Okay, so the other day my pressure washer started acting funny. The spray was all weak and sputtering, not that nice, sharp fan I usually get. Real annoying when you're trying to blast grime off the patio.

Figuring it out

First thing I thought was, maybe the water supply is messed up? Checked the hose, tap was fully open, no kinks. Nope, that wasn't it. Then I figured, gotta be the nozzle. It's tiny, probably got some gunk stuck in it. Happens all the time, right?

So, I disconnected the wand from the trigger gun, just to be safe. Don't want any surprise sprays. Then I popped the quick-connect nozzle off the end of the wand. Held it up to the light. Yep, looked like a little piece of grit or something was jammed right in the hole.

Getting it clean

I remembered I had one of those little nozzle cleaner tools. It's basically just a set of tiny wires, like super-thin needles, on a little ring. Found it rattling around in my toolbox.

Here’s the process, pretty basic stuff:

• Grabbed that little wire tool.
• Picked the wire that looked like it would fit the nozzle hole without forcing it.
• Carefully poked the wire into the nozzle's tiny opening.
• Wiggled it around a bit, gently. Didn't want to scratch the inside or make the hole bigger.
• Pulled the wire out.
• Turned on the garden hose (just low pressure).
• Rinsed the nozzle out from the back end, flushing water through the way it normally sprays out. Did this for maybe 20-30 seconds.
• Looked through the hole again. Seemed clear!

Then I just shook the water out of the nozzle, snapped it back onto the pressure washer wand. Reconnected the wand to the gun.

Fired up the pressure washer again, and bam! Spray was perfect. Strong, even fan pattern, just like new. Took like, what, five minutes? Way better than struggling with a weak spray or thinking I needed a whole new nozzle. Sometimes it's the simple fixes, you know?