You know that sinking feeling when your pressure washer just... stops? Happened to me yesterday afternoon. Was mid-way rinsing the deck, water blasting away dirt like a champ, when suddenly it turns into this sad little trickle. Dang thing lost all pressure. My first thought? "Seriously? Now?"

Tackling the Obvious Stuff First

Didn't panic, just sighed and started poking around. Figured it might be something simple before going full mechanic mode.

Step 1: Checked the Water Supply. Walked back to the spigot. Was the hose kinked? Nope. Was the tap turned all the way on? Yep. Sometimes a kink hiding behind the shed fools ya, but not this time.

Step 2: Looked at the Hose Connections. Unscrewed the hose from both the washer and the tap. Water flowed fine from the tap when I disconnected it. Screwed everything back together tight. Still just a dribble from the washer wand. Frustration mounting.

Step 3: Peeked at the Inlet Screen. Remembered that little filter screen inside the water inlet on the washer. Unscrewed the hose connector again and sure enough, there was grit and little bits of… something… jammed in there. Picked it out with my fingernail, gave it a rinse under the tap.

The Gun Itself Gave Me Clues

Reconnected everything and squeezed the trigger. A tiny bit more pressure maybe? Still useless. Time to focus on the wand and spray gun.

Step 4: Tried a Different Nozzle. Grabbed another quick-connect nozzle tip from my kit – switched it out. Pulled the trigger… Nada. Zip. Wasn't the nozzle tip.

Step 5: Pulled the Trigger Lock. Got suspicious about the trigger on the spray gun. Looked real close. Sometimes the lock mechanism gets stuck halfway, right? Fiddled with the safety latch, pulled the trigger hard a few times without water running to see if it felt jammed. Felt okay.

Step 6: The Big Clog Reveal! Decided to open up the wand end where the nozzle connects. Took off the nozzle tip holder completely. Saw gunk! Tiny stones and hard water gunk blocking the little passage inside. Poked a small piece of stiff wire into the opening, scraped around. A chunk of crud came out! Rinsed the whole nozzle holder under the tap like crazy.

Step 7: Seals? What Seals? While I had it apart, noticed the little rubber seals inside the quick-connect parts looked flattened and worn. Like they'd given up the ghost. Didn't have fancy replacements handy, but remembered a trick – flipped the old seals over. Sounds janky, I know, but sometimes the other side is less squished! Popped them back in.

Moment of Truth

Put everything back together tight. Said a little "please work" prayer. Turned the water tap back on, flicked the power washer on, squeezed the trigger…

BAM! Full blast! Water shot out like it was angry, hitting the fence hard. Laughed out loud. That satisfying roar was back!

Lessons Learned (The Hard Way)

• Always Start Simple: Nine times outta ten? It's water supply, a blocked filter screen, or a lazy nozzle clog. Check those first before you lose your mind.
• Gunk Happens: Dirt, grit, pebbles sucked up from a bucket, hard water crap – it all loves to jam up the tiny openings. Inspect them regularly!
• Rubber Doesn't Last Forever: Those little seals inside the connections wear out fast, especially if you leave the machine pressurized. Keeping spares is smart. Flipping them is a desperate move, but hey, it worked.
• Persist! Most fixes are cheaper than buying a new machine. Work through the likely suspects step by step.

There ya go. Felt good to fix it myself without calling someone. Just saved a whole chunk of cash and got my deck clean!