If you own a home, you know the importance of keeping everything clean and free of dirt and mildew. In fact, many homeowners use pressure washers to clean mold, mildew, and dirt off of a variety of surfaces around their homes. But pressure washers are for more than just cleaning siding, decks, and driveways.
The many other immensely helpful uses for a pressure washer include cleaning a wide variety of items outside of the home, such as vehicles, lawn equipment, and large, hard-to-clean areas. Plus, pressure washers are great for stripping away rust, paint, and stains from various objects.
You can even change the intensity of a pressure washer so that you can avoid damaging delicate surfaces, such as the paint job on your car. So, the next time you have a cleaning project, consider using a pressure washer to ensure you get everything as clean as you possibly can. Now, check out these helpful ways to use a pressure washer around the house.
1) Clean an Outdoor Play Structure
Over time, an outdoor play area for your kids can build up dirt, requiring you to have to clean it. Unfortunately, scrubbing it with soap and water can take a lot of time. Using a pressure washer for this task allows you to get your playground equipment clean in a fraction of the time.
2) Clean a Lawn Mower
You can also clean your lawn mower using a pressure washer. Simply spray down the mower after you are finished mowing, making sure to set the water pressure low enough so that it doesn’t damage the paint on the mower. You should also give your lawnmower’s underside a good clean using a pressure washer before storing it away for the season.
3) Clean a Vehicle
If you have a dirty car, truck, or van, a pressure washer is the perfect way to get off stuck-on dirt and bugs. Spray down the vehicle before soaping it up to loosen any debris, making sure to set the washer on a low setting to avoid damaging the paint. Then, once soaped up, rinse using the pressure washer.
4) Clean Farm Equipment
Farm equipment, such as tractors, plows, and other implements can get dirty when used. This caked-on dirt can be almost impossible to totally remove. A pressure washer makes it much easier to remove caked-on mud, meaning your equipment stays cleaner when you’re not using it.
5) Make Sidewalk Art
A fun way to use a pressure washer it to create sidewalk art. To do this, clean the sidewalk with the washer, making sure to leave a pattern in the dirt behind. If you are younger than 18 years old, make sure to get the help of an adult when using a pressure washer.
6) Clean a Birdbath
A birdbath can get hard-to-remove stains on it from bird droppings. Easily remove these stains using a pressure washer. Just make sure not to strip any paint off while you remove them by setting the pressure too high.
7) Clean Lawn Equipment
You can also clean your other lawn equipment, outside of your lawn mower, using a pressure washer. Lay equipment, such as trimmers, rakes, and other tools, in the grass, and give it a good cleaning using a pressure washer.
8) Clean an Air Conditioner
You can clean certain items in your air conditioner, including the fan blades and coils. When cleaning your AC unit with a pressure washer, make sure to do so at a low pressure to avoid damaging any components. You should definitely hire a professional if you are unsure of what you are doing.
9) Clean a Vehicle’s Undercarriage
Another area that gets dirty and greasy is the undercarriage of your vehicle. Luckily, you can find a special attachment for a pressure washer, called a water broom, that allows you to easily clean the underside of your vehicle.
10) Retrieve a Ball
As silly as it sounds, if you happen to have a pressure washer laying around, you can use it to retrieve an object, such as a ball, from a tree. You can also use the pressure washer to knock objects off of low-lying roofs.
11) Clean a Boat
A good way to remove mold, mildew, and dirt form the exterior of your boat is to use a pressure washer. Keep in mind that you need to adjust the pressure of the washer so that it doesn’t damage the surface of the boat.
12) Removing a Wasp Nest
If you have a wasp nest high up on the roof of your home, simply give it a high-pressure blast from a pressure washer. The jet of water should be enough to knock it down. It is better to do this task just after sunset, because that is when the wasps are the most docile.
13) Clean an Awning
If you have an awning around your home or business, the high-pressure water jet from a pressure washer is perfect for cleaning it off. You should also scrub it down with soap using a long-handled brush before rinsing it off with the pressure washer.
14) Removing Rust
An easy way to remove rust is by using a pressure washer. When removing rust with a pressure washer, be careful not to damage any of the paint around the rust, as the stream of the pressure washer will be set at a pretty high setting.
15) Slice a Grapefruit
While not very practical, you can use a pressure washer with a zero-point nozzle attached to slice grapefruit. If you do cut up your grapefruit this way, make sure to keep your hands and other extremities out of the line of fire of the pressure washer to avoid injury.
16) Clean a Walkway
In addition to cleaning simple concrete, pressure washers are also great for cleaning brick and paver stones along walkways near or around your home. The pressure washer is extremely good at removing excess dirt and debris from the stones.
17) Clean a Fence
Pressure washers are also great for cleaning a wide variety of fence types, including wooden, wrought iron, and galvanized fencing. You can even use a pressure washer set at a high setting to remove the stain or paint from a fence prior to refinishing it.
18) Remove Graffiti
While graffiti is unsightly, it is easy to remove if you have a pressure washer. Set at a high enough setting, a pressure washer can remove paint from a variety of surfaces, including stone, brick, concrete, and even wood, among others.
