Note: This post features a heavy-duty, gas-powered pressure washer we rented from the store. To see how we now use a $99 electric version we own, please see this Getting Started With Pressure Washing post.
Guys. I have a new favorite thing. And no, it’s not a pint-sized plastic vehicle.
Yup, we took our spring cleaning to the proverbial next level and rented ourselves a 2000 PSI pressure washer (just got it at the Home Depot in their tool rental department). For 80 bucks and thanks to borrowing my dad’s Kia to haul it, this puppy was all ours for a day. I was happier than a hip hop hamster.
I had never used a pressure washer before (and I had the usual “don’t want to break what’s not mine” anxiety), but the guy at the store gave me a crash course. It was pretty simple. Hook up the sprayer “gun” to the hose, hook that hose to the machine, and then screw in your garden hose. Crank the motor (it runs on gasoline) and spray away.
The main reason for renting it was our deck. It wasn’t looking so fresh after the winter so it needed some “rejuvenating” before we could stain it. We hadn’t stained it yet because, after finishing it in late August, we were told to give the pressure treated wood 2-3 months to dry out before sealing any of the moisture from the treatment in (apparently sealing or staining PT wood too soon can lead to terrible results). So by the time staining was advisable by the wood’s standards, it was no longer advisable by the stain’s directions because of the cold temperatures.
So yeah, we felt a little dumb for finding ourselves in that position, but ultimately it wasn’t too bad. There was just one area where some leaves and acorns had sat around longer than they should’ve, and it desperately needed some cleaning when spring rolled around.
The pressure washer was pretty fascinating to use. It almost felt like painting as you watched the dingy color give way to something lighter with each stroke of the water jet. This is a detail of that nasty area above. Pressure washing it board by board was making a big difference, although it wasn’t 100% flawless.
Here’s the whole deck once I gave it a once over. It was definitely looking a lot closer to it’s just-built days, although there were still some acorn cap stains in that one corner. I started to regret my decision not to use a cleaner (another option is that you can route your water feed through a cleaning solution so you’re essentially using pressure and soap to clean).
I did go back later with some cleaner (sans pressure washer) which seemed to do the trick, but I’ll cover that in our deck staining & sealing post. Right now there’s more power washing action to get to.
Since we had the thing for 24 hours, I kinda went crazy and aimed it at just about every piece of wood around our house. Fences, railings, steps. You name it, it got blasted.
And somewhere around the patio I discovered it also made a huge difference on brick (update: we rented a lower pressure version than some of the stronger varieties, which can apparently damage certain types of brick, so maybe do some quick research before spraying yours).
I never realized how green and dingy some of our brick was until now. (I didn’t think to take a before, so that’s a shot from our vine removal post before everything greened up).
When nothing was left to spray at our current house, I counted my lucky stars that I had more dingy brick to spray at our new place.
As satisfying as the process was (somebody stop me!) the moderate amount of energy it took to wrangle the spray gun for hours was starting to wear on me (no really, somebody please stop me). But in an effort to get our money’s worth, the spray must go on.
Since Sherry was wrangling Clara and taking pics of the process (her toe’s pulling a Where’s Waldo above) and I was already soaked and dirty, I pressed on. Or should I say I pressured on? Har-har.
The new house’s worst spot was on the back right above the deck. Between rain splashing there and it being fairly shaded, it was a color that I’m affectionately dubbing Ninja Turtle Green.
Sherry actually shot a video of this part, so you could see the satisfying de-greening for yourself. It’s almost like painting with a bleach pen or something, since you can watch things lighten up brick by brick.
By about 5pm it was time to call it a day and return my new toy. I was worn out and pretty nasty looking (thanks backspray) but I’ll spare you the shot of my grody dirt-coated leg. Instead you get my dirt-speckled face. Thanks for this flattering angle, $herdog.
So, in conclusion. I love you pressure washer. You’re a beast, but the kind of beast that has my heart.
That’s concrete by the way. I wouldn’t have even thought it was dirty to start with had I not accidentally sprayed it while doing some nearby brick. So it got a little facelift too. Amazing this thing, I tell you. It’s right up there with pegboards.
