A pressure washer leaning on a wall

When Not To Use A Pressure Washer

In many of our previous blogs, we have extensively covered the many advantages of using a high power washer to clean a variety of materials, household items and products. This has included car cleaning and jet washing away stubborn dirt from wood and other garden materials. 

While the humble pressure washer is a fantastic cleaning tool, there are some instances where you must err on the side of caution when it comes to using a high powered washer to clean. As a well regarded supplier of a wide range of pressure washers including Karcher pressure washers in Shropshire and Staffordshire; we believe it our duty to inform you of the potential dangers of high power washing. 

For the most part; using a pressure washer is relatively safe and straight forward. However, sometimes jet washers just have too much power and instead of cleaning the material as originally intended; it can actually be to the material’s detriment. So we thought it best to detail the times when it is not appropriate to use a high water pressure washer. 

On A Brick House

Arguably the most common mistake by people using a high power washer is using the washer to clean bricks. 

It is very tempting, if you happen to see dirt or bacteria forming on the bricks of your home, to use the washer to quickly and effectively remove it. While you can sometimes get away with washing bricks on a very low power setting, it is strongly not recommended.

Using a high power jet washer can damage the brick. The process can actually be quite misleading. This is because the deterioration in quality of brick might not become apparent straight away. The delamination process can be excruciatingly slow taking many years for the damage to appear. By the time the damage does appear, the damage is irreversible. 

Insects And Bugs

This might go without saying, but you should not use pressure washers on insects and bugs. This is because the high pressure from the water can either severely injure them, or in some more serious cases kill them. 

The same can be said for using the washer on any living thing. Using it on animals, humans or even plants can cause severe injury, physical harm or even destroy your plants. 

Windows 

Cleaning your windows can seem like a very arduous task. As such, you might look for ways to cut corners and make the process quicker and more efficient. But using a pressure washer to clean your windows is definitely not the way to do it. Well, using it at close range on a high setting isn’t. 

The high pressure can, rather unsurprisingly it must be said, break and shatter your windows. This will give you an unwanted headache as not only will you get a unenvious bill for new window installation; you will also acquire a nasty draft coming from where your windows used to be. 

Light Fixtures

Ringing especially true for outdoor light fixtures; using a jet washer on a light fixture can be potentially catastrophic. Using the washer on light fixtures indoors is pretty obviously a bad idea but using it on outdoor fixtures might seem all the more tempting. 

Because the lights can withstand water and heat, you might imagine they can withstand the water from a washer. However, the water can get into cracks and cause damage to the integrity of the overall light structure. 

Lead Paint

Differing slightly from the previous non-uses mentioned above; using a washer on lead paint won’t necessarily damage the paint, the bigger worry is the health impact. Most lead paints were actually banned in the UK back in 1992, however, it can be used for some special circumstances. As such, when using this form of paint, you will want to know what to do and not to do. 

When removing lead paint, the substance should be isolated and removed separately instead of blasted into the air with a high power pressure washer. This can cause some serious health problems if the process is not carried out correctly.  

Do You Require A High Power Washer?

If you require a high power washer, please get in touch with us. We offer many great services which include spare parts, industrial vacuum cleaners and repairs in a variety of locations. For example, we offer Karcher pressure washer repairs in Derbyshire amongst many, many others. 

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