What's new in hot-water pressure washing?

By Keith A. Price
Hotsy Corporation

Even though the pressure-washer industry is fairly mature — which is a good thing for equipment users — there continues to be steady improvement and innovation in equipment, accessories and chemical cleaners. Perhaps the best news for buyers is the greater value offered by today's equipment. While machine prices have remained essentially flat over the years, manufacturers continually offer new and improved features, better designs and higher reliability. Today, you simply get more for your money.

If you haven't looked at a hot-washer pressure washer in a few years, you'll want to check out today's models and find out what's new.

Industrial hot-water pressure washers have been around for more than 30 years. During that time, users have seen dramatic improvements in equipment, accessories and chemical cleaners. Even in the past few years, the industry has seen significant strides in operator convenience and specialty cleaning agents.

Compared with early equipment, today's machines offer greater cleaning power, operate more efficiently and have higher reliability. A broader selection of accessories allows users to adapt pressure washers to a wide range of cleaning applications. New detergent formulations and a greater variety of specialty cleaners deliver improved cleaning results and greatly extend applications for pressure washers.

Originally, pressure washers consisted of a collection of available off-the-shelf parts —motors, pumps, pipes, tubing, burners, etc. — with few specialized components. Today, the opposite is true. Most essential components are now designed specifically for high-pressure, high-temperature cleaning.

Today's typical high-quality industrial machine has a high-pressure pump with ceramic plungers, a heavy-duty crankshaft, tapered roller bearings and a one-piece forged brass manifold. Rugged designs like this provide trouble-free operation at very high pressures and make it possible for manufacturers to offer long-term warranties Of course power options to drive the pump abound, including electrical, gasoline and diesel with a wide range of horsepower ratings and either manual or electrical start. The biggest improvement in hot-water pressure washers is in the efficiency of burners and heat exchangers.

In early machines, the same size heat exchanger (typically coils of welded pipe) was used for different models, regardless of capacity (gallons per minute). Today, heat exchangers are sized to match actual machine capacity during operation. This results in greater heat-transfer efficiency and a more constant supply of hot water. In the area of burners, most have gone from manual to automatic electronic ignition systems and from fixed to adjustable temperature controls. Manufacturers have typically evolved from horizontal to vertical or upright designs. This approach takes advantage of the natural tendency of hot air to rise and results in more uniform heating and greater efficiency.

Whether fired by diesel fuel, kerosene, home-heating oil, natural gas or LPG, today's hot-water pressure washers deliver a more reliable supply of hot water, reduced fuel consumption and lower operating costs.

Contemporary designs offer eye-appeal

When it comes to packaging, most machines have powder-coat finishes, and many are now available with roll-cage chassis. These contemporary looking designs offer more than eye appeal. They provide greater strength and superior, all-around protection of vital system components. Some even include a lifting eye for easy loading and unloading, as well as for hoisting a washer out of thieves' reach during off hours on construction sites. Finally, the best high-quality pressure washers come with ETL certification to UL 1776 standard (a standard specific to pressure washers), providing assurance that equipment meets stringent bid and application requirements.

Most pressure washers come with everything you need for routine applications, including a hose, trigger gun, wand and nozzle. However, there are many available accessories to make operation more convenient and to extend the usefulness of the equipment.

For example, you'll find a wide selection of trigger guns with different ergonomic designs to make cleaning easier and to ease the muscle strain of long-term operation. Designs include easy-pull triggers, offset-angle grips, and vented handles for hot-water use. Specialized wands are also available, including flexible wands for reaching hard-to-clean spots, wands for downstream detergent injection (which prevent harsh chemicals from coming in contact with internal machine components), plus extension wands and telescoping wands for cleaning large equipment and second-story buildings without ladders.

Hose reels, including 360-degree swivel reels, keep hoses properly stowed when not in use, extending hose life and ensuring a safer working environment. Quick couplers make connection and disconnection of hoses and trigger guns fast and easy.

Today's offerings include a wide selection of nozzles with different spray patterns, plus turbo nozzles that deliver a "jackhammer" effect and rotary nozzles that spin the water stream for greater cleaning action. Rotary brushes also enhance cleaning action by scrubbing the surface. Wet sandblasters open a whole new application area by providing an environmentally safe way to remove rust, scale and paint from surfaces without dust. Unlike earlier chemical cleaners, which break down under high temperature and pressure, today's high-quality detergents are designed specifically for the demands imposed by pressure-washers. Most actually work better at high temperature.

Most of today's detergents are biodegradable. And the best formulations are highly concentrated, allowing dilution rations of up to 128 parts water to 1 part detergent, making them extremely cost effective.

Another improvement is the inclusion of additives that continuously clean internal machine components, plus corrosion inhibitors to protect the pressure-washer as well as the equipment being washed.

New detergents are application-optimized

Over the years, the selection of specialized detergents and cleaning agents has steadily grown. In vehicle and equipment washing, users will find detergents that are optimized for applications such as removing road film and bug residue, cutting through exhaust deposits, heavy grease and mud, or removing stubborn crude oil and fifth-wheel grease.

There's even a solvent-free product for removing asphalt from trucks and construction equipment. Formulations are available that produce heavy suds to increase surface dwell time. Some provide a protective coating to guard against salt, air pollution and acid rain. Others include additives to deal with hard water and formulations that clean well with cold water.

Special detergents are also available for a variety of food-industry applications, including restaurants, bakeries, packing plants and agricultural facilities.

Other specialty cleaners include those designed for aircraft maintenance, plus a variety of products for cleaning stainless steel, glass and polished aluminum.

Finally, there are even formulations for tough applications such as cleaning and phosphatizing metal surfaces, stripping paint and powder-coat finishes, and even removing concrete, welding smut, hard-water scale, rust and mortar.