You can blast water at a spider web all day and not get rid of it with any stream of water.Its just a freak of nature kind of thing

I just bought a new gas powered pressure washer to replace my old electric model.

I used my old one for these jobs and will use the new one for the same things.

1.My deck I apply a water sealer once a year.There is nothing to remove the sealer is basically gone each year.But I use the pressure washer to remove the dirt and the discolored aged look.The pressure washer removes that aged grey color and brings the wood back to a new look just like new.I have to be careful not to splinter the wood.I use a deck cleaner that helps remove any mold or dirt that is set in.I scrub it lightly with a brush on a long handle not down on my hands and knees.

2.I have white vinal siding that I like to see remain white.On the north side and areas where it does not get sun.I get a green mold if let go.I use the pressure washer to remove this mold.I scrub what I can reach with a bleach and soap mixture to kill the mold.Then pressure wash off the mold and grime.Makes it snow white again.I then spray on a sun and weather protectant product and rinse it off with the pressure washer.

3. I have a lot of grass out here to mow.The bottom side of my mower decks get a lot of grass manure like build up that can rot out a mower deck.I remove the mower decks from the lawn tractors scrape the access out that comes easily.Then pressure wash the deck clean to the metal.I allow it to dry and touch up any places where the paint is gone.I do not blast water into the bearing mandrels and I do grease the fittings to push out any water that could have entered.I have never had a bearing problem and I have had some old well used equipment.Never had a rusted out deck problem because of this practice.

4.I pressure wash my BBQ grill a few times a year.Also maybe a extra time or two.If were having a cook out with friends or family and neighbors.Would not want some guest saying my grill was dirty or greasy.I take out the brickets and grates.Pressure wash the grill grates seperate.Pressure wash the complete grill.Use a degreaser allow it time to work.Then pressure wash it clean.Its amasing the grease dirt and grime that comes out of these things.Its a wonder people do not get food posioning Yuck!Does anyone really take there grill apart and clean it after each use like they recomend?If I had to I would not grill out ever.

5.Outside lawn furniture gets dirty grimey and can get moldy.So I pressure wash it down a time or two a year.I scrub the cushion and things with soap and then blast it away.

6.My garbage cans get nasty inside.So I pressure wash them out a few times a year during warm weather.

7.I wash off the windows outside on the second story with a blast of water a few times a year.Does not replace hand cleaning them and removing them however.But im not doing windows on the second story very often anyway.OK maybe im lazy but thats to bad I do not look out of them much these days up stairs anyway.

8.Window screens get nasty.I take them out and pressure wash them you have to be careful.Unless there the alluminum screen wire type.But a srcreen is like a filter amazing the grime that washes away.I admits a garden hose is maybe just as affective however.

9.I forgot to mention I have high concret block foundation.Thats looking a little shabby with mold.I plan to see if I can brighten the blocks up a little this summer.

10.Garage floors you just can not beat a pressure washer to clean them.If I ever get a garage with a concrete floor I will have this use also.My floor is gravel old garage.

11.I have a inside Sheltie dog.But during warm weather he likes to spend time in his 10x12 kennel that has a rubber mat perferated floor.That has a poly plastic dog house.Hard telling what kind of critters fleas bugs live in there.If not cleaned disinfected.So I use it to pressure wash the flooring and the dog house.I use bleach and soap on the dog house and pressure wash it clean.So he does not bring who knows what into the house.

Thats about it for me.I might find more uses and have better results now that I have a gas model.More PSI and GPM and no more stringing the electric cord and standing around water.Should be a improvement over my old 1600 psi electric model.My new one is only 2500 psi and 2.3gpm but I do not want to splinter wood and cut or blow holes in my siding or get the back side wet.So I think I will be happy with the results as I was with the old one.

You do have to hand scrub just about anything you do with a pressure washer.To loosen it up.But it does make the job easier and with better results.Just like washing a car you still have to loosen the grime before its really clean.A pressure washer and soap alone will not cut it.If it was that powerful you would not have any paint left and I bet it would still not be clean.

Pressure washers are largely a misunderstood tool. People buy them thinking that they will clean anything just by aiming the nozzle at it. Not true.

