4 Issues You Ought to By no means Clear with a Strain Washer

Whereas spring cleansing entails deep cleansing inside your house, summer time cleansing normally means getting ready your outside area to totally benefit from the heat climate — from dusting off your patio furnishings to washing home windows. The most effective instruments to make use of to wash your house’s exterior is a strain washer.

“Strain washers are wonderful for sure powerful cleansing duties the place different strategies fall quick,” says Nate Cording, gross sales supervisor at Mills Direct. “They’ll save effort and time whereas offering superior cleansing outcomes, however they have to be used accurately to forestall pricey and generally hazardous harm.”

Utilizing a high-pressure jet of water, this device can rapidly and effectively clear an array of outside surfaces. However earlier than you go on a cleansing spree, you must know there are a handful of issues that ought to by no means be cleaned with it. Beneath, consultants share their insights on what can and might’t be cleaned with a strain washer.

Rhonda Wilson, the standard lead cleaner at FreshSpace Cleansing, says that outside lounge furnishings (particularly the cushions and throw pillows) is healthier off within the washer or just spot-cleaned. 

“A strain washer might tear the material and mess up the stuffing, to not point out it takes ages for them to dry out,” she says. “Additionally, except you’ve gotten steel or plastic outside furnishings, it’s greatest to keep away from utilizing a strain washer on these items, because the strain can completely strip off the protecting coatings and depart your furnishings weak to wreck.”

In accordance with Scott Paul, proprietor of DeckStainHelp.com, you must by no means use a strain washer on delicate outside surfaces resembling stucco as a result of it causes everlasting harm. 

Cording says it’s additionally greatest to steer clear of spraying previous mortar and painted surfaces (significantly lead paint). “Excessive strain can dislodge previous mortar, inflicting structural points, whereas utilizing a strain washer on lead paint can launch poisonous lead mud and chips into the atmosphere,” he says.

This stuff have an array of small crevices and ledges that may take a while to wash, however Cording says it’s by no means value it to make use of a strain washer on any electrical panels and meters and most AC items. “You’ll be able to harm delicate fins and coils at greatest and danger a brief or hearth at worst,” he says. 

Even when there may be concrete round your AC condenser unit to be cleaned, or a unclean wall the place your electrical panel lives, it’s greatest to discover a much less intense technique to wash round these and forestall water from getting in. 

Though it’s possible you’ll be tempted to present your glass surfaces a fast wash to do away with smudges and dirt, all three consultants agree that utilizing a strain washer could be a pricey mistake. “The strain from the water jet might really break the glass,” says Wilson. “To not point out it will probably mess up the seals and trigger leaks.”

When you’re nonetheless questioning what you can use a strain washer on, each Wilson and Cording say they’re nice for cleansing trash bins, fencing, outside grills (avoiding electrical elements), and wood decks utilizing a low setting. 

Paul additionally says strain washers can work wonders on nearly any concrete floor, significantly driveways and storage flooring. To be sure to get the outcomes you need, Paul recommends utilizing it in the identical movement you’d a brush, whereas Wilson suggests holding the wand at a 45-degree angle and dealing in sections from high to backside. 

“The upper the GPM (gallons per minute), the quicker you’ll wash a floor,” he says. “Search for machines which can be 2400 PSI (kilos per sq. inch) or larger and which have a minimal GPM of two to a few gallons per minute.”