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The Pressure Washing Issue
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If you're a true detailing weekend warrior, or are just looking for a better solution for washing your vehicle, let us show you the benefits of a good pressure washer.
In this issue, we'll go over some different solutions that can help take your washing to the next level.
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Pressure washers deliver a fast moving jet of pressurized water from a pump driven machine to enhance the ability of the water to clean a surface. With different tips, the water can be directed into various spray patterns, useful for different tasks. In most cases, the fan type orifice or tip is whats used when washing a car. These are usually white, or have a fan symbol on them. They have a wide spread spray, so as to not deliver a precise jet of water at the car, which would be a problem. Instead, the wide spray is useful for quick yet safe dirt and soap removal, and actually uses less water than a standard garden hose, and does a better and faster job of cleaning too.
As long as you keep the pressure washer a foot or so away from the surface, in most cases there is no risk for damage.
When it comes to the pressure that a washer is capable of delivering, we need to consider one thing: Do we need all that pressure to do what we are doing? Most of the time, we're just removing soap or washed off dirt from a panel, not stripping paint from a deck. This means that the 4500psi gas pressure washer is probably the wrong type for this job, unless you know how to use it safely. The sweet spot for pressure washer psi we've found is anywhere from 1100-1600 psi. Good enough for washing cars, but safe enough to keep you out of trouble when doing it. Its actually the water volume, GPM, or Gallons Per Minute that is important. Too little water flowing into the machine yields slower washing and less cleaning ability.
Most electric washers are in the 1.1-1.5 GPM range, which is acceptable for most. But if you do this for a living like us, and wash many cars a day, you would want a little more efficient flow rate, around 2.1 or greater GPM. This means that the washer is throwing almost twice as much water per minute at the surface, therefore cleaning at twice the rate. Flow rate is more important than psi, so don't be mislead by the manufacturers specs, as in most cases the psi ratings are not super accurate either!
Lets to a look at some of our favourite washers that are currently available:
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The Karcher K1700 is a fantastic, affordable pressure washer that has accurate specs, good flow rate, great warranty and standardized fittings. This investment will take your car washing to the next level, but wont break the bank.
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The SunJoe SPX3000 2030 1.76 GPM pressure washer is another solid choice for an upgrade from the garden hose. Its good wand and hose are slightly better than some other brands included hardware, and it has impressive flow for a residential washer. The tips included mean you can use it for other things around the house too.
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Our custom water filtration and pressure washer setup. These filters eliminate 100% of dissolved solids in the water, so we have "spotless" water on demand. If needed, we can wash in direct sun without worry of water spots. The washer is a custom Kranzle K1322TS ( pronounced"krenz-luh"), which is made in Germany. It has 2.1 GPM flow, and roughly 1350 psi, the sweet spot we feel. It has a total stop functionality so it doesn't cycle when not in use, and has a safety bypass mode too. It's the top dog when it comes to washing your car, but it carries a hefty price tag, and requires a little more engineering to incorporate it into a washing system, like ours. This setup, for instance, ran us about $6000 with all the associated hardware and plumbing. But our high usage justified the cost, and we couldn't be happier with it!
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Foam Cannon Demo
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Foam Cannons
Foam cannons are a great addition to your detailing washer setup, as they deliver a sudsy layer of long dwelling foam to the surfaces of your car. They work with any pressure washer, and enhance the safe cleaning of the car. The pre soak allows the majority of stubborn dirt to be loosened and lifted off the surface, to be then washed away. After this, when it's time to hand wash with your two bucket system, there is very minimal damaging dirt left on the surface, which helps contribute to swirl free washes. Our favourite foam cannons are from MTM, and they are built to last. The PF22 is their top performer, and works great every time.
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MTM PF22
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