A pressure washer is a piece of equipment that uses pressurized water to efficiently clean different surfaces, including concrete, asphalt, brick, stucco, and wood.
A pressure washer is so effective at removing stains because the high water pressure enables it to dislodge tough dirt and grime. The cleaning power of a pressure washer can be measured in PSI, which stands for pounds per square inch, and GPM, or gallons per minute.
Think of PSI as a measure of power and GPM as a measure of water flow. There are three types of pressure washers, light duty, heavy duty, and industrial. Each of these types are determined by the max PSI and GPM.
Light duty washers are designed for residential use, though they’re more than effective at completing most ordinary commercial cleaning tasks. These models cap out around 1900 PSI and up to 2 GPM, making them good for light cleaning tasks and small jobs. For example, if your facility’s front walk is dirty or muddy after a recent rainfall and you want to clean it off, a light duty pressure washer is all you’ll need.
Heavy duty pressure washers are designed for commercial use, and cap out at 2800 PSI and up to 3 GPM, making them effective for more demanding cleaning tasks and larger job sites. For example, if you’re performing periodic maintenance on the outside of your facility and want to clean off the buildup of dirt and grime on the outer walls, a heavy duty pressure washer is the way to go.
Industrial pressure washers, on the hand, are far, far more powerful than light or heavy duty models, capping out at 7000 PSI and going up to 5.5 GPM. These pressure washers are designed to tackle cleaning tasks with the highest degree of efficiency. Take the last cleaning example we looked at, performing periodic maintenance on the outside of your facility; an industrial pressure washer will complete that task in half the time and with greater cleaning efficiency than the heavy duty model.
Now that you have a better idea of what a pressure washer is, let’s take a closer look at the key components and what they do. Understanding the role of each component is essential to making sure you get the right machine for your business’ needs.
We’ll start with the power source.
Pressure washers can be powered by electricity or gasoline. The decision between electric and gas affects how powerful the pressure washer is, with gas models usually being stronger than electric ones.
Electric pressure washers typically cost less than gasoline models, run quieter, and are lighter in weight. The trade off is that they have limited portability due to the power cord and are typically less powerful than gasoline models.
Gasoline pressure washers are ideal for remote areas without electricity, offer better mobility, and are better suited for tough jobs because they’re more powerful on average. The trade off with gasoline models is that they require more maintenance, need gasoline on hand to run, and are generally more expensive to purchase and maintain.
Next, let’s look at what the pump does.
In a pressure washer, the pump performs the essential task of drawing water from an external source and pressurizing it through mechanisms such as pistons or plungers. Ultimately, the pump's role is to deliver a powerful, pressurized water stream to the nozzle. This is what enables pressure washers to effectively remove dirt and grime from various surfaces.
Moving on from the pump, let’s take a look at the boiler.
Some pressure washers are capable of using hot water for their cleaning tasks. These pressure washers need to have a mechanism in place to heat the water. Sometimes electric pressure washers are able to heat the water, but most of the time a diesel-fired heating unit is necessary to achieve high temperatures.
The next component after the boiler is the hose.
Designed for flexibility and maneuverability, pressure washer hoses transport water that has gone through pressurization from the pump to the nozzle. Hoses come in various lengths, offering options for increased reach in larger areas or increased control for tight spaces.
Our next key feature, the spray wand, is attached to the end of the trigger sprayer. Pressure washers come with a different spray wand depending on how powerful the unit is.
Spray wands on electric machines are typically made of aluminum or a similar metal, and are suitable for general and light cleaning. The wand of gasoline powered models are usually constructed with higher-grade materials, like stainless steel, offering more power for heavy-duty tasks.
The last feature we will talk about is the nozzle.
The nozzle is the part of a pressure washer that determines spray pattern and pressure. Various nozzles cater to different cleaning tasks, ranging from high pressure nozzles for jobs that require abrasive cleaning to low pressure nozzles for jobs that only require a gentle rinsing.
