Alright, so I messed around with pressure washers today. Here's the lowdown:

First off, I grabbed my buddy's electric pressure washer. It's a small one, nothing fancy, but good enough for most stuff around the house. I had this dirty-ass patio that was begging for a good cleaning, so that was my target.

I started by just hooking everything up. Water hose to the washer, power cord plugged in, wand attached. Basic stuff. Then I turned on the water and flipped the power switch. The thing whirred to life, and I was ready to go.

Now, here's where I learned a few things. The first nozzle I used was too powerful. It was stripping paint off my freaking wooden fence! Oops. Quickly switched to a wider fan nozzle. Much better. It was still blasting away the grime, but without destroying anything.

Pro-tip: Always start with the widest nozzle and work your way down in pressure. You can always add more power, but you can't un-damage something you've already blasted too hard.

I went to town on the patio. Slow, even sweeps, keeping the nozzle about a foot away from the surface. You can see the dirt just flying off. It was so satisfying! Took me about an hour to do the whole thing.

Then I decided to try some detergent. My buddy's washer has a little tank for soap. I filled it up with some general-purpose cleaner, switched to the soap nozzle (it's usually the black one), and went over the patio again. The soap really helped lift the stubborn stains. After letting it sit for a few minutes, I rinsed it all off with the regular nozzle. Bam! Clean patio.

Next up, I decided to tackle my car. It was covered in bug guts and road grime. I used the same soap method, but this time I used a car wash soap. Sprayed the whole car down, let it soak, and then rinsed it off. It looked pretty good, but I still had to hand-wash it to get it perfect. The pressure washer just gets the big stuff off.

Another tip: Don't get too close to your car with the pressure washer. You can damage the paint. Keep the nozzle at least a foot away, and use a wide fan pattern.

• Things I learned:
• Nozzles are important.
• Soaps make a difference.
• Patience is key. Don't rush it, or you'll miss spots.

Overall, it was a pretty productive afternoon. The patio looks great, the car is cleaner than it was, and I learned a few things about pressure washers. Not bad for a Sunday!

Thinking about maybe getting my own pressure washer now. That patio cleaning was way easier than scrubbing it by hand!