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| High pressure water cleaners |
| Is an oil-stained driveway or mouldy pavers dragging down your home's appearance? Shirl shows the quick fix with a high pressure water cleaner. |
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A freshly painted house and manicured lawn won't disguise an oil stained driveway or mouldy pavers. While these marks can be stubborn to remove, they aren't permanent. All you need for a quick fix is a high pressure water cleaner.
High pressure water cleaners can be hired or purchased and simply connect to the household garden hose and electricity supply (there are some petrol models, but these are generally more powerful than required for domestic use). All units deliver about the same amount of water, but smaller sizes generally lack water volume.
High pressure cleaners deliver a jet of water between 1400 and 1700 psi (pounds per square inch) through a trigger-controlled gun. The spray intensity is adjusted through the wand on the end of the gun and changable spray angles ensure fragile surfaces are protected from excess pressure. Some of the more expensive hire units use hot water although most operate on cold.
The gun has its own hose 5m to 7m long, so you can leave the pump unit on the ground when using a ladder. Performance attachments are also available, including an extension wand for those hard to reach places. Some units come with an attachment that allows you to add detergent to the spray. You can buy specific detergents to use with the water cleaner, however normal household detergents are also suitable (the standard manufacturer's tip is 20:1).
High pressure water cleaners are commonly used to remove oil from driveways, flaking paint from brickwork, mould off pavers and to prepare weatherboards for repainting. If you want to buy your own cleaner, Gerni is a popular brand. We used the Gerni Compact with a pump pressure of 1450psi to clean our mouldy pavers and oil stained drive. This pump uses 8 litres of water per minute and has a detergent suction attached. Gerni water cleaners have been available in Australia for more than 20 years and ours cost around $685.
Tips
- Be careful when cleaning your car. Stick to tough surfaces like wheels and the underneath of four-wheel drives, boats and trailers. Stay away from car duco.
- Be careful of spraying loosely painted areas such as guttering that's flaking or weatherboards in poor condition. Test the area first.
- For those hard to reach places opt for a model with a long nozzle as this eliminates the need for ladders.
- If using a detergent, wash from the bottom up and when finished, rinse back down. Remember, hi-foam detergents don't streak.
- Spiders hate soap so use a detergent when clearing away spiders webs.
- Don't use acid/brick-cleaning acid in your high-pressure water cleaner.
- When finished, flush the detergent line out in a bucket of water and don't leave hoses connected to the machine (roll them up and put them away).
- Never point the cleaner at your feet or face.
- Any power tool that uses water in its operation should be connected to an earth leakage device. The hire company can supply you with one or you can buy your own for around $80 (with extension lead).
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Total Cost
High pressure water cleaners cost about $60 to $90 a day to hire and domestic ones can be bought for approximately $700.
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More Info
We used a Gerni cleaner for our story.
Gerni can be contacted toll free: 1800 112 428
Clarke & Walker and Kennards are just two of the companies who hire out High Pressure Water Cleaners.
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Disclaimer
All Fact Sheets and other material on the Our House website are provided as a general information service only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the advice of a properly qualified tradesman. Neither ninemsn nor its licensors (including the Nine Network) assume or accept any responsibility for, and will not be liable for the accuracy or appropriate application of any information whatsoever in any Fact Sheet or other material on the Our House web site. Your use of the Our House web site is governed by this disclaimer and the ninemsn's Terms of Use.
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