Pressure Washing

A pressure washing or power washing is a popular cleaning method using high-pressure mechanical sprayer to remove loose paint, mold, grime, dust, mud, and dirt from surfaces and objects such as buildings, vehicles and concrete surfaces.

The basic pressure washer consists of a motor (either electric, internal combustion, pneumatic or hydraulic) that drives a high-pressure water pump, a high-pressure hose and a trigger gun-style switch. Just as a garden hose nozzle is used to increase the velocity of water, a pressure washer creates high pressure and velocity. The pump cannot draw more water from the pipe to which the washer is connected than that source can provide: the water supply must be adequate for the machine connected to it, as water starvation leads to cavitation damage of the pump elements.

At extreme high pressure, water is used in many industrial cleaning applications requiring the removal of surface layers and for dust-free cutting of some metals and concrete. For exterior applications, gas or propane powered washers provide greater mobility than electric ones, as they do not require use in proximity to an electrical outlet, but for indoor applications, electric washers produce no exhaust and are much quieter than gas or propane washers.

The majority of pressure washers nowadays connect to an existing water supply, like a garden hose, but some models store water in an attached tank. Usually there is an on/off button that controls the water stream and many models allow you to adjust the water pressure.

High-pressure water, in combination with special chemicals, aids in the removal of graffiti, especially when the water is hot, as a quick rinse of the softened graffiti. Sometimes a pressurized mixture of air and sand, or water and sand, is used to blast off the surface of the vandalized area, etching the surface and making it extremely difficult to use high-pressure commercial cleaning as a follow-up process. Sandblasting as graffiti removal often over cleans a surface and is capable of leaving a permanent scar on the surface.

Low-pressure washing is a common technique used in today’s residential house washing market. Professional pressure washing contractors have used high pressure equipment in the past to clean residential homes, however, low-pressure, high volume pressure washing equipment has been introduced as an alternative along with the use of specific cleaning solutions to achieve effective cleaning with a very low possibility of damaging the property.

TYPES OF POWER WASHING