Okay, let me tell you about this setup I tried recently, messing with a pressure washer and an extra water pump. My patio was looking real bad, like, ground-in dirt and some green stuff starting to grow in the corners. Nasty.

So, I got my trusty pressure washer out. It usually does an okay job, you know? But this time, the gunk was just laughing at me. The spray felt kinda weak sometimes, like it was pulsing or struggling. My water pressure from the tap isn't the greatest out here, maybe that was the problem. The pressure washer has its own pump inside, sure, that's what makes the high pressure. But I figured, maybe it wasn't getting enough water fed into it fast enough to keep that pressure strong and steady.

Figuring Out the Hookup

I had this spare water pump lying around, just a basic one, not meant for high pressure itself, more for just moving water, like emptying a pond or something. I thought, what if I put this before the pressure washer? Like, boost the water going into it?

Here’s what I did, step-by-step more or less:

• First, hooked up the regular garden hose from my outside tap to the inlet of the water pump. Standard stuff.
• Then, I needed another short piece of garden hose. Connected one end to the outlet of the water pump.
• Connected the other end of that short hose to the water inlet on my pressure washer. Where you normally connect the hose straight from the tap.
• So the water path was now: Tap -> Hose -> Water Pump -> Short Hose -> Pressure Washer.
• Then, I set up the pressure washer like normal: high-pressure hose connected, wand attached, plugged it in (mine's electric).

Looked a bit messy with the extra pump and hoses, not gonna lie. Felt a bit like I was overcomplicating things.

Turning it All On

Alright, moment of truth. I turned on the tap full blast. Then I switched on the water pump. Heard it whirring away, pushing water through. Okay, no leaks yet. Good sign. Then, I fired up the pressure washer itself.

And wow. Seriously, the difference was noticeable right away. The stream coming out of the pressure washer wand felt... solid. Consistent. No more of that weak pulsing I got before. It just felt stronger, even though the pressure washer itself was the same machine.

It ripped through that grime on the patio like nobody's business. The green slimy stuff? Gone. The ground-in dirt? Lifted right off. It was cleaning way faster and way better than before. It's like the pressure washer's own pump could finally work at its best because it wasn't starved for water anymore. The extra water pump wasn't making the high pressure, it was just making sure the supply was good enough for the pressure washer to do its thing properly.

Was it Worth It?

For me, yeah, definitely. Took a bit more setup time with the extra pump and wiring. But the actual cleaning job was much quicker and the result was way better. If you've got decent water pressure from your tap, you probably don't need this hassle. But if your pressure washer seems to struggle or pulse, and you suspect it's not getting enough water flow, sticking a simple water pump in line before it might just be the ticket. It worked for me this time, got that patio looking clean again, which feels pretty good.