One of the most important pressure washer accessories is the high-pressure hose. Pressure washer hoses eventually wear out and need to be replaced. There are a few things you need to consider when purchasing a high-pressure hose. First is the length of the hose. Basically, your choice is between getting a long hose or a short hose and is really determined by how you use your pressure washer. Second, is the diameter of the hose. There are three common widths for pressure washer hoses 1/4″, 5/16″, and 3/8″. The 1/4″ diameter hose is the most common and are designed for consumer level electric or small gas pressure washers with less than 2700 psi. The 5/16″ diameter hose is commonly used for high-end consumer grade pressure washers that operate from 2700 to 3400 psi. The large 3/8″ hoses are made for commercial and professional gas pressure washers and operate up to 5000 psi and permit a larger water volume. You can find high-pressure hoses made from polyurethane, rubber and PVC plastic. The PVC hoses are common but are not very flexible. By upgrading to a rubber hose you will get a more flexible hose that does not keep up as much as a PVC hose but the rubber can leave marks on some services such as concrete. Polyurethane hoses of the most popular among professionals. They are flexible yet do not mark up concrete surfaces. Before buying a high-pressure hose be sure to determine what type of connection your pressure washer gun and pump have. Some guns at female and some have male connections and your new hose will need to have the proper end to connect to your washer.

Another one of the important pressure washer accessories a is spray lance. Depending upon the type of pressure washing you’ll be doing you’ll want to consider the type of lance to use. There are lances designed to clean gutters, underbodies and houses. Many of the lances are extendable or flexible. So, if you plan on using your pressure water to wash your car then a flexible lance would be very useful for washing the top of the car. If your pressure washing houses in extendable lance may be more advantageous to reach the higher areas.

Turbo nozzles are another important accessory for pressure washers. A turbo nozzle takes a high-pressure 0° stream of water and rotates it in a small circular pattern that up to 3000 rpm. Using a turbo nozzle can dramatically reduce cleaning time. However, you must get the correct nozzle for your pressure washer. You will need to select the proper orifice size. A 3.0 orifice will usually be sufficient for a consumer grade pressure washer. A commercial pressure washer with higher PSI may require a larger orifice or at least a much thicker turbo nozzle. A larger orifice size will result in lower water pressure which defeats the purpose of the turbo nozzle. So try to get smallest orifice size that is compatible with your pressure washer.

If you clean your garage floor or driveway fairly often with your pressure washer you may want to consider purchasing of waterbroom. A waterbroom is similar in appearance to a regular broom but of course uses high-pressure water to remove dirt and grime from the surface. The waterbroom has a much wider cleaning width than most normal pressure washer wands which allows you to clean your garage or driveway much faster and more effectively. And, it beats a regular broom any day.

So, keep these pressure washer accessories in mind on your next trip to the hardware or home improvement store. They can make your cleaning job much quicker and easier than it would otherwise be.

For the same cleaning job, a hot soapy bucket of water and a sponge will do a much better job than a cold bucket of suds. The same applies to a pressure washer. Hot water will clean better and faster, all other things being equal. You might be wondering why anyone would choose a cold water unit at all? Well, consider the following application: a person cleaning the dirt off a wood fence. Now, for this application, your garden hose almost does the job, not without a little scrubbing, but almost. A power washer would make short work of this job. Using a cold water unit means you don’t have the added expense of getting a unit with a water heater on it. This also means no added cost to heat the water. Another benefit is you’ll be carrying around a much smaller water pressure water.

What kinds of jobs justify the added expense and weight of a hot water pressure washer? Well, one application is the cleaning of greasy manufacturing equipment. As an example, consider a food processing plant that processes fatty foods. If you use a cold water unit for cleaning, the grease will harden into waxy clumps and will not easily be dislodged. This will make for a long and tedious cleaning process. By contrast, if you have a hot water pressure washer, then the grease and oils will melt away and the cleaning process will be quick and easy. Pretty much any job that involves grease or fat or oils will require a unit that can heat the water before spraying. You may also consider a unit that emits high pressure steam. High pressure steam can clean most anything, even in many cases without any help from any type of detergent or cleaning agent. There are many pressure washers out there that can output steam or hot water. Make sure you read the specifications of the unit and make the best choice for the job at hand.