Don’t Feel Pressured to Clean Out your Wallet
Often, when building or maintaining property, pinching pennies upfront can cost more money in the long run, particularly when it results in extra man-hours or replacement hardware. On the other hand, if a job is relatively small, easy or infrequent, why over-invest in more machine than you need? How do you know what’s overkill versus what’s cutting corners? Below are some points for buyers to consider when they set out to buy a surface cleaner for pressure washers.
Size Does Matter When Choosing a Surface Cleaner
One size does not fit all people’s overall situations. How big is the area? A circular surface cleaner for pressure washers can come in diameters from a mere 11 inches all the way up to two feet. Since you’ll inevitably overlap your paths a little to avoid stripes, it can take over twice as long to clean a surface with a cleaner with 12-inch deck as it would with a 22-inch deck. If time is money for you on the job, that can add up quickly.
Professional jobs usually warrant a large-diameter model unless there’s just not enough room in storage or transport space. On the other hand, if you’re just enjoying a nice day cleaning your patio, a little extra time washing can equal big savings going small, and your garage might be less cramped the rest of the year while it sits in a corner.
Come Here Often?
How frequently will you use the unit? Are you doing professional maintenance or is this for your driveway on occasion? A surface cleaner for pressure washers has moving parts and needs to be able to take a licking if it’s going from site to site regularly. A lot of predictable wear and tear definitely justifies the superior durability you’ll typically get from a higher-priced model.
Sometimes We Need a Bigger Boat
How difficult is the job or how badly stained is the surface? A nicely-sealed area with some surface grime on it may only require a modest scrub. An economical cleaner may suffice. Conversely, a porous, old expanse penetrated with oil and deeply laden with mildew will be in need of a forceful scouring that only a robust surface cleaner for pressure washers boasting over 4000 PSI can provide.
Your Goldilocks Scrubber
There is bound to be a surface cleaner that’s just right for your budget since they come with price tags as low as $30 and as high as $900 or more. Something like a light-duty Ryobi from Home Depot, with a $32 price tag, is typically powered by an electric pressure washer running not much over 2,000 PSI of force behind it, using a limited volume of water. This can mean big savings if it’s all the job requires, meaning more money for something else.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have the Hotsy 24” Surface Cleaner from BuyHotsyParts.com. This unit is not only used with gas-powered pressure washers running at 4000 PSI, flushing the area with a constant 8 gallons per minute, but it’s also rated for use with hot-water pressure washers dispensing water heating up to 212°F. This no-nonsense unit runs in the neighborhood of $1000. In-between these two extremes lie a full line of products including brands like Surface Maxx from Lowes, Powercare from Home Depot, and many people have great things to say about names from Northern Tool, indicating a lot of blast for your buck. Brands available there like Powerhorse and Northstar have been averaging 4.5 out of 5-star ratings consistently.
