Okay, let's talk about tackling the outdoors with a pressure washer. Did it this weekend, actually.

Getting Started

First thing, the patio was looking rough. Same for the fence on the north side. Green stuff growing, dirt everywhere. Just looked tired, you know? Decided it was time to break out the pressure washer. Had it sitting in the garage for a while.

Dragged the machine out. It's a gas one, so had to check the fuel and oil first. Always do that, learned that lesson the hard way once. Hooked up the garden hose to the inlet, made sure the connection was tight. Then connected the high-pressure hose to the outlet and the spray gun. Simple stuff, but gotta double-check.

Prep Work

Before firing it up, I had to clear the area. Moved the patio furniture, the grill, planters, all that stuff. Didn't want to blast them accidentally or have to work around them. Swept off the loose leaves and bigger bits of debris too. No point pushing that around with water.

I picked the nozzle I thought would work best. Started with a wider angle, like a 25-degree one. Didn't want to carve up the wood on the fence right away. You can always go stronger, harder to undo damage.

The Actual Washing

Pulled the cord, and the engine sputtered to life. Let it warm up for a minute. Then, I grabbed the wand, braced myself a bit – these things have a kick – and squeezed the trigger.

Started on a corner of the concrete patio first, kind of a test spot. Kept the nozzle maybe a foot away and moved in a steady, sweeping motion. You could see the dirt just lifting off. Pretty satisfying, honestly.

Key things I focused on:

• Keeping a consistent distance from the surface.
• Overlapping my sweeps so I didn't get weird lines.
• Being careful around edges and softer materials.

Did the whole patio first. Took a while. Then moved onto the wooden fence. Had to be more careful there, lower pressure maybe or just stand further back. Wood is softer than concrete, obviously. Just wanted the green grime off, not strip the paint or gouge the wood. It worked okay, slow and steady.

Had one moment where I got too close to a loose board on the fence, nearly blasted it right off. Backed up quick after that. You gotta pay attention the whole time.

Wrapping Up

Once I was done washing, turned off the machine. Disconnected the garden hose and squeezed the trigger on the wand to release any leftover pressure. Important step. Then disconnected the high-pressure hose.

Cleaned up the machine a bit, wiped it down. Let the engine cool before putting it back in the garage. Rinsed off the patio one last time with the regular garden hose to wash away all the dirt I'd blasted loose.

The difference was huge. Patio looked almost new. Fence looked way better too. It's a messy job, got splashed quite a bit, but worth it in the end. Just takes some time and remembering not to blast things too hard.