Pressure washers are a fantastic way to clean tools, construction equipment, patios, homes, and other hard surfaces from debris and dirt.
Using high levels of pressure, they easily clean the dirtiest and grimiest hard to remove substances.
Using a pressure washer increases your cleaning capabilities and gets the job done faster.
Used by both homeowners and professional cleaning companies, a power washer is everyone best friend.
The power of a pressure washer and water consumption are based off of two metrics.
First is PSI (Pounds per Square Inch). PSI is how much force is shot out of the nozzle.
Generally, higher PSI means more force and better cleaning power.
The second metric is GPM (Gallons Per Minute). Essentially, it rates how much volume of water is consumed and used by the pressure washer.
One key thing you must understand, both GPM and PSI go hand in hand.
Most people assume that PSI is the sole determinant of a pressure washers power, but that's not true... To find out how powerful your pressure washer is, you must multiply the PSI by the GPM.
Let's take a look at an example.
Pressure Washer 1: Puts out 3,000 PSI and 2.5 GPM, you have a total of 7,500 cleaning units.
Pressure Washer 2: Puts out 2,500 PSI at 4 GPM, the pressure washer will have a grand total of 10,000 cleaning units.
Most people would buy Pressure Washer 1 just on the fact it offers more PSI.
But what they don't realize is that Pressure Washer 2 uses more water per minute (GPM). Even at a lower PSI, it comes out with a higher cleaning unit.
This question is essentially asking us to solely look upon the GPM unit or gallons of water used per minute.
Each GPM will differ entirely on the brand, manufacturer, and model of the pressure washer.
"Most standard pressure washers will use between 2 to 4 GPM."
That comes a total of 120 to 240 Gallons Per Hour.
To bring that into perspective, a standard bathtub holds about 80 gallons of water. If you were to clean your house for 1 hour straight, you'd be using the equivalent of about 2 to 3 baths.
You might think that's a lot of water, but some higher end professional washers use even more.
Large high end power washers even have tanks can use 8 GPM all the way up to 20 GPM. These pressure washers are very large and are usually towed on the back of a trailer.
If you're looking to save water, there's a few things you can do.
GPM as the metric suggests, means how much water is being used.
So to use less water, simply invest your money into a low GPM pressure washer.
Anything under 3 GPM is a good place to start.
You can find multiple brands like the Mi-T-M WP 2500 which uses 2.3 GPM while still offering a powerful 2500 PSI making it perfect for driveway, home, and vehicle cleaning.
The best way to clean anything?
Water and heat...
Just think about your dishwasher. To clean all that food stuck to your plate, the dishwasher steams and heats up everything with a combination of water.
The same can be done with a heated pressure washer. While cold pressure washers are still fantastic machines you're likely to use more water.
Hot water is better at cleaning off sticky material like mud, gunk, grease, and oil.
To improve the efficiency even more you can also use soap. Many power washers today have built in detergent takes that dispense soap to increase cleaning ability.
Another common sense approach to saving water is just watching how you clean.
Some common tips include:
One thing you must realize.
Pressure waters don't use that much water in the first place.
Compare a standard at home pressure washer to your garden hose.
2-4 gallons per minute for a pressure washer vs 24 gallons per minute for your typical garden hose.
So next time you complain about the amount of water your pressure washer uses, just be glad your not cleaning with a hose.
Let's face it. Cleaning is not a complicated process.
But power washing makes the process even easier.
Pressure washers come on wheels, meaning they can clean almost anywhere.
They're also super easy to handle and use, even kids can do it!
Last but not least, they can easily be stored.
The power of a pressure washer and the combination of heat and soap means that pressure washers are the best tools for cleaning around.
You can even hit hard to reach places like the roof.
Imagine using a garden hose instead? It would take you forever to clean your house or RV.
You can clean just about anything in a fraction of the time!
As mentioned above, pressure washers only average around 2-4 GPM of water consumption.
That's about the same as the sink in your home which averages around 2.2 GPM.
Compared to a hose which puts out 24 GPM. The low GPM and powerful quick cleaning means less overall water usage.
As anyone who's ever used one before, pressure washers are game changers.
Dirt and debris have a hard time standing up to the power and strength of 2,000+ PSI.
And they can be used to clean just about anything.
Don't take my word from it. Get out there and get yourself a pressure washer!
Contractors Supply LLC is your go to place for high end Mi-T-M pressure washers.
Our showroom is located at - 17 Viaduct Road, Stamford, CT 06907
Give us a call and we will be happy to answer any questions: (203) 323-3752
Serving the New York/Connecticut area and the towns of Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, New Canaan, Greenwich, Fairfield, Bridgeport, and Westport.