Alright, so I finally got around to using my Karcher pressure washer the other day. Had a dirty patio that was bugging me. Here’s basically how I got it up and running.

Getting Started: Unpacking and Setup

First thing, I pulled everything out of the box. There wasn't a ton of assembly, thankfully. I attached the handle, popped on the wheels – pretty simple stuff, just clicked into place. Then I hooked up the holder for the spray gun and wound the high-pressure hose onto its reel. Gave everything a wiggle to make sure it was solid.

Hooking Up the Water

Next, I grabbed my garden hose. I connected one end to my outdoor tap and the other end to the water inlet on the Karcher machine. Important bit: I made sure the connection was tight at both ends. Didn't want water spraying everywhere.

Then I took the high-pressure hose. One end screws onto the outlet on the pressure washer itself, the other end connects to the spray gun. Again, I tightened these up properly.

Powering Up (Carefully!)

Okay, before plugging anything in, I did this:

• Turned the water tap on fully.
• Squeezed the trigger on the spray gun. I let the water run through the gun for maybe 30 seconds or a minute. This gets all the air out of the system, which is apparently important. You'll see it splutter a bit then run smooth.

Once the water was flowing smoothly through the gun, I plugged the power cord into my outdoor socket. Then I flipped the switch on the Karcher to turn the machine on.

Washing Time

The machine hummed to life. I started with the dirt blaster nozzle – the one with the rotating pinpoint jet – because my patio slabs were quite green. Word of advice: Test the spray on a hidden spot first! And don't stand too close, especially with the powerful nozzles. I kept a decent distance and moved the spray lance steadily back and forth across the slabs.

It took a while, but seeing the dirt lift off was pretty satisfying. I just worked my way across the whole area methodically.

Shutting Down Properly

When I was done, I followed the shutdown steps in reverse:

• Turned the switch off on the Karcher machine first.
• Turned off the water tap.
• Squeezed the trigger on the spray gun again to release any leftover pressure in the hose. You'll hear a little 'pfft'.
• Disconnected the garden hose from the machine.
• Unplugged the power cord.
• Disconnected the high-pressure hose from the gun and the machine.

Quick Clean and Store

I gave the machine a quick wipe down with a cloth to get rid of any splashes. Drained as much water as I could from the hoses and the gun. Then I coiled the hoses back up and stored the whole thing away in the shed, making sure it wouldn't be somewhere it could freeze over winter.

And that was pretty much it. Took a bit of time, but the patio looks way better. Getting the setup and shutdown order right seemed like the main thing to remember.