PS: Next Tuesday, May 7th at 7pm we’ll be chatting with Kate Hall (aka: Richmond Mom) about parenting, decorating with your family in mind, and Mother’s Day gift ideas at the Barnes & Noble in Glen Allen (near Virginia Center Commons). It’ll be followed by a Q&A and a book signing, so we’d love to hang with anyone who can make it.
My husband loves our powerwasher. Although, our neighbor borrowed it and now it doesn’t work (I guess we’ll have to repair it or get a new one). But boy, does it clean. Side note, you’ll notice more moss and stuff growing on the north side of your home. Our house only gets it on the back (which faces north).
So interesting! Now I’ll have to keep an eye out for that!
xo
s
I’ve used a power washer a few times in my day and LOVE the transformation that it brings. I too didn’t realize that our cement sidewalks were so dirty until accidentally spraying them…what a transformation!
~Sarah
A house questions- will you have Clara’s bday party at the new house or your current house?
Current house! We’re so excited that she will have celebrated her first three birthdays here, and we’ll get to enjoy the deck and the patio and the pergola for a last hurrah with the whole family :)
xo
s
John did you have the problem of cleaning one area while throwing dirt on another? Last year when Danny power washed we had such a mess to clean up. The brick and wood was clean but everything around it was a mess! Did you have this problem?
I had a little backspray up on the siding (the right side of our current house’s deck) but after everything dried Sherry actually just used a leaf blower and it all fell off and looked clean again.
-John
Thanks for the great tip, John!
Hi J and S! My dad owns a rental business (they rent power washers, floor sanders, wallpapers steamers, and all sorts of other things like that!) Just wanted to let you know that these items at small, local businesses usually are stronger and more industrial than at places like Home Depot. So a pressure washer from one of these kinds of places probably would have cleaned your dirty part of the deck right off with no stains at all and minimal effort! Just wanted to let you know for future reference – I’m sure you’ll need all sorts of new tools for your new home!
Wow, thanks Laura! Good to know!
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s
You might want to think about investing in an electric pressure washer. They are available at Lowe’s/Sears/Home Depot for around $100-$200. I use mine every spring to spruce up the exterior of our house. It’s really amazing house much grime builds up over just one year. They are also really handy for washing cars in the driveway. Just be sure to use the wide angle spray rather than the direct shot.
That sounds awesome!
xo
s
What a difference a power-wash makes!!!! Can’t wait to try it on our brick. I keep saying this, but I have to confess that I am so excited to see that you are buying a new house! We are close to closing on one as well, and I’m excited to see what you do for your new place so I can ‘borrow’ some inspiration! Isn’t it nice that you don’t have to move in right away before you can fix up the floors and remove the nasty carpeting? We’re planning on installing some flooring and cleaning the ductwork before we move into our house. Can you say ‘achoo?!’ Allergy central.
As long as I’m rolling, major props to you for being hardcore DIY-loving enough to still have “uumpff” to finish up projects on your current home for as long as you have, for being diplomatic in handling those touchy posts, and for holding onto your secret for so long for the good of all. I love reading your blog every day – it’s a bright spot in my morning, as it is for many I’m sure.
Looking forward to hearing more about your house(s), both current and future!!
Aw thanks Linsdey :)
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s
John should probably just start pressure washing driveways as a side gig, ha!!
Don’t encourage him! I think he just might… haha!
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s
we have a secret love affair with the pressure washer also. We “cleaned” the large decorative rocks in our front yard last year(in addition to the deck, the sidewalks and the bricks on the house). It really is a satisfying experience.
Love your blog!
WOW! What a difference! My favorite before/after pic was of the back patio! And that was great that you could use the rental on both houses!…although I bet your arm wasn’t feeling too great after a full day of power washing!
Oh goodness we totally need to do this! We have some “green” bricks too and our deck and gutters are yuck yuck nasty!! It’s nice to know you can rent gas powered ones, I had no idea. We tried an electric one once and it didn’t do that great a job.
