What a hire-shop pressure washer does to your house
A hired pressure washer will clean almost anything. It can also strip paint, chip render, fur timber and wash the sand out of pavers. Where the line sits.
The assumption we're testing
“I'll just hire a pressure washer for the weekend.”
The machine isn't the skill
Hire units are strong. That is the problem. The skill is not making pressure. It is knowing how little to use, how far back to stand, and which surfaces need none at all.
Most of the damage we see comes from a narrow tip held too close. It cuts in fast. On a lot of surfaces you only see the marks once they dry.
What it does to walls, paint and render
Render is the smooth coat over brick. A close jet chips it and cuts lines into it. On painted walls it lifts the paint at every weak spot.
Water also goes where it shouldn't. It gets forced into cracks, behind weatherboards and around window frames. It sits there and turns into damp inside the house, weeks after the walls looked clean.
What it does to timber and pavers
Timber has hard lines of grain with softer wood between them. A close jet tears the soft wood out. The boards go rough and furry, and they soak up oil unevenly for years.
On pavers, the jet blows the sand out of the joints. Weeds move in, and the pavers start to rock. Plain concrete can take more, but a wand held close still leaves stripes you can see from the street.
What to do instead
On hard concrete, the fix is even pressure, not more of it. We run a spinning surface cleaner over flat areas, so there are no stripes.
On walls, timber and roofs, the answer is a soft wash. That means low pressure and a cleaning mix that kills the growth, then a gentle rinse.
Stay off the roof with a hire unit. Wet tiles and a hose that kicks back are how people fall.
If you'd rather it was done once and done right, see our driveway cleaning page or ask for a free quote. We'll tell you which method each surface needs.
Want it done without the risk? We'll check the surface first, then pick the method.