You want to clean a painted fence with a pressure washer because you've heard it's faster than doing it by hand, but you're worried you'll remove paint while pressure washing the fence. Fear not. Not only is it true that cleaning a painted fence with a pressure washer is faster than doing it by hand, but with the right knowledge and using the right technique you'll quickly pressure wash a painted fence, while leaving all of its paint intact. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Setup
1. Pour an ounce of household dish detergent into the five gallon bucket. Add six parts water to one part household bleach, filling the bucket to the four-gallon mark.
2. Connect a garden hose to the pressure washer and water spigot (faucet). Connect the pressure washing hose to the pressure washer and pressure washing gun and wand.
3. Screw a brass soap tip to the end-of-wand soap applicator and then connect to the end of the wand. Insert brass hose screen, which also acts as a weight, into the pvc tubing. Slide the pvc tubing over the soap applicator intake nipple.
Preparing to Clean
4. Clear anything and everything away from in front of the painted fence to be cleaned, if at all possible. Remove any vines growing on the fence.
5. Spray all nearby plants that will get wet with cleaning solution overspray with plain water to prevent damage, particularly if it's a hot day. Cover any and all nearby plants especially susceptible to damage from bleach with thin plastic sheeting or plastic garbage bags, after spraying them with plain water.
6. Turn on the water spigot and start the pressure washer. Adjust the engine speed down to low, and lower the end of pvc tubing with brass screen/weight into the cleaning solution bucket.
Apply Cleaning Solution
7. Stand six feet away from fence while aiming the pressure washing gun at the fence, and depress the gun trigger while watching the cleaning solution come up through the clear pvc tubing to the end of the wand soap applicator. Once the cleaning solution has made it near to the soap applicator, start at the top of the fence, and with a back and forth motion, swing your pressure washing gun so as to cover the fence with cleaning solution.
8. Work your way around the fence, moving the bucket of cleaning solution with you as you go. Do not work so far ahead of the sprayed area that it starts to dry behind you.
9. Check each recently sprayed section of fence for any missed areas. Re-spray any areas not covered by your initial application.
10. Let the cleaning solution run down the fence. Wait a few minutes to let it work. Depending on the temperature and fence material, don't wait so long that it has dried. Remove the soap applicator tip, keeping it above the height of the bucket.
11. Put the 25-degree fan tip onto the end of the wand. Raise the engine speed of the pressure washer and stand about six feet away from the fence. Aim the pressure washing gun at the fence and depress the trigger handle, rinsing the fence down.
Tags: pressure washing, pressure washer, soap applicator, cleaning solution, fence with, away from