One of the first pressure washing machines out there was sold to service stations to clean customer's engine bays and the engines themselves. We also used them to wash the floors. These units were nothing like you see today. They looked more like a 45 gallon water heater on casters and had an air-powered pressure pump stuck into the hot water tank. We also put a special detergent into that water tank because to remove grease effectively, you needed something to help dissolve the grease plus hot water and pressure to complete the job.

Water by itself is the original solvent but there are many things that it will not disolve readily. I have two coldwater pressure washers plus one that uses diesel/furnace oil to heat the water. That one can also be used as a cold water unit so I can tell you that there is a huge difference in cleaning power between hot and cold water with the same machine.

Many coldwater PW's sold today come with an injector hose that allows the user to add detergents to the water stream. I wonder how many people bother to read their instruction manual and then make use of this feature.

Pressure washers are good for blasting off heavy soil but they were never designed to "wash" a car in the sense that they will remove all the dirt with only water. If that could be done, then the local car wash could save a lot of money annually in not buying soap.

Relying solely on high pressure, in the belief that it alone will strip off paint, mold, stain etc. is a mistake. Paint on decks are best removed with a floor sander after you countersink all the nails in the planks. You will not only remove the paint but you will also make the planks dead flat at the same time and very smooth.

As stated, mold and mildew should be killed first, using a solution of water plus five percent bleach. Once dead, it removes easily and quickly. Spider web silk is stronger than steel, pound for pound. Man only dreams of duplicating what the spider produces so easily.

Pressure washers need to be used with extreme care. You can strip decals off of cars and machinery quite easily. Concrete surfaces can be damaged by the concentrated pressure and so can other surfaces. I have seen paint fly off cars that had been repainted months earlier. Sure, this was likely due to poor prep but nonetheless it would not have happened so soon without the help from the PW>

Wood can also be damaged badly by PW's as can asphalt. Your dentist uses a PW to blast plaque off of your teeth and plaque is a tough substance. Industry uses high pressure water to cut patterns into all kinds of sheet goods including steel. My first traditional PW put out 800 PSI and we used it all the time to clean up our dirtbikes. Now, they are offering PW's that put out 3500 PSI at HD.

At 800 PSI, we had to be careful around sealed bearings because the grease seals were not designed to keep out water under that pressure. And even that amount is enough to inject water right through your skin if you get your hand too close to the nozzle. Imagine what over 3000 PSI can do to the human body?

PW's have their place and I wouldn't want to be without one but they are not a magic wand. You still need detergents or solvents in many cases and car/truck bodies still need the old soapy wash mitt to remove the fine dirt.

If anything, PW's save water because the pressure itself will allow you to rinse down a driveway or floor quite quickly with a minimal amount of water usage.

My two cents.

I posted a PW thread not long ago, and had some responses from folks who use them on their jobs. One guy mentioned he never used more than 1000psi on what he was cleaning for fear of damage. Not sure about the validity of that, but it makes since I've peeled the top layer of concrete off my patio with a PW.

I agree with the uses from the above posters. Also, a PW can be a very hurtful thing if misused. It cuts skin quicker than a knife, so user...beware, and aware.

Not only do they cut skin.You can blast water under the skin and a air bubble can get in your blood stream and go to your heart and kill you.

Thanks for your replies. Very interesting. I know how dangerous these things can be. I practice saftey when using everything.

I don't own a pressure washer. Often felt it was a creative marketing spin-off based on our automatic carwash culture and directed toward our family SUV/pickup truck oriented society. Many automatic carwash businesses were built to accomodate family cars and don't have the physical height or space to accomodate larger more common family vehicles, thus, a business opportunity emerged to sell pressure washers. House painters started using them when they became available and this was the best public demonstration advertising for the pressure washing industry.

For me, a common garden hose does the job around the house, porch and deck. Washing a car/truck/van requires light elbow grease (good excercise for the body) and a mild soap/detergent to remove the dirt-film that clings to car paint. I use a telescoping soft brush while on a stepladder to wash the roof of my full-size van, and some old towels for the rest. The van sparkles just like all of my vehicles have, long before the availability of pressure washers. I then use the magic of a garden hose to rinse (and pre-rinse).

When removing cobwebs and unidentified clingers, I use a vacuum cleaner and broom. Works great! When using a bleachy water solution, I suggest NOT to rinse the bleach off. Let it sit and continue to do its job as a deterrent. In sun/shade areas, white will get whiter as time goes on.