Okay, so yesterday I tackled a little project that I thought I'd share – fixing my Karcher high-pressure gun. It's been acting up for a while, losing pressure, and generally being a pain. Figured I'd give it a shot myself before shelling out for a new one.

First things first, I unplugged the whole pressure washer. Safety first, people! Then, I disconnected the hose from the gun. Gave everything a good once-over, looking for obvious cracks or leaks. Didn't see anything glaring, so I figured it was probably something internal.

Next up, the slightly scary part: taking the gun apart. I'm not usually one for fiddling with this kind of stuff, but hey, gotta learn sometime. There were a few screws holding the handle together, so I unscrewed those carefully and started prying the two halves apart. They were on there pretty tight, so I used a small flathead screwdriver to gently ease them apart.

Once I got the handle open, I could see all the inner workings. It's actually not as complicated as I thought! There's a trigger mechanism, a few springs, and some O-rings. The O-rings looked a bit worn and cracked, which I suspected might be the problem. I carefully removed all the O-rings, making sure to note where each one went. Took some photos with my phone too, just in case I forgot where anything went later. This is a pro tip I always use; documenting everything with pictures before disassembly saves a ton of headache.

Now, for the replacement O-rings. Luckily, I had a variety pack of O-rings in my garage (totally recommend having one of these handy). I tried to find O-rings that were the exact same size as the old ones. If I couldn't find an exact match, I went with one that was slightly thicker, but not too thick that it wouldn't fit.

With the new O-rings in hand, I started putting everything back together. This is where those photos I took earlier came in super handy! I made sure each O-ring was seated properly and that all the parts were in the right place. Then, I closed up the handle and tightened the screws. Not too tight, though – don't want to strip them.

Finally, the moment of truth! I reconnected the hose to the gun and plugged the pressure washer back in. Aimed the gun away from anything important (and myself!), and pulled the trigger. And... it worked! The pressure was back to normal, no leaks, no sputtering. Success!

So, yeah, that's how I fixed my Karcher high-pressure gun. It was a pretty simple fix, really, just replacing some worn O-rings. Saved myself some money and learned something new in the process. Not bad for an afternoon's work.

• Tools I used: Screwdrivers (Phillips head and flathead), O-ring pick (optional, but helpful), O-ring assortment.
• Time spent: About an hour.
• Difficulty: Easy-medium.

Would definitely recommend giving this a try if your pressure washer gun is acting up. Just remember to be careful, take your time, and document everything!