These days, it can be tempting to call yourself an expert on anything after you’ve done a little Googling and watched some YouTube videos.
Maybe that’s okay for things like cooking and gardening, but power washing your home, deck, or patio is a job best left for the pros. Trust us.
You’re thinking, “Of course you’d say that. You’re a company that does power washing.” But we’re not just trying to scare you into doing business with us. There are several legitimate reasons you should think twice about renting or buying a power washer and doing the job yourself:
- Safety. Is there a more convincing reason than the protection of yourself and your loved ones? If operated incorrectly, power washers can be incredibly dangerous. Getting hit with the blast can cause serious injury, and if it’s a little windy, you risk the stream blowing right back at you. This is a blast that’s strong enough to take the paint off a house — you don’t want to get hit with it. And should you accidentally rent equipment that’s not up to par, the hose could pop or the tip could come loose, which sounds like a gunshot and can be very brutal.
- Choosing the right equipment can be challenging. The unit of measurement for a power washer is PSI, or pounds per square inch. The higher the PSI, the more powerful the blast. But the strongest power washer isn’t necessarily the best one to choose. For example, you have to consider gallons per minute (GPM) alongside PSI. And you have to ensure that the proper cleaning fluids for your project can be dispensed through that particular washer. An amateur risks making the wrong choice and damaging their home with a washer that’s too powerful or doing a shoddy job with one that isn’t powerful enough.
- Even with great equipment, you may do damage. For many jobs, you’re not going to need the power washer’s highest setting, or you may not need it for the entire duration of the job. Blasting a home on the highest setting could cause damage to windows, doors, frames, overhangs, and screen enclosures. Yet to switch to the lower stream, you may need to switch the nozzles — which could come loose if not properly installed (read: dangerous). There’s also the matter of washing the right WAY. Cleaning chemicals must be rinsed properly, or you risk letting them dry and doing harm to your siding.
Some of you out there are do-it-yourself guys, and we get that. But unless you have professional training in this area, this is a job for people with the right equipment and experience. In the end, what you pay for with a professional is the knowledge that your power washing job will be done safely, correctly, and more thoroughly than you could have done on your own.
