Alright, let's talk about cleaning the car with a power washer. I finally decided to give it a real go the other day. Had this machine sitting in the garage for ages, figured it was time.

Getting Started

First thing, I dragged the power washer out. It's not super heavy, but wrestling with the power cord and the high-pressure hose is always a bit of a pain. Got it hooked up to the garden hose, plugged it in. Made sure the water was running through it before turning the motor on. Don't want to burn it out.

Then came picking the nozzle. I've got a few. Learned my lesson last year cleaning the fence – picked the wrong one, almost stripped the wood bare! So, for the car, I went with a wider spray pattern, I think it was the 40-degree one. Less chance of damaging the paint, you know?

The Actual Washing Part

Okay, started with just water. Gave the whole car a good rinse down. Tried to get all the loose grit and surface dirt off first. You don't want to be grinding that stuff in later. The pressure felt okay, strong enough to knock stuff off but not scary strong.

Next up, soap. My washer has this little onboard soap tank. Honestly, it's kinda small and feels cheap. Poured my car wash soap in there, switched to the soap nozzle setting. Sprayed the car down. It didn't really foam up like you see in videos, more like just wet, slightly soapy water running down. A bit disappointing, that part. Maybe I need one of those separate foam cannon attachments everyone talks about.

Let the soap sit for a few minutes, like the bottle said. Didn't want it to dry, though. Then, switched back to the 40-degree water nozzle.

Rinsing and Reality Check

Started rinsing from the roof down. This is the satisfying bit, watching the soap and grime slide off. Made sure to get in the wheel wells and under the edges.

Here's the thing though: It didn't magically clean everything. Bird droppings? Baked-on bugs on the front bumper? Yeah, the power washer loosened them a bit, but they were still there. Had to grab my wash mitt and a bucket of soapy water to properly scrub those spots off. So much for a completely "touchless" wash.

• Rinsed off loose dirt.
• Applied soap (kinda weakly).
• Rinsed soap off.
• Realized I still needed manual scrubbing for tough spots.
• Did the manual scrubbing.
• Did a final rinse with the power washer.

Finishing Up and Thoughts

After the final rinse, I had to dry it. The power washer obviously doesn't do that. Used my usual microfiber drying towels. Gotta work fast to avoid water spots, especially if it's sunny.

So, the verdict? It's... okay. Using the power washer definitely helps with the initial rinse and maybe speeds up the soaping and final rinse a little. It's probably great if the car is seriously caked in mud. But for a regular wash? Considering the setup time (getting it out, hooking up, putting it away) and the fact I still had to hand wash stubborn bits and dry it manually... I'm not sure it saves a huge amount of time or effort for just one car.

Maybe with a better foam cannon, it would feel more effective. For now, it’s useful sometimes, but maybe not my go-to for every single wash. Just sharing what I found doing it myself.