pressure as you want without pulling paint. Note that our company usually only does low pressure house cleaning unless vynl siding or brick. Run your chlorine through an injector, soak problem areas, let sit for a bit, the longer isnt always better, after 10 min or so your wasting time. Then just blast off, if your machine cant lift it, rinse that area down, spray back down with chlorine and leave it, this is works best if the area is in. Direct sunlight |
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I've got a narrow sidewalk (about 2/3 normal size) that is in shade a good portion of the day. Its a little green/black and after a good rain is actually a little slick in a few spots. I put some bleach (both 5:1 and straight out of the jug) in a sprayer then let it sit and even scrubbed a little bit on it with a stiff bristled push broom. Some areas turned out okay but others not so much. The little "hobby" pressure washer I have now is electric and the label says 1,500 PSI. It just doesn't cut it unless in a point and thats just not effective at all. By all means... please share some tips! Your doing everything right, Id give pool cholrine a shot, but in 100% honesty I just dont think your machine will be able to lift it, not with only 1500psi if thats what it is. Id try and rent a unit from home depot or check google for a pressure washing supply store, rent one of their portable units and I bet itll lift it with no problems and no scrubbing on your hands and knees |
| Not to hijack the OP's thread. But let me hijack a second. I've got metal gutters on my house that have a nasty black splotchy mold build up on them. I've tried straight bleach and scrubbing on them and tried using my little 2600psi washer. Nothing seems to make any impact on the crud. Any suggestions? |
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Quoted: Quoted: Best deal going IMO is a Ridgid from Home Depot. I got one last year. Subaru engine and CAT pump. Nicely made and think I paid about $399. ^^^ this. triplex pump, great engine. excellent value. mine is in the background of the picture below. secret discount: get a 10% off at Lowes coupon from the US Post Office "Moving Package" bundle (free at your local Post Office) –– and Home Depot will honor it. ar-jedi http://wopr.losdos.dyndns.org/gallery2/d/27351-1/DSCN6642.JPG Military ID or a DD214 will get you 10% off, any day of the week at HD and Lowes. |
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We use pool chlorine mostly, bleach is not as strong, however with vynl siding, you damn near use as much pressure as you want without pulling paint. Note that our company usually only does low pressure house cleaning unless vynl siding or brick. gack! high pressure washing of vinyl siding just drives water up behind the siding, which leads to moisture being trapped behind the siding, which leads to mold and mildew behind the siding. the proper method of pressure washing vinyl siding is low pressure (less than 1000psi), high volume –– using water with NaOCl (bleach) injection and a surfactant. summary: this approach, "with vynl siding, you damn near use as much pressure as you want without pulling paint", is incorrect. since you are a contractor, you may want to read here: http://www.lawnsite.com/forumdisplay.php?f=175 e.g. http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=222061&highlight=vinyl EVERY SINGLE POST on that forum from a pro will recommend low pressure for cleaning vinyl siding. ar-jedi |
| Dont know about buying a pressure washer but we used a cat pump we saved from my fathers car wash back int the 70'-80's and put a 5hp gas engine behind it. We put a manual pressure valve with a guage and turn it up to about 3000psi and that when the egine will start to really bog and and work... and thats also when your stripping unknown amount of layers of paint from the house siding and taking it down to the wood... |