Alright, so the old power washer hose decided to spring a rather enthusiastic leak the other day. You know how it is, you put these things off, but the driveway was starting to look like a science experiment, and the wife was giving me that look. So, new hose and gun it was. No point messing about with patches on a hose that’s seen better decades.

I’d been meaning to tackle this for a while, really. The original gun was also getting a bit temperamental. Sometimes it’d spray, sometimes it’d just dribble like it was tired of life. So, a fresh start for both seemed like the sensible path. Got myself a new setup, nothing too fancy, just something that looked like it could take a bit of a beating and wouldn't cost the earth. You know, practical.

First things first, getting the old hose off the pressure washer unit. That thing was practically welded on. Took a bit of grunt and some choice words I probably shouldn’t repeat. Finally, it popped off. The new hose, thankfully, went on a bit easier. Still had to make sure it was good and tight. There’s nothing worse than starting a job and having water spray everywhere but where you want it. Been there, done that, got the wet t-shirt.

Then came connecting the new gun to the new hose. That was straightforward enough, a simple screw-on fitting. The gun itself felt decent in the hand, a bit more solid than the old plastic one. It came with a few different nozzle attachments, the usual suspects for different spray patterns. I just picked the general-purpose one to start with. No point getting overly complicated on the first run.

So, moment of truth. Hooked up the water supply, double-checked all the connections one last time – you can’t be too careful. Fired up the power washer. For a second, nothing. Then, whoosh! We had pressure. And, more importantly, no leaks at the new connections. Success, I thought. At least the initial setup wasn’t a complete disaster.

I started on a patch of the driveway that was particularly green. The new gun felt good, responsive. The spray seemed a bit more consistent than I remembered the old one being, even when it was new. It cut through the grime pretty well. It's always satisfying watching that dirt just lift off, isn't it? One of those simple pleasures. Spent a good couple of hours out there, just blasting away. The hose was long enough that I wasn’t constantly wrestling with it or having to move the main unit every five minutes, which was a definite improvement.

By the end of it, the driveway looked a heck of a lot better. Not brand new, mind you, but respectable. And the new hose and gun held up perfectly. No dramas, no unexpected soakings. Just did what it was supposed to do. Sometimes, that’s all you can ask for, right? A bit of effort to get it sorted, but worth it to have a tool that actually works properly again. Now, what to clean next...