Pressure Washing FAQs

Here at a New Look Pressure Washing we would love to come to your home or place of business to work for you, but if you would like to do the job yourself we would like to offer some tips to you that can make the job easier, faster and have better results!

Pressure Washing Tips and Instructions:

Planning what to clean. Be careful when spraying around windows, mail boxes, flowers, vents, eaves, or light fixtures. You can break them or damage them if you aim directly at them. Also, keep the trigger gun pointed downwards so that you don't spray under the siding. This will prevent the siding from collapsing. Also, be cautious when cleaning the edges around the windows. Small, unnoticeable holes can leak water inside your home. In order to prevent this, check for any holes, dents or scratches on the frame of the window.

1. Pressure washing. Pressure washing is similar to painting. If you get into "happy mode" you may start spraying everything and everywhere. These random power wash sprayings are not thorough and detailed, they will make you miss spots and you will waste your time by cleaning places twice. To overcome this, spray horizontally with smooth left to right movements. You should cover about 3-4 feet wide areas at each pass. To prevent streaking, start from the top and work your way down.

2. Choosing nozzles and/or tips. To use pressure washing efficiently you need to choose the correct nozzle and/or tip. The majority of our machines come with interchangeable spray tips that serve two purposes. One is a lower pressure to wash with the detergent; and the other is for high pressure rinse at the different spray angles. Our pressure washers come with several color-coded tips/nozzles (red, yellow, green, and white) that vary from 0 degrees to 40 degrees. As a general rule the smallest angle delivers the most powerful "punch." For example, it you want to remove a stubborn smudge from you driveway you will use a 0 degree angle. If you want to move debris (such as leafs, sand, etc.) away from your house you will use a wider angle such as 25 or 45 degree nozzle. Caution: be sure the nozzle/tip is completely attached before using the trigger gun. Failure to do so may result in the tip becoming the projectile and may be lost or it may damage the property and/or harm persons or pets.

3. Using chemicals. Use only chemicals and pressure washer cleaning solutions that are approved for pressure washer use. Super Film Remover is mainly used for car washing and light dirt or road film. A citrus de-greaser can be used for removing heavy grease or industrial cleaning. Most pressure washers come with a detergent injector. This allows for continuous, uninterrupted flow of the cleaning solution into the water stream. If you buy unapproved detergents they may not be environmentally friendly and they may be dangerous for pressure washer components. One solution might work well for the concrete, but it could harm the wood.

(Pausing before rinsing.) Since you used the cleaning solution, you have to give time for it to do its job. You should allow 5 to 10 minutes for the detergent to start dissolving the dirt, but do not let it sit too long so that it dries out. When you are ready to rinse, start at the top and work towards the bottom until entire area is detergent free.)

4. Testing the power. Test your pressure washer for its power. We would recommend that you start by spraying a few feet away from the object. Slowly bring your wand to a 3-4 feet distance from the surface you want to clean. Move your wand side-to-side a couple of times and check if the surface is clean. If additional cleaning is needed, move your wand gradually closer to the surface (approx. 1-2 feet). The reason for the gradual cleaning is because pressure washers are extremely powerful and if you start too close you could damage the object instead of cleaning it.

We hope these tips are helpful for all of your do-it-yourself pressure washing needs. If you decide the job will be too big for you to do yourself, give us a call and we'll be there for you!

Brad Kelly and Nancy Mulsoff
A New Look Pressure Washing, LLC.
503-935-0682
360-772-8907
Serving the greater Vancouver and Portland metro areas