So, I finally caved and got one of those electric power washers. The garage floor was looking pretty sad, and honestly, I was tired of just staring at it.

Getting Started

Unboxing the thing was the first step. Lots of plastic bits and pieces, the main unit, the hose, the spray gun thingy, and a few different nozzles. Looked simple enough on the box, but you know how that goes. Found the manual, skimmed it mostly. Seemed straightforward: connect water hose, plug it in, choose a nozzle, and blast away.

The Setup Dance

Hooking up the garden hose to the washer inlet took a bit of fiddling. My hose connector is old, kinda leaky. Had to tighten it down good. Then connecting the high-pressure hose from the machine to the spray gun. Clicked into place okay. Plugged the power cord into my outdoor outlet – thankfully I have one close by. I remember my dad using a gas-powered one years ago, the noise was incredible, and the setup seemed way more involved. This electric one felt less intimidating, I guess.

Actually Washing Stuff

Okay, time to try it out. Started with the widest angle nozzle, figured that was safest. Turned on the water spigot first, then hit the power switch on the machine. It hummed to life. Squeezed the trigger on the gun, and whoosh! Water came blasting out. Pretty decent pressure, actually, more than I expected for a little electric unit.

• Moved onto the concrete path first. Lots of green algae stuff built up over winter.
• Had to hold the nozzle maybe six inches away and move kinda slow.
• It definitely stripped the grime off. You could see the clean lines where I'd passed over.
• Switched to a slightly narrower nozzle for some tougher oil stains on the garage floor. That needed a bit more focus, going back and forth.

Things I Noticed

The power cord is a bit of a pain, always having to watch you don't trip over it or get it tangled with the water hose. That's the tradeoff for not dealing with gas and fumes, I suppose. It's also way quieter than the gas ones I remember. My neighbor barely noticed I was using it.

Spent a good hour doing the path and a section of the garage floor. It's strangely satisfying watching the dirt just disappear. Felt like I actually accomplished something visible, you know? Not like some work projects where you type away all day and wonder what you really did. This was instant results.

Wrapping Up

Turned off the machine, then the water. Squeezed the trigger to release the pressure like the instructions said. Disconnected the hoses – got a little wet, naturally. Coiled everything up, which took almost as long as the washing. Stuffed it back onto a shelf in the garage. The floor looks way better. Still got the deck to do next weekend, but hey, one job at a time.