Alright, let me tell you about my little adventure with pressure washer hoses the other day. My old hose decided to spring a massive leak right when I was halfway through blasting the grime off my patio. Water spraying everywhere except where I wanted it. Super frustrating.

So, I had to get a new one. Figured it'd be simple, just grab any hose, right? Wrong. Went online and suddenly I'm looking at all these connection types. M22 this, Quick Connect (QC) that. It was way more confusing than I thought it would be.

Figuring Out The Connections

First thing was this M22 connector talk. Apparently, there's a male end, a female end... okay, makes sense. But then I saw stuff about 14mm and 15mm inner pins on those M22s. Had no clue what mine was. I went out to the garage and looked closely at my pressure washer, it's a gas one. Did some digging around online forums and folks were saying most gas pressure washers use the 14mm M22 fittings. The 15mm M22 seems to be mostly for some electric models. Good thing I checked, almost ordered the wrong one.

I looked at where the hose connects to the pump and where it connects to the spray gun. Both ends on my setup were the screw-on type, the M22 ones. Honestly, they're kind of a pain to tighten and loosen every time.

Getting The Right Size and Making Life Easier

Then there was the hose size itself. Saw options for 1/4 inch, 3/8 inch, and even 1/2 inch diameter hoses. The 1/4 inch looked a bit flimsy, maybe for smaller jobs or electric washers. The 1/2 inch seemed like massive overkill for washing my car or siding. My old hose looked like the 3/8 inch one, and that seems to be the standard size most people use for general home and even some pro stuff. So, I decided to stick with 3/8 inch.

While I was looking, I kept seeing those Quick Connect fittings. People were saying how much easier they made things. No more endless twisting of those M22 fittings. You just snap them together. I was sold on the idea. So, I decided to upgrade. I bought a new 3/8 inch hose, but I also picked up some brass adapters to convert the M22 threads on my pump and gun to Quick Connect fittings.

Putting It All Together

Got the new hose and adapters delivered. Went out, screwed the M22-to-QC adapters onto the pressure washer outlet and the spray gun inlet. Made sure they were tight. Then, the new hose just clicked right into place on both ends. Seriously, took like 10 seconds compared to the minute or two of fiddling with the old screw threads.

Fired up the washer, held my breath for a second... no leaks! The connections were solid. Finished cleaning the patio, washed the car too. The new hose worked great, and honestly, switching to the Quick Connects was the best part. Made the whole process feel much smoother.

So yeah, changing a pressure washer hose wasn't rocket science, but you definitely need to check those connection types (M22, QC, and the 14mm/15mm thing) and the hose diameter (3/8 inch is pretty common). If you're still messing with screw-on connections, think about switching to quick connects. Big time saver.