Which power washing nozzle tips should you pick for different tasks?
You have reached the limit of the watering hose but a few feet away there are still plants not watered, so what do you do? You put a finger to block off a bit of the hose opening and what do you get? More pressure for the stream of water to come out, hence the water stream reaches to the plants further out.
That is why we have different nozzles for your power washer. When you restrict the water flow, the speed of the water increases and therefore creates a powerful washer that can cover more distance.The power can be so strong that if you choose the wrong nozzle for the job it can peel the paint off your new car, ruin your driveway and can damage your wooden deck.
Here are your basic types of color-coded nozzles:
The Red Tip Optimal Blast
This nozzle at zero degrees is a direct jet stream that the surface area covered is about the size of a quarter. It is not used often because it doesn´t cover a lot of surface area, causing more time cleaning. However when it is hard to remove dirt that is plastered on equipment, or rust, or stains that are hard to reach due to distance, then this nozzle can do the job. If you have a Turbo Nozzle, it is similar to the Red Tip force and is used more often being more useful.
The Yellow Tip Sheet Spray
This nozzle creates a 15 degree wide water spray when it hits the surface. Once it hits the surface the pressure is less since the force is distributed in a wider area. This nozzle is great to clean a wall that is about to get ready for a new layer of paint. When you are at a good distance, this nozzle is superb when you want to get hard dirt and mud from big wheels like in 4x4s.
The Green Tip Gentle Touch
This nozzle is a 25 degree tip that is wider than the 15 degree tip, which causes more surface area to be covered with less water power. This gentle touch tip allows for many different uses as it is the most common nozzle used at home. It is excellent for driveways, cars, outside furniture and boats. The fact that a wide sheet of water sprays out it can clean a surface area very quickly.
The White Tip Smooth Spray
This nozzle contains a 40 degree outlet which makes this nozzle the softest spray when it contacts a surface. Instead of using your hands to clean big windows that may take the whole day to complete, this nozzle spray will save you a lot of time. This Spray is awesome for large windows, blinds and anything that can be fragile.
The Rotary Nozzle or Turbo Nozzle
This nozzle is widely used for many things. It is useful because it’s 2 in 1 as it is combined with the force of the Red Nozzle at zero degrees with a spray surface area of the Green Nozzle at 25 degrees. Even more, there is a pulsing action at the nozzle where it rotates the water stream at around 1800-3000rpm. This rotating jet stream creates a cone when it hits a surface. It is super-fast that is looks like the shape of an orange safety cone is coming out of the nozzle. This is a fantastic nozzle to have.
The Black Soapy Nozzle Tip
This nozzle has the widest degree of 65 and it has a large opening. That fact that it has a larger hose opening helps create increased pressure in the hose. Thus, this allows for detergent to enter so you can apply soap to the desired surface area making your life a little bit easier cleaning.
The Pivoting Nozzle
At times, it is super hard to reach an area to clean even though you are using a nozzle like the Red Nozzle. It could be places like gutters, wheel wells and soffits. These basic nozzle tips cannot bend enough and keep the same pressure to reach hard places. However, using the Pivoting Nozzle will solve that problem. This nozzle can bend in all directions up to 90 degrees. You will be able to reach deep crevices, hidden areas and cracks with ease when you have this nozzle. It is a good investment to add this to your nozzle options.
A Useful Tool
If it is your first time using a power washer, don´t underestimate its power! It is smart to always start with a wider angle of the nozzle and test it out first on a smaller surface area. At first, keep your distance away from the surface area so you don´t damage the area. In time, as you are accustomed to holding the power washer you can step closer towards the surface area to get the hard dirt out. If the dirt still doesn´t come out, then start changing the nozzle to a smaller degree. When you change the nozzle, start again about 4 feet away from the surface and move forward again if the dirt doesn’t come off.
It is a time saver to own a power washer with its versatility. You definitely can get a lot of stuck-on-dirt, grime on tough areas out easily. Plus, you can clean fragile surface areas at the same time. Just don´t underestimate the power of the washer.