Pressure Washers

When it comes to pressure washers there is a tremendous range of types and power. You don't have to use the very best equipment to do a good job, but using quality equipment is important. Even if you cannot start out right away with a commercial grade unit, it should be something you strive to obtain as you grow your business.

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Types of Pressure Washers

Electric vs. Gas Powered
I'll make this very simple. They make electric pressure washers, but unless you are showing up to clean the kitchen sink I would not suggest asking, "where's an outlet". Electric pressure washers are OK for some things, but have little place in the commercial pressure washing business. Go for gas powered!

Hot Water vs Cold Water
If your budget can swing it, consider a hot water unit, but if it cannot, don't throw in the towel. There's plenty of jobs that simply do not require hot water. There's many thriving businesses running just cold water units, but hot water does have it's advantages. Pressure washing isn't much different than any other washing - hot water is generally better, but cold water will work. Cold water will do OK for most residential jobs, but if you are considering commercial surfaces, construction equipment or anything else particularly greasy you will need hot water.

PSI = Pounds per Square Inch
The higher the PSI the harder is shoots the water. 3,000 - 4,000 PSI is a respectable and plenty useful PSI.

GPM = Gallons Per Minute
How much water can the pump dispense per minute. In a nutshell, the more water you can dispense per minute, the more ground (or surface) you can cover in that same minute.

Chemical Injection Systems
Today, most any pressure washer unit you buy will at least offer a "downstream" or "after the pump" chemical injection system. Really there's not much system at all as it's more a function of your tip and creating a suction. When using a "chemical tip" you actually have very little pressure.

There's also "high pressure" or "before the pump" chemical injection which will generally be found on higher end units. In this method, chemical and water is run through the pump and sprayed at high pressure. The irony to that is few pressure washing experts recommend running chemicals through your pump as this can damage or shorten the life of your pump. Unless you know lots about what you are doing and have a pretty special reason for applying your chemicals via the pre-pump injection method, most will agree there are better methods.

Portable, Skid Mounted or Trailer Rig?
There's no right or wrong answer here. To many it's a matter of preference, to others it's a matter of perception to your customers and competitors. Portable units are typically more affordable and can get into places that bigger units sometimes cannot reach. Portable units are not overly impressive to your customers and seldom offer many features.

Truck mounted units are great provided you have a truck to dedicate completely to your business. Truck mounted units allow you to include other items like a large water tank, chemical injectors, etc. The down side to a truck mounted unit is the risk of the truck breaking down and having to spend a week in the shop. Large truck mounted units will require a pretty substantial truck and between the weight and hours of the pressure washer engine running in its bed can put quite a burden on your vehicle.

Trailer mounted units are my personal favorite for the business. They can look impressive, they are easy to customize and allow you to use your truck bed for other items that you most certainly will acquire. Should your truck not be available you do have the option of renting another truck and keeping busy. Pulling a trailer is certainly less taxing on your truck than carrying all that weight right in the bed. A well thought out trailer rig will also provide additional storage for things like tools, hoses, wands, chemicals, etc.

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