Pressure Cleaners Explained

Pressure Cleaner Fundamentals

Pressure cleaners are a fantastic tool when you need high pressure cleaning equipment to quickly tackle those tough, large or grimy jobs. There’s different pressure cleaners to choose from depending on the pressure and sheer power you’re looking for such as cold or hot water units run by petrol, diesel or electric motors.. Here, we’ve built a complete guide to understanding pressure cleaners to help you choose which one will suit your needs.

Cold water pressure cleaners are ideal for basic cleaning tasks such as blasting away dirt, hot water pressure cleaners are ideal for more intensive cleaning applications thanks to the addition of heat increasing the reaction speeds when mixed with detergents for faster and more effective cleaning or even sterilizing. 

What can you use a pressure cleaner for?

If you’ve used a pressure cleaner before, you’ll know exactly how satisfying it is. There’s just something about using a high pressure cleaner to remove dirt, grime, oil and nasties.

In fact, you can use pressure cleaners in a multitude of applications and industries including industrial, commercial and residential jobs such as:

  • Mining
  • Commercial roof cleaning
  • Drilling rigs
  • Marine
  • Shires & Councils for pavements, bus shelters, chewing gum removal
  • Farming and agriculture machinery
  • Washing exteriors of buildings, brickwork, efflorescence
  • Descaling
  • Drain Cleaning
  • Culverts
  • Removing graffiti and tough marks from walls
  • Cleaning vehicles and driveways, car parks

Pressure cleaners are here to make your life easier. Jobs that would take hours to do are simplified with the pressure cleaner, cutting down half the time. These units can be used on hard surfaces including cement, brick, metal, limestone etc. The options are truly endless when it comes to pressure cleaners. Hot water pressure cleaners are excellent for oil, grime and greasy machinery cleaning.

How to use pressure cleaners

All pressure cleaners work in a relatively similar way. To summarise, pressure cleaners need to be connected to a water source which provides water for the pressure cleaner. There will be an inlet port for attaching the water and another port for attaching the high pressure hose/water head (depending on the cleaner). Once the cleaner has been filled with water, you can switch on  the pressure washer. 

Each pressure cleaner comes with instructions. Pumps Australia recommends reading the instructions of the pressure cleaner before using as there will be small variances between each cleaner cleaner.

There are different attachments available for pressure cleaners. These attachments can alter the direction and power of the water pressure. Attaching different nozzles can be useful if you need to switch from cleaning a large space to a small crack. 

Safety comes first

Everyone who uses high pressure cleaning equipment must be competent to do so. Operators or people who use the equipment should, as a minimum, be competent in the following areas: 

  • Have an understanding of their duty of care – Further information can be obtained from your state regulatory body. 
  • Understand the system operation and all controls. 
  • Understand the need to control hazards in the workplace and be able to do so. 
  • Have some experience or instruction in the operation of the equipment and be aware of the associated potential hazards. 
  • Have experience or instruction in the particular application of the equipment. 
  • If the equipment is to be used in unusual environments or situations, the operator needs to be competent to do so, for example working at heights. 
  • If the equipment is supplied by a hirer, the hirer needs to inform the user of the potential hazards associated with it. 
  • Safety or other shut off devices must never be tampered with or nullified. 
  • If chemical cleaning agents are to be used, the appropriate material safety data sheet (MSDS) should be obtained from the supplier prior to use.

General safe practises include, but are not limited to, the following;

  • Always make sure that people not involved with the job are not going to be inadvertently exposed to hazards. Barricade, tape or warning flags should be used to cordon off the work area. When working from heights, remember the water spray either needs to be contained or a larger area barricaded off.  
  • Inspect all equipment prior to use and do not use equipment which is not designed for the job or that is defective.
  • Shut off devices such as gun triggers should be checked and tested for operation prior to use in a controlled environment. 
  • Wear correct Personal Protective Equipment. This applies to anyone who is in the immediate vicinity of the work or who may be exposed to it. The minimum Personal Protective Equipment for high pressure work is: Eye protection, goggles or a face mask, long trousers or leg coverings, hearing protection where required, Steel capped footwear, gloves where required.
  • Where chemicals, abrasives or other hazardous materials are present, additional precautions may be required such as full body protection or respiratory protection. 
  • Never allow people to come into contact with the water jet. Water jets can cause serious or fatal injuries. 
  • People using the equipment should be competent in all aspects of it. 
  • If working in an industrial environment or for an employer and an accident or incident occurs, it must be reported immediately to the employer. Injuries may appear small on the surface however there is the possibility of more serious internal injuries and medical advice should be sought. 
  • Hazards in the workplace should be rectified immediately or reported if additional assistance is required to control or eliminate them.

It’s crucial that you don’t underestimate the power of the water from the pressure gun. Water pressure can cause damage if not used correctly.

Shop our pressure cleaners

Pressure cleaners are an effective tool for a wide variety of purposes. If you work in industries such as agriculture, construction, horticulture or you simply enjoy having a clean work environment – pressure cleaners are essential. 

Pumps Australia has designed their own huge range of pressure cleaners which are assembled in Australia.  We also hold a huge selection of high pressure cleaners in stock at our warehouse. We offer domestic/semi industrial pressure cleaners as well as large industrial pressure cleaners. Within these categories, you can choose from petrol, diesel, hydraulic or electric driven pressure cleaners. Browse our selection by following this link High Pressure Cleaners – Pumps Australia. 

Unsure which pressure cleaner to choose? Speak with our experienced team today! We’re always happy to help.

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