Alright, so I decided it was finally time to tackle the grime on the back patio. It was looking pretty sad, honestly. Moss growing in the cracks, dirt everywhere. Scrubbing by hand? No way, done that before, takes forever and kills my back. So, I went and got myself one of those power washers.

Getting Set Up

Got the box home, pulled the machine out. It wasn't too heavy, which was nice. Had a look through the quick start guide – mostly pictures, easy enough. First thing was getting the handle attached, just a couple of bolts. Then, the important bits:

• Hooked up my garden hose to the inlet. Made sure it was tight.
• Connected the high-pressure hose that came with it to the outlet.
• Plugged the power cord in. Used an outdoor extension cord, of course.
• Picked a nozzle. Started with a wider spray one, figured it was safer to begin with.

Put on some safety glasses too. Heard stories about stuff flying back at you. Turned the water faucet on all the way. Took a deep breath.

The Actual Washing

Okay, squeezed the trigger. Whoa. That thing has some kick! Not uncontrollable, but definitely more power than a garden hose. Started on a corner of the patio, just sweeping the nozzle back and forth slowly. Man, you could see the dirt just lifting right off. It was pretty satisfying, not gonna lie.

Moved along the concrete slabs, overlapping each pass a little. Found a rhythm. Some stubborn spots needed me to move the nozzle a bit closer or switch to a slightly narrower spray pattern for a moment, but mostly the wide spray did the job. It blasted the green stuff out from between the stones pretty easily too.

It took a while, maybe an hour or so for the whole patio? Had to move some chairs and a table out of the way as I went. Made quite a wet mess, water pooling here and there, but that was expected. The noise wasn't too bad, like a loud vacuum cleaner maybe.

Finishing Up and Thoughts

Once the whole area was done, I let off the trigger and turned off the machine. Then turned off the water at the faucet. Squeezed the trigger again just to release any pressure left in the hose, like the instructions said. Disconnected everything, wiped the machine down a bit, and rolled it into the garage.

The patio looks so much better. Like, night and day difference. Way faster than scrubbing, and the result is more even too. Definitely worth getting the power washer. Glad I finally did it. It’s one of those tools that just makes a nasty job much, much easier.