Last Updated: October 2024
With great pressure comes great responsibility.
Pressure washer safety is no joke. Even though it’s just water, it’s not really just water. With the amount of force you wield with your trusty pressure washer, it’s vitally important to take safety precautions.
But these useful machines need respect, not fear. With that in mind, here are some common-sense tips to keep in mind when using a pressure washer.
Know Your Pressure Washer
Just like any other tool, pressure washers have their own little nuances and quirks depending on their manufacturer. They tend to share a lot of similarities between units, but they’re different enough to warrant investigation.
Whenever you’re about to use a unit that is new to you, read the manual and take time to familiarize yourself with the machine and its parts. This may seem silly or redundant if you’ve used a pressure washer before, but understanding the differences between each individual pressure washer you use is important.
Wear the Right Gear
It goes without saying that safety equipment is used with most power tools. “But it’s just a hose,” you might think to yourself – and you’d only be partially right. A pressure washer can easily peel skin or cut deep into you if you’re not careful.
With that in mind, make sure to dress appropriately. You’ll need:
- Gloves – A staple for most projects, you’ll want these bad boys for your pressure washer too. In addition to providing your digits with protection, they give you a better grip on the wand to keep the jet under control.
- Steel-Toed Boots – Foot injuries are quite common with pressure washers, especially since people love to do their pressure washing in the summer with sandals on. That said, it’s all too easy to accidentally hit your foot when you’re not paying attention. Even heavy boots aren’t enough to stop a pressure washer’s power depending on the nozzle, so steel-toed boots are the way to go.
- Glasses or Goggles – Pressure washing is a messy business that kicks up a lot of dust, dirt, and anything else not nailed down. Do your lookers a favor and grab some eye protection to keep them free of foreign objects.
- Pants – On a nice day, it may be tempting to bust out the shorts for pressure washing day. Much like sandals, skip the shorts and go straight to pants instead. This isn’t so much to protect your legs from the spray, but to protect your legs from the flying debris that gets kicked up while washing. Things such as dirt, grit, and pebbles can be turned into pain-inducing projectiles. While they’re often not a serious risk, they can still hurt and cause some damage if you’re not careful.
Be Aware of Your Surroundings
Just as dangerous as the water stream from your pressure washing wand are the projectiles it can create. An unnoticed rock on your deck can go flying in unpredictable directions, causing serious damage to whatever it hits. Wood can splinter, sending slivers through the air.
Be diligent and check your work area for anything that could become a hazard, lest something gets knocked loose and sent flying.
Keep Your Footing Secure
This is especially important for new hosers. It’s easy to be caught off guard by how strong a pressure washer can be. Taking a wider stance will increase your stability. The greatest risk here is not so much you falling, but failing to control the wand on your way down. An errant wand could lead to property damage – or you damage, both of which you’d like to avoid.
This is a step that’s overlooked by newbies and veterans alike. Especially when working on roofs, the unusual angles can cause you to lose your footing. Paired with the forces from the washer, you can easily take a tumble off the roof. I don’t need to explain why that’s a bad thing.
Know Where Your Pressure Washer’s Safety Latch Is
All pressure washers come with a safety latch near the trigger. When this latch is activated, the trigger cannot be squeezed and the water can’t flow. Always, always, always use the latch when not actively using the washer.
It’s easy to get careless and accidentally hit the trigger during cleanup. Don’t even take the risk and just use the latch. With that in mind, the latch is a safety feature but not a 100% failsafe.
Always treat the washer wand with respect and don’t point it anything you don’t intend sending all that pressure towards — especially if your finger is on the trigger.
Release Excess Pressure When You’re Done
We all get a little bit lazy when it comes to cleanup. If there’s one step you shouldn’t shirk when you’re finishing up is releasing the excess pressure from your pressure washer.
When you disassemble your generator, the pressure stored inside of it may not have completely dissipated. When the machine is off, pull the trigger on the gun in a safe direction to allow any pressure to escape. Once that’s done, re-engage the safety latch and finish up cleaning.
While this isn’t an exhaustive list of safety tips, these steps will help you avoid most injuries associated with pressure washing. Remember, always err on the side of caution and never lose respect for your pressure washer. If you can do that, you’ll be able to wash safely like a pro.
Photo by Oliver Hale on Unsplash