Does you(or anybody) know if you can safely pressure wash an already stained deck? We stained ours a couple years ago but stupidly never went back and sealed it. Now I’m concerned the stain will be damaged.
Anyone know? I think it might vary (we tried to pressure wash the gross chipping stain from the new house deck and it wouldn’t budge, so we think we need to use a stripper or something…
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s
We have an electric power washer that has a few different settings/attachments. Some are definitely too powerful to use on certain surfaces but ours comes with attachments that make it safe for soft wood, washing our cars, etc.
Just ask about the “power” of your particular power washer and what surfaces are ok before proceeding.
Great tip Lizzy.
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s
Oh my word, my husband bought a powerwasher last year (we figured we had enough reason to buy one, owning a home that we rent out about 2.5 hours away from where we currently live, with wooden decks on both), and he was a power washing MACHINE! He started on the deck, got obsessed, and power washed everything… sidewalks, siding, gutters? We have yet to bust it out at our new place, but now that we’ve finally removed an old hot tub from our deck, there’s plenty of gunk to clean up. I spy a similar day in his future very soon!
He also power washed “I ‘heart’ Kate” into our sidewalk before washing the whole thing. Gotta love a man who expresses his love using power cleaning tools. :)
Aw, I love a romantic power washing husband.
xo
s
This sounds so addicting! Tried to find it in post and comments, so forgive me if someone has already asked this, but can you pressure wash wood surfaces that are painted? Or would it start to remove the paint?
I think it really depends on how old/weathered they are, so maybe test it in an inconspicuous spot? We pressure washed some of the siding on the new house and it seemed to work except in areas where the old paint was chipping and flaking off (some areas are desperate for a new paint job). Anyone have more info for Robin?
xo
s
When we repainted our old house, we rented a power washer specifically to get rid of old chippy paint. It worked great to get big chunks off in some areas but we had to use a wire brush in others for small chips.
I would be really careful about standing too close or having too much pressure on paint you want to keep, but I bet it would work!
We just power washed our house and back patio last weekend. It’s amazing how dirty things get and you don’t even notice until you clean them.
OMG I am in love with power washing! Every summer I power wash everything at my in-laws lake cottage(house, windows, deck, pier, sidewalks, driveway, porches, boats, everything!) They always think it’s so much work and I get major praise. They have no idea how much I love it…and I think I’ll continue to keep it under-wraps so I keep getting “we have the best daughter-in-law” points! It does make you tired after a long day though!
What a difference. I could look at Before and After shots all day, call me crazy. ;) We had the same thing happen with our deck. The winter gave us extra time before staining could happen. But we stained last Spring and it’s held up wonderfully!
That’s so great to hear!
xo
s
I’m with you here – power washers are SO addictive. I remember the first time we got one, watching my hubby clean the decking and immediately thinking ‘That’s a cleaning job I actually want to do’!
We power wash our wrap-around porch every year after the yellow pollen is done falling. I’ve inherited that task and it’s definitely a full day’s worth of dirty work. Luckily, the results are immediate!
Crap! Now I totally want to run out to Home Depot and rent one!! Our front porch and trim desperately need it. But wait. I am at work today. Bummer – maybe this weekend! I love the railing on your new house, too!!
Hilarious post. I love that you finished the deck but then power washed everything else you could think to wash. I have plans to rent a steam cleaner vacuum thing from Lowe’s soon, and I plan to do the same thing. I’ll probably be knocking on my neighbors’ doors to see if they need any carpets cleaned.
I’m confused – did I miss a super important post about a new house purchase?? I’ve looked through the archives and don’t see anything. If I’ved missed it forgive me (and share the link!)…and if I haven’t, DO SHARE! :)
Sorry Kelly, it was two days ago :)
Here’s the link for ya: https://www.younghouselove.com/2013/04/heres-the-thing/
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s
Maybe we should start a “Power Washers Anonymous” club. We’ve power washed around our house twice in two years and both times I find myself spraying down nearly anything that will stand still long enough. I’ve avoided buying one of my own for fear that I would WAY overuse it!
