A worker in yellow hi-vis gear pressure washing wet paving behind barrier tape on a city street

Why people get hooked

Pull the trigger, watch the color change

The feedback is instant. You pull the trigger and a strip of concrete goes from gray-green to the color it was poured. That is why time-lapse driveway videos pull millions of views, and it is better with the wand in your own hands. The work is outdoors, physical without being punishing, and loud enough that nobody expects you to answer your phone. It also saves money: a clean deck takes stain properly, and washed siding does not need repainting as soon.

Electric or gas: pick your machine

Picking one puts that machine into the kit and takes the other out. The gas route also brings its fuel stabilizer. You can still switch any line in or out from the kit.

Compare machines by multiplying PSI by gallons per minute.

Pressure breaks the dirt loose, and flow carries it away, so a machine with more flow rinses faster even at the same pressure.

Check what is in the box before buying.

Look for a high-pressure hose at least 20 feet long, a wand that takes standard quarter-inch quick-connect tips, four or five tips in the box, a metal garden-hose inlet instead of a plastic one, and a detergent tank or siphon tube.

Ignore the biggest number on the box.

A 'max' or 'peak' PSI is measured at startup, and the working pressure in the fine print is what you will clean with.

Check your water supply too.

Time how long your hose takes to fill a 5-gallon bucket. If the faucet delivers less than the machine's gallons per minute, the pump will starve and wear out early.

A wall-mounted reel wound with black pressure hose in a white garage — Pressure hose on a wall reel

A person rinsing a foam-covered silver car on a driveway beside a garage

Four kinds of jobs

Concrete, wood, siding and paint each want a different touch

Driveways And PatiosConcrete, brick and pavers. The most forgiving surface and the most satisfying, though a bare wand leaves stripes on a large slab unless you use a round surface cleaner.

Start here

Sweep your driveway or patio, then clean one 3-foot test square with the green 25-degree tip held 12 inches off the concrete before you commit to the whole slab.

Decks And FencesWood needs low pressure, a wide tip and a cleaner that does the lifting, because the same jet that cleans concrete tears soft grain into splinters.

Start here

Pick one deck board that is out of sight and wash it with the white 40-degree tip from 18 inches away, moving along the grain. If the wood turns fuzzy, back off before doing the rest.

House SidingMostly a soap job. You apply a house wash at low pressure, let it sit, and rinse from the ground with an extension wand.

Start here

Walk around the house first: close the windows, tape plastic over outdoor outlets, and look up the year it was built. Then soap and rinse one shaded section of wall while standing on the ground.

EPA lead-safe guidance for do-it-yourselfers

Cars And Outdoor GearCars, bikes, mowers, grills and patio furniture, washed with thick foam and a gentle rinse.

Start here

Park your car in the shade and rinse it with the white 40-degree tip from at least a foot away, keeping the spray off badges, door seals and any chipped paint.

Open a card for its first step. Each card also puts that job's attachments and cleaners into the kit.

Your first wash, step by step

Tick these off as you go

The skills that matter early

Red0°
Yellow15°
Green25°
White40°
BlackSoap

Read the tip colors.

Red is a 0-degree pencil jet, yellow is 15 degrees for stripping, green is 25 degrees for general concrete work, white is 40 degrees for wood, siding and cars, and black is the low-pressure soap tip. A narrower fan means more force on a smaller spot.

Use distance as your pressure dial.

Force drops off quickly as you back away, so start two feet out and close in until the dirt moves, then hold that gap.

Overlap every pass by a third and stop each stroke past the edge of the area.

Stopping mid-surface leaves a visible mark.

Soap from the bottom up and rinse from the top down.

Give the detergent five to ten minutes to work, and never let it dry on the surface.

Follow the material.

Spray along wood grain, along the length of siding laps, and at a shallow angle to mortar joints.

Do the two-minute setup every time.

Check the inlet screen for grit, look at the hose O-rings, and purge the air before starting. At the end of the season, run pump protector through so nothing freezes or corrodes inside.