19) Clean the Soffits
Cleaning the soffits of your home might seem like a difficult task, but is easy when you use a pressure washer. The range and pressure of the stream of water generated by a pressure washer makes it perfect for reaching and cleaning high up places, such as the soffit of your roof.
20) Remove Leaves
Set at a low enough intensity, a pressure washer can also push leaves around your yard, making it easy to move them to a specific location for removal. Just make sure not to set the stream pressure too high or you might damage your yard.
21) Clean a Garbage Can
You can also use a pressure washer, using a low -pressure stream, to clean your garbage can. Just make sure that you have a place for all of the nasty garbage juice to go to once you empty the can.
22) Clean a Compressor
Over time, an air compressor can build up dust, dirt, and grease on its exterior surface. When this happens, simply give it a good cleaning from a pressure washer. Not only will this keep your compressor looking like new, it should keep it in good working order.
23) Clean a Garage Floor
Another area that can be hard to clean is the floor of your garage. Over the years, oil and other substances stain the surface. A pressure washer can easily remove these substances, making the floor of your garage look good as new.
24) Clean an Animal Pen
If you own a farm, or work on one, you know how hard it can be to clean up after all of the animals that live there. Luckily, a pressure washer can make quick work of animal waste, dirt, and debris. Just make sure to don the appropriate protective gear first.
25) Clean a Fish
While you could do as everybody does and clean your fish with a knife, that is no fun. Instead use a pressure washer, set on a low setting, to quickly remove the scales of the fish before gutting it.
26) Clean a Garage Door
In addition to cleaning the siding of your house, a pressure washer is the perfect tool for cleaning a garage door. As with all painted objects, make sure that the pressure of the washer is not too high or you risk removing the paint on the garage door.
27) Remove Furniture Finish
Sometimes you want to remove the finish on an object, such as when reapplying paint, stain, or varnish to the surface of an older piece of furniture. Take precautions when attempting this task so as to avoid injuring yourself with the high-pressure stream.
28) Clean a Dirt Bike
An easy way to clean a dirt bike is by using a pressure washer. Set on a high enough setting, the pressure washer should easily remove any caked-on mud or other debris from the surface of the bike. In addition, you should give the engine a quick spray down to remove any debris there.
29) Clean an Engine
Just as with cleaning the engine on a dirt bike, a pressure washer allows you to easily clean the engine of your car, van, or truck. Before using the pressure washer to clean the engine, you should apply some degreaser to make the cleaning process easier.
30) Carve a Pumpkin
Just as with fish, you can use a pressure washer to carve a pumpkin. Keep in mind that you can’t get any fine detail using this method, but if all you want to do is put in a mouth and some eye holes, then a pressure washer should work just fine.
31) Clean a Grill
Cleaning a grill with a pressure washer is as simple as removing the cooled surface and spraying it down using the washer. You can also do the same for the inside and outside of the grill, making sure to not to set the pressure to high to avoid damaging the paint.
32) Clean the Gutter
The gutters of your home are another area where a pressure washer can make the cleaning process easier. To truly take advantage of the functionality of a pressure washer when cleaning your gutters, use a special gutter attachment to make the job even easier.
33) Clean the Chimney
The chimney of your home is another area that needs the occasional cleaning. Fortunately, using a pressure washer makes this whole process easier. Depending on the height of your chimney, you can even clean it from the ground, as opposed to having to climb up on the roof to do so.
34) Clean a Storage Area
If you have a storage area you need to clean, a pressure washer allows you to easily remove any dirt and debris before use. Make sure to let the entire area dry before storing items or you run the risk of mold or mildew taking hold.
35) Use for Skateboarding
As funny as it sound, you can even use a pressure washer to
push you around on a skateboard. The method is simple: Get on the skateboard, and point the pressure washer toward the ground behind you. The pressure should push you along. Adult supervision is advised.
36) Clean Outdoor Furniture
To keep your outdoor patio furniture clean, use a pressure washer to remove dirt and debris from the fabrics and surfaces of your furniture. You can either clean everything while it is still on the furniture or lay it out and clean it individually.
37) Clean a Generator
Just like a compressor, a generator can suffer from built-up dirt, grease, and grime, especially if it is exposed to the elements. To clean the generator, unplug it from wherever it is plugged into your home first, and then spray down the generator using the pressure washer. Allow it to dry before plugging it back in.
38) Remove a Tree Branch
If you have tree branches in a tree that you cannot reach, use a pressure washer to knock them down. When doing so, make sure to keep everyone clear of the area where you expect the branches to fall once they come down.
39) Clean a Pool
A pressure washer works perfect at removing dirt, mildew, and grime from the surface of your pool. As a matter of fact, you should clean the walls and floor of your pool before closing it up for the season to avoid the onset of mold and mildew.
40) Peel Potatoes
Another silly way to use a pressure washer is to use one to peel potatoes. Simply place the potatoes in a basket or cart and then spray them with the pressure washer until the skins are removed, as shown
here.
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As you can see, a pressure washer is a versatile tool that you can use for a variety of tasks around the house. These brilliant uses for a pressure washer make hard tasks simpler, as well as adding a little enjoyment to your day. Before using a pressure washer for any of these tasks, though, make sure to don the appropriate safety equipment, such as gloves, close-toed shoes, and goggles.