John volunteers to be the Vice President and you can be the Prez. Haha!
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s
We just did this and could not BELIEVE what a difference it made!
My husband went crazy with a pressure washer like 8 hours crazy even cleaning our neighbors sidewalks. The $300 water bill made us re-think our generosity for next time. :-)
Eeeks!
xo
s
I powerwashed once and got a little to laxadaisy…ended up moving the powerwash water over my toe and cut it pretty good…..hence I powerwashed ONCE. LOL!
Ouch! That sounds terrible!
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s
I borrowed my parents little pressure washer and had a fun time with it too. Also documented on my blog. Does a great job of cleaning up plastic outdoor toys too. http://controllingcraziness.blogspot.com/2012/06/pressure-washing-is-fun.html
Glad you got things so clean. It is like magic. I want to use it inside the house too, instead of mopping or scrubbing the showers :)
Wow, those photos are amazing!
xo
s
Great tip on the plastic toys, Christa! Looks like a great little supervised task for the older kiddos too!
Wow! It’s like you guys do everything my husband and I TALK about doing…but you actually do it. I just sent this link to my hubby, I am seeing some powerwashing in his future…
We just power-washed our grill and the moss off our landscaping stones last weekend. They are such helpful tools! The one thing I am surprised that you safety-conscious folks forgot is safety glasses. Even with a less powerful pressure washer there is always the risk of debris being kicked back at your face. (My dad is a painter so we used a power washer often when we worked for him in the summers and he always insisted on safety glasses, though they did need to be wiped clean often).
We are OBSESSED with our power washer! We use it every spring to clean everything up (especially our back patio) and it makes a WORLD of difference :)
Wow. It’s as if my husband wrote this post! We broke down and bought one last year and he LOVES it. He’s already used it this year on an old sand box we converted to a raised herb garden. It looks brand new!
I always appreciate these posts – normal household duties that you think you should do, but don’t because you don’t see how much it improves your house. Can’t wait to see the new house inside and a layout. It looks that this house may be more traditional in style – I think more of us can relate to this style of house style and layout. Projects I would love to see are – coffered ceilings, building a playground/swing, building a screen porch, using a dresser to make a sink base….can’t wait to see! So happy for your family.
I swear sometimes I feel like you guys are in my head! I JUST said to my husband that we really need to rent a power washer for our dingy brick exterior. When we moved in a year ago we had to have all of the landscaping removed so the lot could be regraded and you can still see the nastiness where the old yews rested against the house! After seeing how great yours looks I can’t wait to tackle it. Now if it would only stop snowing here… :(
OMG, you’re preaching to the choir, John! I got to use a power washer a couple years ago while helping a friend out with their pool deck and pool cover. It’s ADDICTIVE as sin – the clear, visible difference between dirty and washed, the feel of the power in your hands… Sadly, it was just as wearing on my body too. But what great work you did! Loved living vicariously through you on this post. :)
John, I can not lie. That post made me want to go out and power wash something, anything! What a difference it makes! Wowzers!!
Beware! You will dream about it!
-John
This was such perfect timing — my husband and I are hoping to powerwash a few things at our place this weekend…if the weather warms up. Seriously, it’s May and we have fresh snow on the ground…I’m dying. Anyway, the people we bought the house from painted our concrete stoop white, then blue. Consequently, both paints are chipping so our stoop is a mix of concrete and paint. Do you think a power washer would help to blast away the paint on concrete?
Hmm, I would try to get the highest pressure one you can find (it seems like it would blast away already peeling spots but maybe not all of it if it’s adhered well in some places). Anyone have more tips for Whitney?
xo
s
An awesome pressure washer and a wire brush would do wonders.
My kids had their chippy paint patio powerwashed but then they had chippy blue paint all over creation. So you MIGHT want to cover things in the vicinity!
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if next time you think things need some freshening up that you go out and buy one of your own. That’s exactly what we did. We’ve had our very own pressure washer for years (we have dual custody with my parents), and it’s just awesome!
I just did my entire grandmother’s house last weekend, and it’s so addictive!!! I couldn’t figure out where to stop!
