How to Winterize A Pressure Washer

CategoriesHouse Plans

It’s important to pressure wash your home with regularity as it can have a dramatic impact on the exterior of the property. A clean house has greater curb appeal and if you are planning on selling, then you definitely want to beautify the outside as much as possible.

But for those of you who own one of these units instead of renting, you need to take steps for winterizing the machinery as a means of protecting it for those months of storage. You certainly not going to use your pressure washer during those sub-zero winter months, for obvious reasons. Failing to winterize the equipment could very well result in a broken pump or other internal components becoming damaged, requiring repair or replacement.

That can be costly. Avoid these unnecessary expenditures and protect your manufacturer’s warranty by taking the same steps that any expert pressure washing company implements on their professional grade equipment. You can find some of this information in your pressure washer’s user manual, which you should read from cover to cover anyway. While all pressure washers will benefit from the steps below, your unit may require further action to keep the machinery from breaking down as the temperatures drop.

Remove Left Over Water

You do not want to store a pressure washer with water and detergent still in the system. You must remove it all before you do. The way to do this is by operating the equipment with the injection tube inside a bucket of clean water. Run it on the lowest setting until the system is flushed thoroughly. That should take a couple of minutes.

Hold the trigger on the nozzle to release any pressure inside and then lock it. Disconnect all the attachments and dry everything completely. Be sure the pump is empty of any water as well.

Add Fuel Stabilizer

Fuel powered pressure washers will need a fuel stabilizer added to the tank so the gas inside doesn’t clog up the fuel lines while the unit is sitting idle for so long. Introduce the fuel stabilizer as per the directions on the bottle and be sure to operate the engine for about two to three minutes so the stabilizer is evenly distributed through the washer’s fuel system. When you’re done, shut it off.

But remember to add the stabilizer to the fuel when you first buy it. If you pour it into fuel that is already inside the tank for more than a month or so, it won’t do much of anything. Be sure you mix it into the fuel at the time you fill up.

Apply Pump Saver

This will keep moisture from getting into the pump. If there is any inside when the temperatures drop, it will freeze and that can damage the internals. You can also rest assured that you won’t have any mineral deposits inside and when you have a dry pump, it’s a lot easier to start the pressure washer again when you remove it from storage in the spring.

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