Close-up of a hand holding a spray wand with a green tip throwing a flat fan of water — A green tip throwing a flat fan

What trips beginners up

Expect stripes on your first driveway. Uneven distance and speed show up as zebra lines once the concrete dries, and the cure is slower, overlapping passes.
Expect it to take longer than the videos. A small electric machine cleans a path only a few inches wide, so a two-car driveway is a multi-hour job.
Expect to get wet and gritty. Spray bounces back off the surface and carries sand with it.
Starting too close with too narrow a tip. Most gouged decks and etched concrete come from the first ten seconds of a job.
Leaving the machine running with the trigger released. Water recirculates in the pump and overheats it within a couple of minutes, so shut it off when you stop to move things.
Running bleach or thick soap through the pump. Use only detergents labeled for pressure washers unless your manual says otherwise.
Putting the machine away wet in an unheated garage. One hard freeze cracks a pump that still has water in it.

Safety: this is not a strong garden hose

The jet can cut skin and force water and dirt deep into tissue. An injection wound can look like a pinprick and still cost a finger, so go to an emergency room right away and tell them it was a high-pressure injection.
Never point the wand at people, pets, or your own hands and feet, even with the machine off, and never try to stop a leak with your hand. Keep the red 0-degree tip in the drawer. It is the one behind most injuries and most ruined surfaces.
Wear safety glasses and closed-toe boots or sturdy shoes every time. Sandals and bare feet are how toes get cut, and wet concrete is slick.
Stay off ladders. The kickback when you pull the trigger can push you off backward. Reach high spots from the ground with an extension wand, or leave them.
Electric shock: Plug electric machines into a GFCI-protected outlet and test the button on the plug before each use. Keep the cord connection dry and off the ground, never spray outlets, light fixtures, meters or overhead power lines, and use an extension cord only if the manual allows it.
Carbon monoxide: Run a gas machine outdoors only, never in a garage, basement or carport even with the door open, and keep it at least 20 feet from any window, door or vent. Let the engine cool before refueling.
Surface damage: Too much pressure furrows wood, forces water behind siding, blows mortar and sand out of joints, etches fresh concrete, breaks window seals and lifts car paint at any chip. Test a hidden spot first.
Lead paint: If your home was built before 1978, test painted surfaces before washing them. Blasting lead paint spreads chips and dust across the yard and into the soil.
Runoff: Storm drains usually empty straight into streams without treatment. Send wash water onto lawn or gravel, use the least detergent that works, and check local rules, since some towns prohibit letting soapy water reach the street.

Official safety guidance, free to read

Where to learn more

Your machine's manual is the first thing to read, because it lists the detergents, cords and storage steps that keep the warranty valid. After that, an active online forum is the fastest way to get a specific question answered, and an independent buying guide helps you compare ratings before you spend.

A free forum and an independent buying guide

How the kit is put together

The machine is nearly the whole budget, so the list starts by asking which kind you want and adds only that one. Safety glasses are the single item everybody buys. Hearing protection and pump protector are cheap and protect the two things hardest to replace: your ears and the pump. Everything else is grouped by job, because a surface cleaner is wasted money if you only wash your car and a foam cannon does nothing for a driveway. Add one job at a time. If you are unsure you will use a machine more than once a year, rent a gas one for a day first.

A round yellow surface cleaner on a wet sidewalk, with the boots of the worker guiding it behind — A surface cleaner on a wet sidewalk

Rig up for wash day

Safety glasses, hearing protection and pump protector start in the kit. The machine stays out until you pick Electric Washer or Gas Washer, and each job's attachments and cleaners stay out until you add that job, here, in the kit or from its card above. Compare the options, set your tiers and check out from the kit. Clicking a card selects it there, and clicking the selected card takes that line out.

Safety glasses or goggles

essential · Safety gear

The spray kicks sand, paint chips and soap back at your face from every surface you clean.

budget

DPG54-1C Safety Glasses, ANSI Z87.1+ Impact Rated, Clear Lens

4.7(11.4K)

$5.25

Pressure Washing

Why people get hooked

Electric or gas: pick your machine

Four kinds of jobs

Your first wash, step by step

The skills that matter early

What trips beginners up

Safety: this is not a strong garden hose

Where to learn more

How the kit is put together

Rig up for wash day

Safety glasses or goggles

Hearing protection earmuffs

Pressure washer pump protector

Electric pressure washer

Gas pressure washer

Fuel stabilizer

Pressure washer surface cleaner

Concrete and driveway cleaner

Deck and wood cleaner

House and siding wash detergent

Telescoping extension wand

Foam cannon

Car wash soap for foam cannons

Pressure washer O-ring kit