Slightly OT: Karcher Patio rotary brush

[Slider]

I am wanting to clean my patio and I am thinking of getting one of those rotary brushes. Has anyone on here got any experience of these. Do these work well?

[mike]

I got one from Lidl a few years ago.

I was prepared for it to be one of those useless gadgets you're suckered into buying occasionally, and to write-off the =A320 it cost.

It's turned out to be really good. Quick and efficient at cleaning and doesn't douse everything in a half-mile radius. You could (almost but not quite) get away without wearing wellies.

Bought one for father-in-law and he likes it too. But I got his at Aldi 'cause his is a Karcher and mine's a Lavorwash, and I think the fittings are different. Lidl have them in again on 2nd March.

Screwfix (used to?) sell a non-branded one with a range of adapters to fit to any make. I think it was =A325, so cheaper than the one you linked to.

The washer I've used it with is 160bar. I imagine the performance might not be so good if it's a twenty quid Power Devil.

Hopefully the Medway Handyman will be along soon to share his experience.

HTH

[Tournifreak]

Would I be a complete idiot if I tried to use on of these indoors, in a large-ish kitchen, to clean the floor tiles and grout?

If I used a wet&dry vac at the same time, any idea if I'd be able to suck up the water, or is it likely to flood my kitchen and get water all over the walls and ceiling?

Just wondering...

Jon.

[mike]

I wouldn't want to test that.

I don't think it'd splash the walls and ceilings but there's a fair throughput of water and I think you'd end up replacing the plinth... and possibly the doors... and maybe the sides of the base units...

But I think you're willingness to push the boundaries mediated by thoughtful caution is admirable!

[Roger Mills]

Yes, I noticed that Lidl have them on offer next Monday - at about £20 rather than Screwfix's £50.

Anyone know whether they would fit my Karcher washer?

[Baz]

>>Is that a brush or just rotating jets?

Baz

[mike]

As far as I know, Lidl's fit Lavorwash and Aldi's fit Karcher. They're both bayonet fittings but with different prongs on the bayonets.

Aldi had them in April last year at =A325:

[John Rumm]

got the same one (paid less than that for it in B&Q though). It works well and dramatically reduces the splashback and mess. It also cleans a bigger area faster. The effectiveness will vary with the power and throughput of the washer obviously. The absolute cleaning power is less than with a lance - but for general cleaning that may not matter.

Note there are no brushes (other than a fixed one at the edge to control spray) - it uses a dishwasher style of rotating jet bar.

The other advantage is that it applies the jet from a slight angle and seems less likely to wash jointing sand out of block paved areas.

[The Medway Handyman]

Its not a brush, its a rotating bar with a jet at each end. The jets are angled so they cause the bar to spin. There is a brush around the edge to reduce splashback.

They work extreemly well on patios. Because the bar is spinning the jets pass over the area several times. They reduce splash back considerably. Much faster & much less mess.

You need to sweep the area first. The DIY versions are held together by plastic clips. Even a small stone accelerated by the spray bar can break the clips off.

[The Medway Handyman]

Agrees with everything you say.

Most have adaptors to fit a variety of machines.

The commercial ones are the dogs. 20 sq mtrs/minute if you stick 200bar @20 lpm behind them.

[The Medway Handyman]

You would be a very soggy idiot :-)

It will keep most (not all) of the water on the floor but the wet vac wouldn't cope. The HPC will chuck out say 8 lpm, which will fill the wet vac in a couple on minutes.

[The Medway Handyman]

They may have adaptors included, be pretty stupid if they didn't fit the market leader though.

[The Medway Handyman]

>>>>>

The latter.

[John]

Would I be a complete idiot if I tried to use on of these indoors, in a large-ish kitchen, to clean the floor tiles and grout?

If I used a wet&dry vac at the same time, any idea if I'd be able to suck up the water, or is it likely to flood my kitchen and get water all over the walls and ceiling?

Just wondering...

If you do this can I come and watch? I am willing to pay good money ;-)

John

Jon.

[dennis]

Try it on the patio, if you can't keep the water under control then it wont work.

[Lobster]

We had our drive block-paved a few years ago and I was thinking at the weekend it's definitely reached the stage of needing to be pressure-washed; however I'm worried about doing it because of the jointing sand issue.

Any tips for avoiding losing it? Should I buy one of these gizmos? Or doesn't it matter too much - does dislodgedsand just get washed down joints elsewhere on the drive or something?

David

[Chris J Dixon]

If your drive is anything like mine, and since you say it needs cleaning, the joints will, in addition to the original sand, be filled with moss, weeds, soil and other dirt. You will want to wash at least some of this out.

Whilst the rotary jet does a good job of cleaning the surface and joins, I found that, in order to remove it all from the drive, rather than just stirring it up a bit, I needed to follow up with the fan jet at an oblique angle, starting at the highest point and allowing gravity to do the rest. There is little point dislodging all the moss only to let is settle back again as you pass to the next section.

How to deal with the resultant pile of grot is left as an exercise for the student ;-)

Once all is dry, brush some fresh kiln-dried sand into the joints.

Chris

[Tournifreak]

Thank you all for your words of caution! I think the mrs would have vetoed the idea anyway to be honest, but it's interesting to get other views.

I think perhaps the idea needs a little development, but maybe it is worth pursuing a bit. If you could limit the water output from the pressure washer to that which I could effectively pump out again, it could work. And it would be a lot easier than getting on my hands and knees and scrubbing the grout.

Jon.

[The Medway Handyman]

They are used to great effect in commercial kitchens - with tile upstands around the walls & floor drains.

[The Medway Handyman]

The jets in the gizmo are angled (to make the bar spin). This dislodges far less sand than a normal jet would. Let it dry & brush some more sand over.