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Homeowners can make a trip to their local home supply store and pick up an electric or gasoline engine powered pressure washer. The stores offer different nozzle tips for wide and narrow spray patterns and different detergents and brighteners for cleaning everything from wood to concrete.
However, many homeowners are damaging decks, fences, siding, concrete surfaces and even vehicles due to inadequate knowledge of proper pressure washing. Professional pressure washing companies offer distinct advantages.
Advantages of Professional Pressure Washing Equipment
Truck or trailer mounted commercial pressure washing equipment not only has different nozzles to use for different cleaning applications, but the actual pressure can be controlled as well. Commercial machines can generate a few hundred pounds per square inch of pressure to over 30,000 psi. Some commercial machines also have a built-in instant water heater that can heat the pressurized water up to steam temperatures. Home units are limited to the maximum temperature of water at the faucets they are connected to.
Additionally, commercial equipment works with special accessories such as flat surface cleaners with rotating nozzles. These devices resemble small circular lawn mowers. Most models have a rotating two-nozzle sprayer underneath and hover over the flat surfaces being cleaned. The water is directed downward, and excessive splashing and over-spray are confined to the protective housing.
Advantages of Professional Pressure Washing Chemicals
Professional pressure washing companies have access to detergents, soaps, brighteners, and mold and algae inhibitors that homeowners may not find at their local hardware stores and home centers. Plus, they have the training to know what chemicals to use for each task. Pressure washing around landscaping plants requires chemicals that will not kill the plants yet effectively clean the surfaces. Driveways may need powerful degreasers pre-applied to lift oil and grease stains.
Professional Techniques for Protecting Surfaces and Long Lasting Clean
Technicians who provide professional pressure washing cleaning services have the experience and knowledge of how to clean surfaces without damaging them. Homeowners often get frustrated with their pressure washers. The cleaning chemicals are often inadequate, so they get the nozzle closer to the surfaces. This is when wood decks get splintered, glass gets broken, paint is stripped, or concrete or pavement gets damaged.
Trained pressure washer technicians know which nozzle to use and the proper pressure and heat of the water as well as the right chemical and distance from the surface to use to maximize cleaning. Additionally, many companies have developed a three-step process of using a pre-foam cleaner to lift grease and grime followed by proper pressure washer cleaning and completed with sealing the cleaned surfaces to protect them. This results in a better and much longer lasting cleaning process.
A pressure washer is nice to have around the house for cleaning things that do not clean up well by using a garden hose and nozzle. However, big jobs such as cleaning decks prior to sealing, stripping paint and stains from fencing, cleaning log homes and preparing garage floor surfaces for epoxy coatings are best left to professional pressure washing companies. The same goes for commercial and historical structures where a slip using a pressure washer can end up costing thousands of dollars to repair.
Do you own a pressure washer?
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
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I like how you mention that professional pressure washing companies have chemicals they can put in their water. Honestly, I’ve never thought about that aspect of cleaning before. Usually when I use a pressure washer, I just use water. I might need to call a professional company to get some oil and stains off my driveway.