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Spring Maintenance for Pressure Washers

14 March 2011, 7:13 am

Spring is coming, and it’s time to get those pressure washers out of storage.  For some of you lucky enough to live in warm climates, the pressure washer may never have been put in storage.  But for the rest of us, it’s getting to be time to do some spring cleaning.

We have compiled a check list of spring maintenance to do before cranking up that pressure washer.  These steps are a good idea, even if you never have to store your unit for a long time.

Step 1: Check the Engine Oil
Check engine oil; top off or change oil if needed using a manufacturer-recommended oil. Consult engine’s owner’s manual for instructions and recommendations on how often to change the oil.

Step 2: Check the Pump Oil
Make sure the oil is clean.  If it has debris or looks like chocolate milk, change it.  [The chocolate milk appearance indicates that water has gotten mixed in with the oil and may point to worn packings or cracked pistons.]  Consult with the owner’s manual for instructions and recommendations on how often to change the oil.

Note: Vertically mounted pumps (those under the engine) may not have much visible oil.  Some, like the RMW series from Annovi Reverberi, are designed that way.  If that is the case, don’t worry too much about it.  Those pumps usually don’t need an oil change.

Step 3: Check inflatable tires
Keep air pressure at value marked on tires or within 10-15 PSI.

Step 4: Check Screens
Check water inlet screen.  Wash with  water if it is visibly dirty or clogged.  If the screen or rubber is damaged, replace it.  You should be able to find on at a local hardware store.

Check in-line water filter.  When was it last replaced?  Check with owner’s manual for guidelines on when to replace.

Step 5: High Pressure Hose
Inspect the high-pressure hose (the outlet hose with the spray gun).  Replace if you find any leaks, cuts, nicks, cracks or bulging.  These would weaken the hose and it may burst causing harm to the operator or others.  Replace with a hose that exceeds the maximum pressure rating of your pressure washer if there is any doubt.

Examine the couplings that link the pump to the hose.  Check for damage or loose fittings.  Replace if needed.

Step 6: Detergent injector
Examine the detergent injector, if present.  Check filter, clean if dirty or clogged.  Examine tube for leaks or tears and ensure a tight fit on the barbed fitting.  Replace tube or siphon/filter if either is damaged.

Step 7: Spray Gun/Wand assembly
Closely examine nozzle for wear, replace if any is seen.  Make sure nozzles are clean and free of debris or dirt.  Check connection between high pressure hose and spray gun; ensure a good connection.

Step 8:  Flush pump
Before hooking garden hose to your pressure washer, turn on the water and flush the hose out.  Turn off water and connect to your pressure washer.  Flush out the pump.  This is especially important if the pump was winterized with anti-freeze.

You should now be ready to get to work!

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How to Clean a Trex Deck

24 February 2011, 10:34 am

[This guest post comes from Doug Rucker, owner of Clean & Green Solutions.  You can visit his website at http://www.cleanandgreensolutions.com or visit his blog at http://cleanandgreensolutions.blogspot.com/.  Doug is an experienced veteran of pressure washing with over 20 years in the business.  He is here to write about some of his experiences and share his knowledge.]

Let’s talk about cleaning a deck, specifically a Trex Deck.

Recently our sister company, Pro Power Wash, was called to a house to clean their Trex deck.  The customer had hired 4 other cleaning companies in the past to clean her deck and all produced unsatisfactory results.  They could not get the deck clean, even when using bleach.

The client wanted to know if we could clean the deck right.

Let’s backup a minute.  What is Trex?  Trex is the leading brand of alternative decking, railing, fencing, and trim products designed for building outdoor living space.  Their composite products are made of a unique combination of wood and plastic fibers. Trex gets its plastic and wood fibers from reclaimed or recycled resources, including sawdust and used pallets from woodworking operations, and recycled plastic grocery bags from all over the country.

Now, according to the Trex website there are a variety of ways to clean a Trex Deck.  Deck brightners, bleach, and even cleaners containing dangerous acids are recommended to clean mold, mildew, grease, oil, food stains, etc. off their product.

Back to our story.  Pro Power Wash decided to use EATOILS™ BT200™ Green Degreaser at a rate of 6 ounces of BT200™ to 1 gallon of water. (Total used was 12 ounces and 2 gallons of water). Using a garden type pump up sprayer, the BT200™ solution was sprayed on the deck in small areas at a time. The solution was then agitated into the deck lightly with the use of a street broom, just until a white lather formed. The BT200™ was allowed to sit for approximately 15-20 minutes and then rinsed with a power washer lightly using no more than 1000 PSI at about 1-2 feet from the surface.

Here are the results:

[Note: The dark spot on the after picture is water from the hose we were using.  A little spilled out when we moved it to snap this picture.]

