When purchasing a pressure washer surface cleaner, the number one question is, how do you know what unit to buy? There are many surface cleaners out there and it’s important to buy the right one for the pressure washer that you have. Size, in this case, is everything!
Surface Cleaners
An assumption on Surface Cleaners is that the bigger, the better, and the quicker things will get done. In some cases, too big can lead to cleaning problems. There are oversizing issues depending on what you are cleaning and what size machine you have. If you oversize it can lead to costing you time and causing issues not intended when you buy this accessory.
In most cases, a smaller pressure washer such as a (2 to 3 GPM) machine is simply not big enough for a surface cleaner. It is recommended that a 12” to 20” surface cleaner is used with a 4 GPM machine. If you oversize and go to a larger-sized Surface Cleaner, you can introduce what is known as shadowing or striping. When you see striping you will know it. It will leave swirl marks on the surface that you are cleaning.
Surface Cleaner Speeds
The other issue is the cleaning surface speed. A lot of times if you simply slow down it will enhance the cleaning process. In this case, “slow and steady wins the race”. Speed will also be affected by the pressure washer performance you have. The more GPM and PSI you have will allow the use of a larger surface cleaner, and will allow for faster cleaning.
Surface Cleaner Sizes
As you get into larger machines (5 to 8 GPM) then we would recommend a 24” to 30” Surface Cleaner. The larger the flow and pressure, the quicker you can get the job done. Most Surface Cleaners are used on concrete, patio pavers, driveways, and heavy traffic areas. A Surface Cleaner will do a great job of cleaning: oils, grease, dirt, mud, molds, mildew, and gum.
Trigger Gun Accessories
You can also enhance the Surface Cleaner with things such as a side wand & trigger gun. The one area that a Surface Cleaner will not hit is tight spots and corners. If you have an additional gun and wand assembly, you can hit the areas that you can’t get with the Surface Cleaner. The side wand can also be instrumental when you are dealing with chewing gum or other stubborn substances that you may encounter while cleaning.
Pressure Washer Surface Cleaning with Wheels
Wheels or Swivels on a pressure washer surface cleaner is another area that will make a machine clean better. When buying a Cleaner there is a wide variety of prices out there. The main reason a Surface Cleaner can cost more is due mainly to the quality of the swivel. Generally speaking, you can tell just by looking at the swivel if it’s a higher quality unit. Many Surface Cleaners have a pressure rating of 4,000 psi.
Sizing Tips
Last but not least, sizing the tips in a Surface Cleaner can be key to how it cleans. Typically, you can size the nozzles by knowing what you use as a single nozzle on your pressure wand when not using the Surface Cleaner. If you have two nozzles for your Surface Cleaner, you would take your nozzle size and divide it by two for the surface cleaner. For example, if you regularly need a number six nozzle then you would use a set of #3, 25° nozzles to get the best cleaning effect out of your Surface Cleaner.
If you are looking to get a good clean on your surfaces, without the hassle of marks, talk to one of our many Distributors today. Make your clean and Alkota clean.
