cleaningpowertools
I've read through two manuals on two different pressure washers and neither of them actually say flat out that you must not run the pressure washer with the detergent tank being empty. They both say using detergent is optional and that I'm not to use the detergent unless I'm using the lower pressure nozzles.
My main concern is air being pulled in the line from an empty detergent tank. Any thoughts?
Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. I wish I took before/after pics.
Bought:
Jomax
Clorox Outdoor
Put in a garden sprayer designed for bleach according to instructions on Jomax:
For 75% of the siding, I applied the mixture, then rinsed after 5 minutes. A number of sections needed a second application, and the worst section took three.
I rinsed using one of the "fireman" nozzles on my hose, just so I could get it up to the eaves:
I did try just spraying the mildew with the nozzle...worthless. "Firemen" should sue for defamation.
Anyway, I'm thrilled. Probably took 25% longer than last year, but I wasn't dripping wet either :) I'll get a power sprayer for next year, but I'll definitely stick with this; it looks much better than what I get from pressure washing alone.
Try white vinegar with 5% or 10% acidity first. Weiman makes some great cleaners for stainless steel you can try too.
When I've burned food into my stainless steel pots the only thing that would get it out was to manually rub them with varying roughness's of stainless steel wool. This of course is going to alter the surface..
Best Answer
If you're really worried you could fill the detergent tank with water. But the machines are designed with the knowledge that the detergent tank will run dry from time to time, or folks will forget to fill it... so if the manual explicitly says detergent is optional and there's no metering valve you can turn off (haven't used one, don't know) I would assume this is harmless.