Okay, let me tell you about my weekend adventure with the pressure washer.

The driveway and patio were looking absolutely awful. Seriously, years of grime, some green stuff growing in the shady spots. It just looked sad. I'd been putting it off, but finally decided, right, gotta tackle this.

So, I dragged the pressure washer out from the back of the garage. Had to untangle the hose, of course, standard procedure. Hooked up the garden hose to the machine, then connected the high-pressure hose and the wand. Checked the oil and gas, good to go there. I picked a nozzle that looked kind of all-purpose, not too harsh, not too weak. Didn't want to etch the concrete or anything.

First thing I did was just sweep the whole area. Got rid of loose leaves, twigs, little stones. Didn't want that stuff flying around once I started spraying. Some folks talk about pre-treating with cleaners, but honestly, I just wanted to see what the water pressure alone could do first. Keep it simple, you know?

Fired up the machine. It's loud, always forget how loud they are. Started at the top edge of the driveway. Held the wand maybe, I don't know, less than a foot away? Moved it in a steady, sweeping motion, side to side. The difference was immediate! It was cutting right through the dirt, leaving these clean stripes behind. Super satisfying to watch that grime just lift off and flow away.

I worked my way down the driveway systematically, overlapping each pass a little so I didn't leave weird lines. Took a while. Then I moved onto the concrete patio out back. Same deal, just steady sweeps. Got into the corners, which can be a bit tricky. Had to angle the wand a bit differently there.

After blasting all the main surfaces, there was dirty water pooled up everywhere. So, I switched to a wider angle nozzle, one with less power, and just used it to rinse everything down. Pushed all the dirty water off the concrete and into the grass at the edge. Had to do a fair bit of rinsing to get it all clear.

Stepped back and looked. Wow! What a difference. The concrete looked almost new again, way brighter. It wasn't perfect, some really old stains were still faint, but compared to before? Huge improvement.

Let everything dry out for a full day, maybe a bit more because the weather was nice. Then I thought about sealing it. Read somewhere it helps protect it, stops stains soaking in so easily. Found some sealer, rolled it on. Simple enough job. Gave it a sort of matte finish, which I liked.

So yeah, that was my pressure washing day. Bit of work, got a bit wet, but totally worth it for the results. The place looks so much cleaner now.