Pressure washers come in many shapes and sizes, but what pressure washer do I need for my job? Do I need a gasoline high-pressure cleaner or do I go for an electric one? How much power do I need? Find the right pressure washer with this selection aid!
What PSI Pressure Washer Do I Need?
The operating pressure of a high-pressure cleaner is expressed in “bar”. This represents the power of the water. The higher the pressure, the more powerful the water jet. Not only the height in bar indicates the power of the high-pressure cleaner, but the power displayed in Watt also indicates the power.
The capabilities of pressure washers vary widely. The lightest models have a 1200 Watt motor and the heavier models can have a motor capacity of 400 Volt. A typical consumer pressure washer has a power between 1200 and 2500 Watts.
How many PSI needed to pressure wash house?
High-pressure cleaners for normal household use should be able to spray between six and ten liters of water per minute. The working pressure should be at least 1450 PSI or 100 bar, which corresponds to an engine output of around 1500 to 1600 Watts.
What size pressure washer do I need to clean concrete?
To clean concrete and stone surfaces, you need a 110-170 bar pressure washer, depending on the surface and degree of pollution. When working on concrete, make sure to keep the pressure washer a certain distance from the surface.
Strong pressure can permanently damage porous surfaces such as concrete and make them even more susceptible to algae and moss.
How Much Water Does a Pressure Washer Use?
The flow rate – LPM (liters per minute) of the pressure washer indicates how much water the machine uses per minute. When you compare the flow rate of different high-pressure cleaners, the following applies: the high-pressure cleaner with the highest flow rate at the same operating pressure has the greatest cleaning power.
As an example:
- Pressure washer 1 has an operating pressure of 120 bar and a flow rate of 20 liters. The power of this high-pressure cleaner is then 120 x 20 = 2400.
- Pressure washer 2 has an operating pressure of 140 bar and a flow rate of 15 liters. The power of this high-pressure cleaner is then 140 x 15 = 2100.
Pressure washer 1, therefore, has a greater cleaning capacity. But beware: both variables are important in the choice! So take into account both the working pressure and the flow rate.
What Do I Need the Pressure Washer For?
High-pressure cleaners are suitable for a variety of activities, such as washing your car, hosing down your patio, cleaning your house facade, but also for professional cleaning.
Can I wash my bicycle, car or tractor with a pressure washer?
Do you want to use the pressure washer for cleaning your bike or car every now and then? Then an electric high-pressure cleaner of 1200 Watt or 120 bar is soon enough.
These are considerably cheaper than high-pressure washers with a higher power. To really get your car clean, we recommend using a car wash brush.
A 1200 Watt high-pressure cleaner is also more than sufficient for washing your bicycle. For cleaning a tractor, we recommend a high-pressure cleaner of at least 150 bar with a 2000 Watt motor.
What pressure washer do I need for cleaning my patio or garden?
A high-pressure cleaner is not only the ideal solution for hosing down your car, but it is also indispensable for hosing down your patio. The following applies: the larger the garden and the more deposits, the more powerful the cleaner must be.
For a small to medium-sized garden, a high-pressure cleaner with an 1800 Watt motor and a water pressure of 140 bar is sufficient.
Is your patio or garden badly tarnished? Then use a patio cleaner when cleaning the seating area in your garden. A dirt blaster also helps to remove stubborn deposits.
Read also:
3 Tips on Cleaning Pavers with Chlorine, Vinegar and Baking Soda
Can I clean my sewer with a high-pressure cleaner?
Do you suffer from a blocked sewer? The high-pressure cleaner that Wholesun offers will solve it. With a sewer cleaning set, you spray the blockage out of the sewer. A powerful high-pressure sprayer of at least 1900 Watt with a water pressure of 140 bar is required to solve blockages.
Warm Water or Cold Water?
An important choice when purchasing a pressure washer is the choice for an application with warm water or with cold water.
A cold water high-pressure cleaner is especially suitable for removing non-adhesive dirt such as dust, moss and earth. Sticky dirt can also be removed with a cold water high-pressure cleaner, but this takes a lot longer than if you use a hot water high-pressure cleaner.
Warm water also has a bactericidal effect (provided you let the water heat up enough). Surfaces cleaned with warm water also have a shorter drying time, so you can get back to work faster.
Note: Not every pressure washer heats the water itself. In this case, you need to connect the device to a hot water connection. So keep this in mind.
What Accessories for a Pressure Washer Do I Need?
There are many accessories for your high-pressure cleaner. It is therefore important to know which accessories you can use for which job.
Dirt blaster
The dirt blaster is ideal for cleaning your tiles. The point jet allows you to remove the dirt from your patio tiles or stones powerfully and purposefully.
It is important to keep the lance straight on the tiles and maintain a spray distance of 25 centimeters. After using the dirt blaster, you can easily wipe or spray the dirt away.
Car wash brush
Washing your car becomes very easy by using the car wash brush. To really clean your car, it is important to first rinse the car completely with low to medium water pressure.
The car wash brush has soft bristles to prevent scratches. Set the high-pressure cleaner to medium pressure and wash your car until it shines beautifully again!
Patio cleaner
A patio cleaner is an ideal solution to optimally clean your patio. The patio cleaner has a round shape and the rotating arm provides a large cleaning surface.
The patio cleaner can also be used for wooden surfaces. For cleaning wood it is important to maintain low water pressure, otherwise, you will damage the wooden surface.
Cleaning broom
A cleaning broom is suitable for a terrace with a lot of deposits. The combination of the water pressure and the broom makes it very easy to thoroughly clean your patio.
After using the cleaning broom, it is important to thoroughly spray away the dirt.
Extension lance
To create a little more freedom, you can connect an extension lance to your pressure washer to extend the spray area. The extension lance gives you more freedom for cleaning (large) surfaces.
Sewer cleaning set
With a sewer cleaning hose, you unclog the sewer, but you can also easily clean clogged downspouts.
The sewer cleaning hose must be connected to the spray gun of the high-pressure cleaner. Push the end of the hose into the clogged sewer or downspout until it stops. Briefly press the gun several times until the blockage has disappeared.