EATOILS™ BT200™ is an environmentally friendly degreaser whose natural scrubbing microbes actually eat away grease, oil, mold, mildew, algae and many other stains.  It does not contain any harsh chemicals and will not harm your plants or animals.  And, as you can see, the BT200™ does a great job in cleaning a Trex Deck.

[Editor’s Note: You can purchase EATOILS™ BT200™ on Doug’s website, http://www.cleanandgreensolutions.com, or call him at 281.883.8470.]

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Searches with a Local Modifier

26 May 2010, 7:32 am

Last time we talked about Blended Search as a reason why local businesses (such as pressure wash service providers) need to pay attention to local search marketing.  Today, we’ll look at another reason you should be interested, searches with a local modifier.

The general population is getting more comfortable with using search engines.  People use them everyday and are getting quite good at crafting search terms or phrases that will give them the results they are looking for.  So, people who used to search for “pressure washers” will now search for “pressure washing services in Denton Texas”.  They know that “pressure washers” will get them machines, not the people who use them to clean houses.  So, they use more words to refine their search.

So, what does this mean to you?  Make absolutely sure that your location and service area is clearly outlined on your website.  Make it available everywhere you can.  Make sure you mention locations in captions of the photos on your site; so instead of “Driveway Before and After”, say “Driveway in Jamestown, NY Before and After”.

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Definition: Blended Search

24 May 2010, 8:10 am

One of the first things to keep in mind about why local search is important, is a practice called blended search.  Blended search is when a search engine returns results to you in many different subjects.  It’s easiest to show with an example.  Below is a screen shot of what happened when I searched on “attorney”:

As you can see, the search engine results page (SERP) comes back with results from different topics like News Results, Image Results, Books Results, and Local Businesses.  You may also see Video Results or other topics.

For the sake of this post, it’s that Local Businesses that interests us.  I did not tell Google where I was when I searched for “lawyers”; it was not in the search string, nor was I in my office or home (I was using wireless access on the road).  But you can see it pulled up information on local businesses close to where I was at the time.  And look how high it was on the SERP.  Wouldn’t you like to be there?

Blended search is one reason that local search is so important to companies who are looking to attract customers from their general area.

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Local Search on the Internet? But It’s the World-Wide Web..

22 May 2010, 7:07 am

That’s right.  It is the world wide web, but search engines realize that when people search for something, sometimes they want it local.  Like a restaurant or a pressure washing company.  If you’re in Kansas, you don’t want results that include New York City; even if you do type in “restaurants in Manhattan”.  Search engines are now intelligent enough to know the difference between the two locations and where you are located when you perform the search.

So, search engines are beginning to serve up results that are specific to your location.  How?  They know where you are based on your IP address, so they can tell when you type in “pressure washer service Manhattan”, that you are in Kansas, not NYC.

In upcoming posts we’ll discuss more on local search marketing.  We’ll start with the basics and see where it leads us.  If you have some suggestions on topics you would like to see covered, please let us know and we’ll see what we can do.

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Local Search Marketing Introduction

21 May 2010, 7:21 am

Why in the world does a website that sells pressure washers have a section on their blog about local search marketing?  Well many of our products are sold to professional pressure washers and their business is truly local.  They drive to their site and get to work; you really can’t get much more local than that.  And we are in business to help people with their pressure washing.  If that means helping the pros find more business, that’s just great.

So, what is local search marketing?  It’s leveraging the Internet, a world-wide platform, to help a company find business on a local level thru the use of Search Engines.

A recent survey shows that 97% of people looking to purchase a product or service in their local area go to the Internet first.  And 90% of those people use a search engine like Google, Yahoo, and Bing to get that information.

That doesn’t mean that word of mouth, flyers, and other forms of local marketing don’t work.  It just means that people use the Internet to get information before they make a call.

So, if you are a business who is looking to do business on a local level, you need to be visible on the internet.  It’s more important now that ever.

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Winterizing the Pump

13 March 2010, 7:09 am

As you know, when water freezed it expands.  If you leave your pump full of water in freezing weather, you run the risk of breaking the plungers, damaging the packing, or rupturing a manifold.  Simply put, freezing can be devistating to your pressure washer pump.

There are a few ways to protect your pump:
1.) Store it in a warm area
2.) Blow out the fluid with compressed air (30 – 70 PSI)
3.) Circulate a mixture of 50% antifreeze and 50% water through it
4.) Blow in some Pump Saver Anti-Freeze Solution from AR North America (available at our sister company, www.IndustrialPartFinder.com)

One word of caution make sure you are not breaking any EPA regulations. If you use your pressure washer in areas of the country that get below freezing make sure it is thawed out and free from slush before running.

The winterizing information listed above is only for the pump; the rest of the system must also be protected.

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Troubleshooting a Pressure Washing Pump – The Basics

12 March 2010, 8:01 am

Each pressure washer manufacturer should provide you with a troubleshooting guide that is specific to each machine.  This article is “guide to the guide”, giving you a basic framework in which to diagnose issues with your pressure wash system.

