Weekend Project: Using a pressure washer for easy spruce-ups

This item is the first in a new series on weekend projects, simple, quick jobs you can do to improve your home and save yourself some money. We'll post them early in the week so you have time to assemble the gear and supplies to get the job done. Send in an e-mail to tell us what kinds of chores and repairs you'd like us to cover.

Living in a newer home has its perks. I don't have to worry about any of these five major home repairs you shouldn't ignore—at least for now.

In the yard, however, it's a different story. Over the course of the last few years, a steady stream of pollen, sap, and leaves had morphed into a messy green layer on the roof of my tool shed and on my daughter's playground set.

Following the savvy advice in our June 2009 story on simple home projects, I successfully cleaned the asphalt roofing shingles on the shed using a soft brush and a bleach solution to avoid damaging the shingles.

But using a stiffer-bristled brush and a bleach solution (as we recommend to clean outdoor decking) didn't make much of an impression on the playground set. I knew I'd have to haul out my pressure washer. But first I watched our video (right) on safe, effective pressure washing; check out this video whether you own or are thinking of renting one of these powerful machines.

Before firing up the machine, I donned, gloves, sturdy shoes, and hearing protection, then started cleaning. I held the sprayer about 2 feet away from the lumber, bringing it no closer than 6 inches so as to not damage the wood. If you notice that the spray is damaging wood fibers, either pull back the sprayer or widen the spray pattern.

And be careful where you point the stream so as to avoid the kind of serious injury detailed in the video—a gasoline-powered pressure washer emits a stream of water much more powerful than a regular garden hose.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums

Essential information: See our pressure washers buying advice and ratings (available to subscribers).

Comments

[crispinpierce]

Geez, what does it say about our culture when we take a weekend to make the roofs of our tool sheds look nice?

Pressure washing puts cancer-causing pollutants in the air, causes neighborhood noise, and wastes water. Is having unblemished siding and roofs worth these costs?

[crispinpierce]

Geez, what does it say about our culture when we take a weekend to make the roof of our tool sheds look nice?

Pressure washing puts cancer-causing pollutants in the air, causes neighborhood noise, and wastes water. Is having unblemished siding and roofs worth these costs?

[Ali]

Cleaning roofing and decking is not just about appearances. Mildewed decking is slippery, therefore dangerous. Mold and mildew on roofing, siding or decking contributes to deterioration. Replacing decking and siding is far more costly environmentally than cleaning once a year.

[crispinpierce]

Points well taken, Ali. I do believe, however, that we as Americans are overly focused on appearances, without considering longer-term costs. This focus is often bolstered by CR, which tells us how to have perfect lawns, states that leaf blowers are more "efficient" than rakes, and neglects to consider the noise pollution in rating new cars and trucks.

Far too often, we don’t see the connections between our actions and our health. We know that kids eating lead in paint get sick, and that smoking harms us in many ways, but what about our day-to-day activities?

Cutting down trees and shrubs to make the yard look "neat" increases mosquito-carried diseases such as West Nile Virus, because trees and shrubs help absorb the water where mosquitoes breed.

Mowing a lawn puts a family at a higher risk for cancer, because engine exhaust contains many cancer-causing chemicals.

Clear cutting before building a new house increases heat stroke and the kind of flooding that broke Lake Delton here in Wisconsin, because deforestation causes global warming.

We can protect our families and community by being more careful with energy and natural resources. I encourage Consumer Reports to consider long-term health costs of the products they rate.

[April Air]

Although I agree with crispin I find that not making your home look "pretty" tends to make neighbors angry. Sometimes there can even be fines for not maintaining your property.Aprilaire