* Use the right cleaning solution When water blasting your house you will usually have to deal with dirt, algae, bird droppings, mold and mildew, bug feces, contamination from car and bus exhaust fumes, and airborne contaminants from nearby factories.
For dealing with small area having stains, you can use some branded commercial cleaner available in the market.
However, for larger overall cleaning, you can prepare a good cleaning solution at home containing 30 percent vinegar and 70 percent water.
This will work very well for general cleaning.
However, if your house looks very dirty and suffers from mould and mildew you can make a different solution by mixing 1/3rd cup of laundry detergent powder, 2/3rd cup of powdered household cleaner and 2 cups of laundry bleach in 5 litres of water.
The bleach in the solution is meant to kill the mould and mildew.
You can remove the mould by plain water blasting but it will return in a short time if it is not killed.
Now bleach can kill mould but not remove dirt.
For removing grime and dirt it is necessary to use the detergent and the household cleaning powder.
For milder applications you can also try using some liquid dish soap or laundry soap in the bleach solution.
Using this home recipe will give you sparkling results after your water blasting.
*Use a different cleaning solution for grease and oil stains on concrete Although the vinegar/bleach solution will work well on brickwork, wooden, aluminum, and painted vinyl siding as well, when dealing with oil and grease stains on the concrete sidewalk you may need a different cleaner with degreasing chemicals.
You can make a solution using car wash liquid, or for heavy oil and grease you can use some degreasing solution used for industrial cleaning.
Do not use such chemicals on wood or aluminum surfaces as it may cause damage to them.
*Do not let the solution dry before you rinse When you apply the cleaning solution you must make sure that you do not leave it for too long before rinsing it off.
It may become dry by the time you start rinsing.
Therefore let it remain on the surface for only about 10 to 15 minutes before water blasting.
When rinsing, work your way from the top to the bottom making sure to wash off the detergent from all areas.
Wet the surrounding bushes flowering plants, shrubbery etc.
and the walls before you apply the solution and spray clean/rinse them after you finish the work.
* Use the right nozzle or tip in the pressure washer Nearly all washers come with interchangeable nozzles to regulate the amount of detergent that can be drawn into the water stream as also to regulate the pressure, angle and shape of the spray.
Nozzles are available to provide spray angles from 0 degrees to 45 degrees or more.
The nozzles are usually color coded for convenience in selecting during work.
The lower the angle the higher is the pressure delivery.
A 0 degree nozzle works best for removing a stain from the concrete sidewalk.
A 45-degree nozzle will be best for rinsing off detergent from the house and roof during water blasting.
Make sure that the nozzle is fitted properly or it may be blown off due to water pressure and cause serious injury.
And finally test the water pressure first by spraying from a few feet at some object and then come closer to it waving the spray wand from right to left and check if the surface you are tackling is clean.
This will let you know the correct distance from the surface at which you need to keep the nozzle while water blasting in order to get optimum results.
For dealing with small area having stains, you can use some branded commercial cleaner available in the market.
However, for larger overall cleaning, you can prepare a good cleaning solution at home containing 30 percent vinegar and 70 percent water.
This will work very well for general cleaning.
However, if your house looks very dirty and suffers from mould and mildew you can make a different solution by mixing 1/3rd cup of laundry detergent powder, 2/3rd cup of powdered household cleaner and 2 cups of laundry bleach in 5 litres of water.
The bleach in the solution is meant to kill the mould and mildew.
You can remove the mould by plain water blasting but it will return in a short time if it is not killed.
Now bleach can kill mould but not remove dirt.
For removing grime and dirt it is necessary to use the detergent and the household cleaning powder.
For milder applications you can also try using some liquid dish soap or laundry soap in the bleach solution.
Using this home recipe will give you sparkling results after your water blasting.
*Use a different cleaning solution for grease and oil stains on concrete Although the vinegar/bleach solution will work well on brickwork, wooden, aluminum, and painted vinyl siding as well, when dealing with oil and grease stains on the concrete sidewalk you may need a different cleaner with degreasing chemicals.
You can make a solution using car wash liquid, or for heavy oil and grease you can use some degreasing solution used for industrial cleaning.
Do not use such chemicals on wood or aluminum surfaces as it may cause damage to them.
*Do not let the solution dry before you rinse When you apply the cleaning solution you must make sure that you do not leave it for too long before rinsing it off.
It may become dry by the time you start rinsing.
Therefore let it remain on the surface for only about 10 to 15 minutes before water blasting.
When rinsing, work your way from the top to the bottom making sure to wash off the detergent from all areas.
Wet the surrounding bushes flowering plants, shrubbery etc.
and the walls before you apply the solution and spray clean/rinse them after you finish the work.
* Use the right nozzle or tip in the pressure washer Nearly all washers come with interchangeable nozzles to regulate the amount of detergent that can be drawn into the water stream as also to regulate the pressure, angle and shape of the spray.
Nozzles are available to provide spray angles from 0 degrees to 45 degrees or more.
The nozzles are usually color coded for convenience in selecting during work.
The lower the angle the higher is the pressure delivery.
A 0 degree nozzle works best for removing a stain from the concrete sidewalk.
A 45-degree nozzle will be best for rinsing off detergent from the house and roof during water blasting.
Make sure that the nozzle is fitted properly or it may be blown off due to water pressure and cause serious injury.
And finally test the water pressure first by spraying from a few feet at some object and then come closer to it waving the spray wand from right to left and check if the surface you are tackling is clean.
This will let you know the correct distance from the surface at which you need to keep the nozzle while water blasting in order to get optimum results.
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