While pressure washing can seem like a fun summertime activity, there’s a lot more that goes into it beyond shooting water at stuff. After all, there’s a reason professional pressure washers exist, equipped with the proper equipment and tools with the knowledge to back it up.
By hiring a professional pressure washer, you can safely erase years of erosion and dirt built up around your house while saving time, money, and energy in the process. And if you crave some time outdoors with jets of water, you can choose to relax in the pool instead.
What Defines a Professional Pressure Washer?
A professional pressure washer is someone who has mastered the art displayed in all of those satisfying power washing videos you love watching at 3 AM when you can’t sleep. Don’t worry, we’re not judging. There’s something magical about watching an ancient oil spot seemingly melt away as a pro handles it effortlessly.
But there’s a lot that goes into a great pressure washing. The pros are often equipped with industrial-grade pressure washers with a variety of tips, soaps, and a mobile battle station (read: truck or van) completely dedicated to the art of pressure washing. The truck usually contains enough water tanks to do the job (and save you a costly water bill by doing it yourself!) all while being self-contained and ready to pull any potentially hazardous runoff, leaving nothing behind but a new finish to your siding, fence, deck, outdoor furniture – you name it!
Indeed, pressure washing is a lot more than cranking up the psi to the max and letting the water fly. Understanding the balance of pressure, what tip and cleaners to use, what motions to direct the wand, and how to handle each surface is what separates a professional cleaner from an eager-yet-inexperienced hosing hobbyist.
But what are some of the tangible benefits of hiring a professional pressure washer?
Clean Surfaces Quickly and Easily
One benefit of experience is efficiency. A professional can typically cover an entire property in a matter of just a few hours whereas it could take a weekend pressure-washing warrior a few days. They also know how to handle washing each kind of material or object, taking the guesswork out of dialing in pressure or how long you should rent a machine for.
Whether you just need your deck rejuvenated or the whole yard and exterior of your house, a pro knows exactly how to tackle whatever you need to be sprayed down to a shimmering shine.
Save Time and Money While Minimizing Risk
As illustrated in the first point, professional pressure washers can save you time not only in how long a project takes, but allows you to delegate this chore off to someone else. Of course, paying someone to do the work for you costs money – but that’s a cost that saves money down the line.
Consider the following:
- A professional knows how to clean something so thoroughly that you don’t have to worry about going over the same spot over and over again, both in the same cleaning session or coming back a month or two later to touch up.
- Because professional pressure washers know what pressure to use or if something should even be pressure washed in the first place, you don’t have to worry about damaging what’s being cleaned – and the associated costs with replacing or repairing it.
- All professional washers worth their salt are insured, adding an extra layer of protection against damage or injury for both you and them.
Finding a pressure washing pro you trust and making them a part of your yearly routine will further save time and money, ensuring your property looks immaculate without any unnecessary risk of damage. That isn’t even touching on the potential deals and discounts a lot of them offer for the recurring business, further saving you money down the road.
Minimize Property and Environmental Damage
All professional pressure washers are subject to EPA standards and guidelines – not to mention other state and local standards. This means they must use approved cleaning solutions and methods that aren’t hazardous to plant life.
A pressure washer puts out extreme amounts of water in a short amount of time, typically between 120 to 240 gallons per hour so planning where all of the runoff is going is paramount. You don’t want to harm anything by inadvertently flooding or drowning plants or hitting them directly with the water jet. Most professionals have a plan and a return tank for runoff to make sure any water or detergent makes gets disposed of properly.
Avoid the Hassle of Doing it Yourself
Professionals make it look all too easy, but pressure washing all day can be quite the workout. But did you know that an average of 6,000 people a year go to the ER related to pressure washer injuries? It takes 100 psi on average to break human skin; most contractor-grade pressure washers can get from 4,000 to over 12,000 psi.
In addition to avoiding the risk of injury, taking hours or days out of your busy schedule to do it yourself can cut into precious relaxation time. By hiring a professional, you can have them do the job while you can enjoy some much-deserved R&R.
If any of this sounds amazing, get a free quote from us and the pros at Arlington Pressure Washing would be happy to help you with your next project. And if you prefer doing it yourself, no worries! We have plenty of resources to help you make the most of your pressure washing projects.
