so i just bought a new 14.0 hp 4000 psi 4gpm machine from bulldog.
i just pressure washed my driveway and it looked good until it dried, theres lines everywhere. what happened did i etch the concrete or are those just spots that didnt get cleaned. how do you fix this, and how do you prevent it from happening in the future?
What nozzle did you use?
You need to buy a surface cleaner to clean concrete properly. If you used a surface cleaner and still got stripes, you have the wrong tips installed.
I agree with Micah about the surface cleaner. Also, on some surfaces, using a pressure washer is a lot like shading a drawing. It requires both art and science.
i used a 25 degree, so your saying i cant clean concrete now
how cani i fix this?
Its called zebra striping, and it happens when you are not consistently at a 45degree angle to the pavemnet or not using the same distance from the pavement consistently… 2 ways to solve the problem.
Nick
I reserve a turbo nozzle strictly for cleaning curbing. Not all concrete is a perfect mix. A turbo nozzle at 3000 psi can damage concrete in a hurry, let along 4000 psi. Also, the turbo nozzles at Home Depot are not rated for 4000 PSI. A good turbo nozzle that will last at 4000 PSI is going to be around 80 dollars. Sorry Nick, no offense, just wanted to share my thought about turbo nozzles.
Trevor, it’s very possible that you accidently etched the concrete using a 25 degree at 4000 psi. 4000 psi is a tremendous amount of pressure. Put that red 0 degree tip on there and you can cut down trees with it. (I suggest throwing the red tip away though)
Try putting the 40 degree nozzle in the gun and work perpendicular to the way you were cleaning. If they concrete had mold on it, but a heavy concentration of bleach down to aid in removing it.
A surface cleaner would be your best bet though. It’ll make you sick when you realize how fast you could have cleaned that concrete… without the stripes.
Micah, so you think the most powerful nozzle i should use on concrete is a 40 degree?
How far away from the ground do you think that 40 degree should be?
The white 40 is all you need. Anything smaller will easily carve your initials into just about anything with the pressure your pushing. The 40 degree can do it just as easy if your not careful.
+1 on the tiger stripping, save time, money and prevent damage; get a surface cleaner. Its the pro thing to do.
even a surface cleaner can etch some concrete
Yeah never use a surface cleaner (or wand) on concrete that is less then 45 days old. You can take the cream off of green concrete real easily.
Trevor… 5-7 inches minimum with a 40 degree nozzle should be fine.
Are you talking about colored concrete, will it damage colored concrete?
What would you suggest for doing stucco? the 40 degree tip, maybe turn the machine down a little? or just hold it further back
I appreciate the info Micah
Yea you can damage the colored concrete real easily, depending on the method of coloring. One common method of coloring concrete involves sprinkling a powder on top of the concrete before it totally sets. This is common on a lot of stamped concrete. You only want to use LOW pressure on this kind of concrete, because that coloring will wash away pretty easily. Other concrete is colored all the way through. Some is stained, either with a solid or an acid or chemical stain. These need to be dealt with carefully too, because you don’t know if the installer did a A+ job or not…
“Green” concrete is what fresh concrete is called. Concrete under 45 days should not be cleaned, and I’m extremely careful with concrete under 90 days. The “cream” is the top layer of concrete. Under the cream is the aggregate, which consist of larger stones and such. If you remove this cream during the green stage, it will expose the aggregate, which is not good.
Hold off before you clean stucco. You need to softwash stucco. Call Bob at PressureTek.com and tell him what you got and ask him what you need to softwash. He’ll set ya up, and it won’t be expensive. Basically you need tips that have larger orifices - this reduces your PSI while keeping your GPM at 4gpm. A tip you’ll want is a 40 degree at 10 gpm. This is the nozzle that shows in my avatar picture… and this is all the pressure you need to clean stucco. Any MORE and it ain’t gonna be pretty.
If you turn the pressure down by turning the pressure washer down, you’re also decreasing your gpm, which slows you down. Low PSI and high volume is the key to soft washing.
No offense taken Micah, I don’t know everything. just passing on my personal experience, while learning from others as well.
But you seam to have a good knowledge of pressure washers. Do you think an 11hp machine running 3gpm a big enough machine to soft wash( is the gpm high enough to shoot 25-30ft stream of water?)
Nick
Turning down the throttle isn’t a great idea because small air cooled engines like the Hondas we use are designed to be run wide open. Run it full throttle and use the right tips, just like Mich said.
ive already got the softwashing setup, im just a little skeptical about spraying bleach all aver my customers homes.
Will i be able to soft wash a roof, i dont really see the difference between soft washing and a roof cleaning pump
Bump.
You need a seperat pump for roof cleaning, downstreaming the sh will be to diluted to clean a roof.
100% correct.
I just bought this surface cleaner from Northern Tool. Has some really good reviews and is on sale. If you have a northern tool close to you, you can bring in a printed copy of this add and get the online sale price.
General Pump Pro Flat Surface Cleaner | Surface Cleaners | Northern Tool + Equipment
