Why I messed with my Mi-T-M pressure washer this weekend

So my pressure washer started making this God-awful screaming noise last Thursday, like metal chewing itself up. Pressure dropped to a sad trickle too. Figured either I fix it or trash a $700 machine. Went to YouTube but those vids skipped basic crap regular people need.

First thing Saturday morning, I unplugged the damn thing and dragged it to my driveway. Grabbed my basic toolkit: screwdrivers, adjustable wrench, needle-nose pliers, and that little brush thing I stole from my wife's makeup bag last year. Started ripping it apart:

• Tore off the plastic covers - Found like 3 pounds of mud dauber nests clogging the vents. Used a chopstick to scrape that garbage out.
• Checked the pump oil - That little sight glass showed nasty brown gunk instead of clean red oil. Drained it into an old coffee can - looked like motor oil mixed with swamp water.
• Pulled the water inlet filter - Had to bang it against the pavement to dislodge concrete dust particles jammed in there.

Rode my bike to the hardware store sweating buckets cause my truck's in the shop. Bought new pump oil and a tube of silicone grease. Got home and:

1. Filled the pump oil through that stupid tiny hole using an eye dropper
2. Slathered grease on all the o-rings till they looked like glazed donuts
3. Hooked up the garden hose and let water run through it before starting

Fired it up holding my breath. Damn thing roared alive like a chainsaw! Pressure kicked back hard enough to knock my beer bottle over. Spray pattern tightened right up. Whole process took four hours but saved me $250 minimum on a pro repair.

Biggest takeaways: Check your pump oil EVERY three months even if it looks fine through the glass. Those inlet filters clog faster than a cheap vacuum. And for God's sake store it indoors unless you want wasp condos in your machinery.