Pressure washer, any tips??

[SandMan112]

Ive borrowed someone pressure washer to attempt to clear the weeds from my back garden paving, but i also might try using it on the monoblock drive at the front, is there anything i should be aware of before i start this, ie will i need to brush in new sand once finished as i get the feeling that its just going to blow out whats there.

also whats the best way to go about pressure washing decking, the whole decking needs cleaned and treated as it in a bit of a mess but not that old i dont think (was there when we moved in a year ago)

cheers

pressure washing tips start here -----

[Mike Dodd]

From experience...

Don't use a fine jet. It will displace any amount of weeds, mortar / sand, dirt, moss, oil, etc. The problem is, it will do it in a very localised area (i.e. the area of the jet). Then you're faced with trying to match that, or blend it elsewhere. Same goes for decking.

Start with a fairly diffuse jet, and work out what your doing, take your time.

And, yes, you are likely to need to replace sand etc.

[Mike Barnes]

Kärcher do an attachment ("Patio Cleaner" IIRC) that gives a much more even finish, with less risk of removing pointing etc. I find it works very well. Not sure how well it would work on weeds, though.

[Piers Finlayson]

Two comments:

- Don't underestimate the mess you might make of everything other than your paving. Mud splattered in all directions at high speed tends to cause a mess (to yourself and everything around you).

- Do wear googles. You will manage to get the jet reflected on something right into your face at some point.

[John Rumm]

"T-Racer" seems to be the name it goes by now...

[The Medway Handyman]

Indeed it is. Tesco is giving away a pressure washer & T Racer with car insurance innit.

[Mike Barnes]

That's the one. It also keeps the spray down, which I'm sure is better for the health of the operator.

Actually I'm pretty sure it won't get the weeds out of the cracks on the OP's patio (one of the points is that it *doesn't* lift stuff out of cracks), but it will be good for the deck. Careful spot application of the lance (or even a trowel), before the T-Racer, would be the way to go I think.

[Chris J Dixon]

It worked pretty well on my block paving. The only problem I had was that some sand seemed to work its way into the bearings and stopped the spray bar rotating, until I had cleaned it out.

Chris

[Andy Hall]

A Greek product?