Alright, let me tell you about my little adventure with one of those hydro jet power washer things. My patio out back was looking absolutely disgusting. Seriously, years of dirt, some green slimy stuff in the corners – it was time.

Getting Started

So, I got this hydro jet washer. Wasn't a massive, super-expensive one, just a basic electric model. First thing, obviously, was getting it out of the box. It wasn't too bad, mostly put together already. Just had to snap the handle into place and attach the spray wand holder. Took maybe five minutes, no tools needed, which was nice.

Next up, connecting the bits. Found my garden hose, untangled that mess, and screwed it onto the inlet on the washer. Gave it a good tighten by hand. Then, attached the high-pressure hose that came with it – one end to the machine, the other to the spray gun thingy. Clicked the spray wand onto the gun. Simple enough.

The Actual Washing

Okay, time for the fun part. Plugged the power cord in – made sure the outlet was one of those GFCI ones, you know, for safety near water. Turned the water tap on full blast. Pulled the trigger on the spray gun for a few seconds like the instructions said, just to get the air out of the hose. You could hear the pump kick in.

Pointed it at the dirtiest paving slab I could find and squeezed the trigger. Whoa. Okay, it had some decent power. Not like the crazy gas ones maybe, but enough. It started blasting the grime away immediately. You could see the clean concrete appearing like magic. It was actually pretty satisfying.

• Started with the main patio slabs. Went back and forth, slow and steady.
• Got into the corners where all that green gunk was hiding. Needed a bit more focus there.
• Did the little brick retaining wall nearby too. Made a big difference.
• Even tried it carefully on the lower part of the vinyl fence panels. Worked okay, just kept my distance so I didn't damage anything.

It took a while, maybe an hour and a half for the whole patio area. It's kind of messy work, honestly. Water and dirt spray back at you, so wearing old clothes and boots was definitely the right call. My arms got a bit tired from holding the wand too.

The Result

But man, when I finished and rinsed everything down? Big difference. The patio looked almost new. The colour of the slabs came back, all the green stuff gone. It really did the job I wanted it to do. Packing it up was easy too – disconnected the hoses, drained the water out, wound up the cords. Stored it back in the shed.

So yeah, the hydro jet power washer? Pretty useful tool for cleaning up outdoor messes. Takes a bit of effort, you'll probably get wet, but the results are worth it if you've got stubborn dirt to deal with. Happy I got it.