First, when it does not work, methodically attack the problem.

Inspection: When your system has a problem or as soon as you see something wrong STOP what you are doing and get to the cause of the problem.

Isolate the Problem: Set up a diagnostic procedure. Go from simple to hard.

Start with Observations: Physical inspection and observation. Carefully observe the equipment in operation. Trace the fluid flow.

Use Some Simple Tools: Eyes, Ears, Nose

Isolate the Problem: “Remember, problems can cause problems.”

Don’t Skip any Steps: Start at point “A” and finish at point “Z”

Finally, use the troubleshooting guide. They will usually list a problem a cause and a solution. Don’t just fix a problem, understand what caused it. If you do not know or cannot figure it out talk to someone that can help you.

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Basic Pressure Washer Pump Maintenance

11 March 2010, 7:56 am

This article is a general introduction to pump maintenance. It is intended as a starting point for the care of your pressure washer pump.

The pump is the heart of today’s pressure washer, and it is usually the most neglected component in the system. As long as it is working it is not thought about, as soon as it fails it has the highest priority.

Note: Before anyone attempts to repair a pump or systems he or she should have proper training. Most of the pump, OEM equipment, motor and engine manufacturers offer technical training programs to authorized distributors or dealers. These programs range from one to five days in length. Usually free of charge (travel, lodging, etc. may not be covered). It is strongly recommended that you take advantage of these programs.

Regular Pump Maintenance
Oil
All manufacturers have a list for regular maintenance. The pump manufacturers agree that the oil should be changed after the first 50 hours of operation and then every 500 hours or three months which ever comes first. If the equipment is used in very sever conditions the oil may have to be changed sooner.

Each pump manufacturer offers their own special oil and recommends that you use it with their product. They have done extensive testing to find the best oil that performs with their pump.

Internal Parts
Like oil, the pump internals also have a limited life.   Packings, brass retainers and intermediate ring guides, valves and plungers are wear items and need to be replaced depending on the amount of use.

When replacing these parts, you can either be proactive or reactive.  The proactive approach is to get an estimated life of the components in the pump from the manufacturer and replace those parts when that life span is up.  When taking the reactive approach you simply run the pressure washer until it breaks.

The proactive approach is recommended for the professional power washer or anyone who is relying on their pressure washer for a certain job.  This way you ensuring that you have done everything possible to keep your machine in top working order and is reliable as possible.

Casual user would be better off taking the reactive approach, as the pressure washer is probably not vital to your livelihood.  This will minimize the amount of maintenance money invested in a machine.

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Evaluating Pressure Washers by the Numbers

9 March 2010, 8:01 am

So, you’re looking at buying a pressure washer and since you can’t take them for a test drive, you rely on metrics such as PSI and GPM.  How do you evaluate a pressure washer based on these numbers?

One of the first numbers you going to see is PSI (pounds per square inch).  This is a resonably easy concept, it is a measure of the maximum  pressure of water that the machine puts out; it’s the “pressure” in “pressure washer”.  And it’s this pressure that separates the dirt from the surface you are cleaning.

Here are some very general guidelines for PSI and cleaning tasks:
1000-1900 PSI – Cleaning smooth, painted surfaces (cars, boats, vinyl siding); removing debris (gutters, leaf removal); cleaning wooden structures (fences, decks)
2000-2900 PSI – Cleaning rough surfaces (bricks, patios, sidewalks, concrete); cleaning smooth surfaces (airplanes, truck fleets; where dirt is harder to get off due to high speeds or heavy use)
3000+ PSI – Surface preparation for painting, industrial use, heavy greese stains

The use of a detergent or other cleaning agent will help remove dirt as well, allowing for the use of lower pressures.

So, who cares about how much water is coming out of a pressure washer (Gallons Per Minute, or GPM) when there is a lot of pressure?  Well, you can have a high pressure and thin stream of water; like a high power spray bottle.  That will remove dirt as well, only a little at a time.  The GPM number lets you see how much water is coming out of the machine.  More water means less cleaning time.  That’s why professional pressure washers weight GPM as much as PSI when evaluating machines.

That’s not to say PSI isn’t worth anything.  A garden hose putting out 6 GPM isn’t going to effectively clean a surface since the PSI is low.

Think of it this way: PSI tells us the dirt removing ability and the GPM tells how fast you can work.

So what kind of machine is best?  Look for a machine with enough PSI to get most of your jobs done.  But realize that as the PSI and GPM go up, so does the price of the pressure washer.  If you are going to be cleaning your deck and siding, you may be wasting your money by going with a heavy duty machine.  If you are going to be cleaning heavily soiled, grease laden garage floors every day, then getting an inexpensive, light duty machine is going to be a waste of time; it will take days to get the job done.

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