Pressure Washing Tips When Cleaning Your Deck

Great Review Pressure Washing Tips When Cleaning Your Deck

You see your neighbor Joe just bought himself a brand spanking new pressure washer. He out there all day cleaning all things in sight and he makes it looks easy.

Well hold on there for a moment. It as a matter of fact not as easy as it looks and if you not meticulous person can get hurt or you are going to damage what you are trying to clean.

If you going to rent a pressure washer let the person renting it to you know this is your first time using this type of machine. Let them know exactly what you are trying to accomplish,like cleaning a deck. Have them show you how the motor works. That means beginning and shutting it off, also any protection precautions. Don't put gas in the tank when the motor is hot,don't point the pressure washing wand toward person when washing,wear protection goggles when pressure washing,etc.

Have them account for the distinct cleaning tips that are use for pressure washing, if you are washing a deck you want a tip that will not cut into the wood. It would be best to experiment first on a piece of wood to see exactly how the motor handles and what cleaning tips work best.

The smaller the cleaning tip whole the more damage it can to do. Some cleaning tips are color coded so make sure you know which cleaning tip you are going to use before beginning to pressure wash. I use stainless steel tips that have numbers already mark on them. The numbers are mark in degrees 15 degree,25 degree and 40 degree. Yes there is a O degree but that's best left for the experts to use so you won't do any damage.

I personally like to use a 15 degree tip when I pressure wash decks and for your facts tips wear down the more you use them. Its not uncommon to put five hundred hours on a cleaning tip in a season and a tip that's has a limited wear is great for pressure washing softer wood such as cedar.

When I pressure wash a softer wood such as cedar I would recommend a 25 degree cleaning tip and and stand away from the wood so there is no occasion of cutting into the cedar. You have to be extra meticulous working with softer wood.

Its a good idea to use a deck cleaner before you pressure wash your deck. Using a deck cleaner is good for two reasons. One it insures that you get all the mold and dirt out of the pores of the wood and two,you can use a higher whole degree tip because you will not need as much pressure when washing. This will help preclude doing any damage to your deck,also using a deck cleaner with pressure washing is the best method of cleaning decks.

If you are unsure of yourself when pressure washing you can all the time use the highest degree cleaning tip (40 degree) and wash the deck twice. Sometimes I do this on older cedar decks,the cedar wood is softer and the age of the deck means you have to be more careful. You learn this from experience,its a shocking caress when you blast straight through a cedar board for the first time.

Start the pressure washer up in the yard,let it run for a join of minutes and start using the wand to just get the feel of the pressure washer. When your ready try a small test area or best yet a small piece of wood to see the results. When you are ready for your deck start away wood about two or three feet and move the wand toward the wood slowly.

You don't want to start and stop in the middle of a board this will leave small cut marks if you don't know what you are doing. You want to start above and at the beginning of the board come down moderately and wash the entire board bringing the wand up moderately at the end of the board. Rinse and repeat,lets do the next board.

When doing the pickets (sometimes called rails) do not use a deck cleaner just pressure wash using the technique of spellbinding the wand moderately toward the pickets and do one at a time. Note,deck cleaner will cause the pickets to streak. Only use deck cleaner on the floor boards of the deck.

Take your time you are not in a rush, think of all the money you are saving by doing the job yourself and prolonging the life of your deck. Not to mention how great its going to look at the next cookout.