Pressure/Power washers are fantastic tools to have around the house. They can be used to clean everything from your patio, deck, car and even your siding. If you’re unsure of how to use the best pressure washer or what nozzle is best for which job, here are the answers for you.
Pressure washers come with three different types of nozzles: red, yellow or green; each color represents a specific angle spray pattern.
Red Nozzles have the narrowest angle spray pattern (0 degrees) and are most effective for stripping paint from wood and metal surfaces as well as concrete etching. It is best to use the red nozzle ONLY on concrete or other hard surfaces as it can damage softer surfaces such as wood decks and drywall.
Yellow Nozzles have a wider angle spray pattern (15 degrees) and are best used for cleaning concrete surfaces such as sidewalks and driveways. These are places where you don’t need to strip away any paint but still want to remove ground-in dirt and grease stains. Yellow nozzles are also good for cleaning patios and fences where you want to remove algae, mildew and grime build-up without damaging the surface.
Green Nozzles have the widest angle spray pattern. It is best for general cleaning with less harm
What’s the Use of the Number in the Spray Nozzle?
You’ve probably used a spray nozzle before, but have you ever paid attention to the number on it? That number is actually very important and can determine what the sprayer is best suited for.
But what does that number mean?
That number is telling you the size of the opening in thousandths of an inch. The larger the number, the larger the opening. For example, setting your nozzle to 5 means that it’s opening is 5/1,000th of an inch wide.
So what is this useful for? Well, this controls how much water comes out per unit time. A larger opening will produce more water in a shorter period than a smaller one. During dry spells or when you need to wash something off quickly, you will want to use a larger opening so that you won’t be out there all day waiting for the job to get done. You can also control how much water gets on the plants by using a smaller setting.
There are a few different types of spray nozzles but the most common is a fan pattern nozzle. However, there are two different scales of these numbers. The most common one is a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 having the smallest hole, and 10 having the largest. This scale is commonly used on industrial-strength sprayers at hardware stores.
The other scale is an industry-standard called “tenths of a millimeter.” This scale defines a 1 as having a 0.1 mm hole, a 2 as having a 0.2 mm hole, and so on. This is usually used for regular spray bottles found in grocery stores and pharmacies.
In either case, it’s important to note that using larger holes will increase your chances for overspray — which means that a larger volume of your product will end up outside your intended target zone (and on your countertops and kitchen floor).
Don’t just read about these here, place your order today with Giraffetools collections and get to see all these differences and markings on your pressure washer.
