Got scolded by my neighbor for pressure washing my own fence wrong

Last Saturday I finally decided to clean the moss off my backyard fence. I borrowed a small electric pressure washer from my brother and started blasting away. About 20 minutes in, my neighbor Mrs. Patterson came running over yelling at me to stop. She said I was holding the nozzle too close and I was gouging the wood fibers. I looked closer and sure enough, there were these little lines cut into the boards where I had been too aggressive. I felt pretty dumb because I had no idea you were supposed to keep the spray at least 12 inches away. She gave me a quick lesson on using a wider fan pattern and keeping the wand moving. Has anyone else ruined something simple by just jumping in without reading the directions first?

2 comments

2 Comments

lilychen3d ago

Oh man, I read somewhere that pressure washing is like 90% technique and 10% machine. Apparently even pros mess up when they rush it, so don't beat yourself up too much. That 0 degree tip story is terrifying though, I'll definitely double check that before I ever touch one.

henderson.mila5d ago

My neighbor's brother actually did the same thing to his deck a few years back, thought he was just cleaning it but ended up turning the whole surface into a fuzzy mess. What nobody mentioned here is that even with the right distance, if you don't have the right tip on the pressure washer you can still mess things up. My buddy used a 0 degree tip on his vinyl siding by accident and it cut a line right through it like a hot knife through butter.