Pressure washers these days are becoming more and more popular as many homeowners are finding different kinds of uses for them. In fact, some have even started businesses using washers with services such as pressure cleaning, pressure paint stripping, and even using pressure to unclog drains.
When it comes to purchasing pressure washers, the biggest choice to make is whether to go for electric washers or gasoline-powered washers. If it comes to light pressure washing, such as cleaning patios, cars, and furniture, an electric washer is highly suitable enough as it is lighter, quieter and cheaper to operate. However, if you are planning much larger projects in mind, a gas washer is the one you will need.
The unit of measurement to help determine the cleaning power of a washer is through CU (Cleaning Units). This is determined by multiplying the PSI (Pounds per Square Inch) towards the GPM (Gallons per Minute) which is rate of the flow of water. Most home faucets will have around 5 - 8 GPM at about 10 PSI. If you use a pressure washer, you exponentially increase the PSI to somewhere between 1,000 - 4,000 PSI, which is enough power to remove stubborn dirt and stains, and gasoline-powered washers are capable of delivering that much power.
The only downsides about gas-powered washers are that they are noisier, more polluting, and cannot be used on indoor applications. However, they are able to compensate this drawback by providing more cleaning power. In fact, the smallest gas pressure washer can deliver the same amount of power as that of the largest electric washers. This makes them highly useful on commercial settings and environments where pressure washing applications can often times be immense. Many commercial establishments perform cleaning duties at closing hours or before opening time. Having a lot of area to cover simply means that the pressure washer unit needs to be operated over time. This makes having a heavy-duty, more specifically a gas unit, necessary.
The truth is gas-powered washers are capable of doing a lot of cleaning tasks thanks to the wide assortment of accessories and attachments. You can use it for cleaning furniture, patios, boat decks, vehicles, concrete wall, pavements, driveways, and even garden utensils and equipments. There are even gas hot water washer models to help increase the cleaning capability of the washer.
When pressure washing, it is always important to meet the necessary pressure requirement of what you are supposed to be cleaning. If for instance you will only be using your washer for light cleaning, then a washer with 1,000 - 1,500 PSI is sufficient enough. If your cleaning tasks are a bit larger, then a washer with 2,000 - 3,000 PSI will be sufficient enough. However, if you will be using your pressure washer for stripping off pain, then a unit with 2,800 - 4,000 PSI is the one for you.
