No matter what time of year it is; everybody loves a patio cookout party! It’s great to have family and friends over to enjoy each other’s company, some good food and just relax and enjoy some time together. Of course, eating outside means that you need to prepare the patio for an evening of fun and good food. However, you might find that your patio is still greasy from the last outdoor dinner, or that it’s covered with dirt and mud from all the outdoor activities taking place each year. The worst though has to be the grease and grim left from when you moved your grill. Removing that grime with conventional cleaning methods will prove nearly impossible and take a ton of time.
Of course, that’s why you have a pressure washer, right? To make fast work of all that grease and grime from the last cook out!
So, how can you use your pressure washer to correctly clean up this mess?
Since you’re visiting our site on pressure washers you probably already realize that a pressure washer is probably the most efficient and effective way of cleaning really dirty stuff up that exists today. Using your pressure washer you can get your deck or patio looking bright and clean without putting hardly any time or effort into the cleanup!
Now, you need to realize that what you’ve got with a pressure washer could be considered a garden hose on steroids. This machine is designed to push water through a tiny opening at tremendous pressure. With that pressure it can loosen up hard to remove dirt, bust away grime and grease on just about any surface you can imagine.
All this water, coming out of a small opening at high pressure is actually a good thing, bad thing. It’s great for cleaning, but it can be bad news for your wood deck if you’re not careful with using it.
Besides being careful with how much pressure you use; consider too what it is your trying to clean up. For instance if you are primarily cleaning up grease, you’d be better off choosing to use a hot water or steam pressure washer. We talk about these nifty machines here <link to hot water>. You’ll find that for grease and sticky grime a hot water pressure washer will do a far better job than the more common cold water pressure washers.
Something else that’s really great about hot water or steam pressure washers is that the high temperature not only makes quick work of grease, the hot water can also disinfect the surface your spraying. So there are definite advantages to using a hot water pressure washer.
Now that you’ve picked the right tool for the job, and dialed down or up the pressure depending upon the surface you’re about to clean, the next step is to make sure that you move all of the patio furniture out of the way. This will make cleaning the surface much quicker and save you time in the long run. Next you will want to get the grill out of the way and any plants you may have. You’ll also find that taking the time to cover any windows, light fixtures or doors with a tarp will save you clean up later.
Whenever you use a pressure washer remember too that you’ll want to wear some protective clothing. Since your using water coming out at pressures that can strip paint off of a car, it’s a good idea to wear gloves and goggles as well as boots and pants. With gas or diesel pressure washers you’ll want to wear ear protection as well. With the proper clothing on you’ll be protected from the power of the spray as well as from flying debris.
Okay, the machine is selected, the area is prepped, start blasting away! Oops, one more item! You’ll find the process goes really quick and if your pressure washer has a built in soap dispenser, go ahead and fill the tank with a biodegradable degreaser. This will really speed up the cleaning process, especially if you’re using a hot water pressure washer.
If you’re deck or patio is small you’ll find that you’ll be able to clean up that area in a jiffy. In fact, it may just take a few swipes of the wand to make the area look great!
Yep, using a pressure washer to clean your patio can make quick work of a dirty project. In fact, you may find that using a pressure washer to clean a really grimy place is so much fun you might even look forward to doing it again next month!
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