Ha!
Definitely similar to our experience borrowing a friend’s power washer. CLEAN ALL THE THINGS. :-D
I might have cheered “clean all the things!” so many times during power washing that Clara started screaming it randomly. Epic moment.
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s
The only thing my dad cautioned me with was pressure washing “too often” – he pressure washed his stock trailer often – and it ended up that the boards got moldy. But maybe this is just a farmer’s problem, I don’t think he had ever sealed or stained the bottom of the stock trailer either. But I’m sure you’re in the clear…just wondering how often it is “safe” to pressure wash a deck. Or maybe it’s fine if it’s sealed…??
Great question Katie! Does anyone know? I think it might depend on the amount of pressure the washer has (I think it’s called the psi?). Some are super strong and might strip things more while others might just get mold/grime off while leaving things like paint and sealer in place.
xo
s
Yes! there is something very satisfying and addictive about pressure washing!
Do you know what psi the pressure washer was? I actually called Home Depot a couple of days ago to check the cost of renting one and the first thing he asked me was how much psi I wanted….cue awkward silence when I had no idea what he was talking about.
I did a little research later to find out and was told too much psi can be too much pressure for some surfaces (probably why people have had issues with bricks).
I think ours was 2000 and they offered a few stronger ones but I’m not sure. They only had that one available when we got there so we went for it.
-John
John! Is that a fitbit I spy hanging out of your pocket? I’d love to know how you chose the fitbit over some other popular fitness trackers and maybe how you use it– a bit out of your usual blog wheelhouse, I guess, but let’s face it- the DIY spirit and YHL pragmatism extend to fitness too!
We both got them (a few friends of ours had them and loved it, so that was pretty much the extend of our research) but we love that we can compete every day for step counts. Lame, but motivating!
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s
We just used ours (we own a small electrical one) to wash our garage floor this past weekend. I love using them. Very satisfying. I also used it on a cool shelf we dug out of the basement. The hubs was worried I was going to ruin it, but I dried it off after the wash and it looks great now. Much easier than trying to scrub the thing by hand.
which pressure washer did you get because I do not see any like your picture for $80.
We got it from the Home Depot center and for 4 hours it was something like $50 but for a full day it was $80 I think. Maybe rental costs and the look of the washer depend on the location though?
-John
OMG! I own a pressure washer and love it. It is totally addicting and you can’t stop! I always set aside a whole day b/c I’m always like, ‘where to stop’? I have a gas pressure washer and it is powerful, but needs maintenance like any other gas tool. My neighbors have an inexpensive electric one that is zero maintenance with the same results. If you ever plan on renting one again it really pays to just buy an electric one.
Great tip Laura!
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s
When I read the title I may or may not have started singing it to the tune of lady gaga’s paparazzi..”I’m your biggest fan I’ll follow you until you love me, power, power washing. Total nerd.
Last summer I made a futile attempt to scrub the mildew off our vinyl siding and deck. After seeing this I’ve decided that it’s time, I’m going to have rent a power washer and get ‘er done!
Holy cow. I think Power Washing to the tune of Paparazzi is my new favorite song. John will rue the day you planted that in my brain. Haha!
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s
My husband offered to pressure wash the deck at my mother’s house, he sprayed the words ‘clean me’ into the grime then the washer stopped working. It was a few months until it was replaced and he could finish the job. 5 years later you could still faintly read the words. My mother was unimpressed!
Oh no! That is both sad and hilarious.
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Looking good! My husband belongs to that ‘trigger finger power washing’ club, too. I’m sooo not complaining because everything looks so great after. :)
Isn’t pressure washing the most satisfying feeling? Heck, I’ve even gotten excited watching power washer infomercials. I just did my house a few weekends ago. I accidentally sprayed the concrete, and it went from blackish-green to light grey and I didn’t even know it was dirty!
When you wrote “although there were still some acorn cap stains in that one corner,” I definitely read “acorn crap stains.” Had to go back and re-read when my brain realized that didn’t make sense.
It’s still making me giggle.
Everything looks awesome!
Haha!
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