How to Maintain a Pressure Washer: Maintenance Checklist to Preserve Performance

Handling all your business’s cleaning needs with a pressure washer is like child’s play. With powerful jet streams of water that eradicate debris, there’s no better way to get the job done.

But have you considered that your pressure washer needs some TLC to stay in top shape?

Learning how to maintain a gas pressure washer may not be as glamorous as the raw cleaning force of blasting away grime, but if you fail to do it, your prized cleaning workhorse will soon have nothing left to give.

With our years of expertise, you’ll learn how to maintain a pressure washer, preventing costly delays or repairs.

Even after memorizing our gas and electric pressure washer maintenance checklists, some tasks are best left to the pros. Our team at RJP Hotsy New Jersey is the Garden State’s #1 pressure washer repair center and retailer.

The Importance of Regular Pressure Washer Maintenance

The first time you power up a pressure washer, you and your machine often feel invincible. As the engine’s vibrations shake your arms, you blast away caked-on oil or rust as if it were water.

But it’s essential to come back to Earth and realize that without best practices for electric or gas pressure washer maintenance, even the hardiest machines will die out.

Prolonging Equipment Lifespan

Learning how to maintain a pressure washer is a vital part of keeping your machine as good as new.

Sure, many pressure washers are built tough enough to withstand a lot of wear and tear, especially from reputable brands like Hotsy. Even the best of the best still need upkeep, though.

Regular industrial pressure washer maintenance also helps you save on pressure washer repair costs over your machine’s lifespan. For example, regular pressure washer pump maintenance is critical for catching problems before they become expensive invoices and frustrating cleaning delays.

Ensuring Optimal Performance

You aren’t just learning how to maintain a pressure washer for the long term. Maintenance is also crucial for maintaining that high-powered cleaning ability you’ve gotten accustomed to.

Whether you own your own pressure washing company, need to clear your factory floors regularly, or are sprucing up your retail storefront, keeping your machine in top shape is vital.

After all, you don’t want to return to manual scrubbing, right?

Safety Considerations

Ignoring our pressure washer maintenance tips is a recipe for disaster. If your machine is not maintained correctly, you’re putting your team, clients, vendors, and anyone else in the area in harm’s way.

Pressure washers that need maintenance can suffer from dangerous blowouts, overflowing leaks, internal components flying across the room, and several other issues. The legal headaches and potential costs that result are not worth the risk.

Instead, when you learn how to maintain a pressure washer, you’ll have the peace of mind that you’ll be blasting away dirt and grime safely, with a lower risk of lawsuits in the future.

How to Maintain a Pressure Washer

Since you don’t want to deal with the costly and time-consuming consequences of neglecting upkeep, let’s discuss gas and electric pressure washer maintenance tips.

What to Do Before Using Your Unit

When a spill occurs, and you get ready to pull your machine out of its cubby hole, you must follow a pressure washer maintenance checklist.

You’ll be inspecting the entire machine, including:

Spray Nozzles

Pump

Hoses and Connection Points

Signs of Leaks, Cracks, and Damage

Refilling Oil and Fuel (Gas Models)

Going through this process each time you clean, you’ll identify potential issues and nip them in the bud before they become expensive repairs.

Post-Use Maintenance Tips

You or your team have just spent some time and effort watching the pleasing sign of oil or grease lifting from the pores in your concrete floors or machinery. But before you kick back and enjoy a job well done, you’ll need to remember a few upkeep tasks.

After all the hard work your machine has given you, you’ll want to return the favor. Thoroughly rinse the hoses, wand, and nozzles to clear any detergents and debris. Then, remove moisture from your pressure washer with a dry microfiber cloth.

Give the machine another brief visual inspection to check for any emergent issues. Then, you’ll be ready to store it in a cool, dry place for the next time.

Gas Pressure Washer Maintenance

While the general upkeep tips will get you most of the way, there are a few specific maintenance tasks for each engine type to remember.

Learning how to maintain a gas-pressure washer requires extra elbow grease. These powerful machines contain additional internal components to provide the oomph needed to tackle tough stains.

You should inspect your oil levels as part of every maintenance task. Like your vehicle’s engine, oil facilitates the motor in your power washer.

Air filters are another vital component of gas models. A clogged air filter will act like an ankle weight on your motor, preventing it from reaching full power. Regularly replacing this filter will avoid buildup.

You’ll also want to inspect the fuel system, noting any clogged lines needing replacement.

Electric Pressure Washer Maintenance

The other half of the electric vs gas pressure washer debate has similarly unique tasks.

The engine doesn’t have the same internal components, so you’ll primarily look for signs of wear and tear.

The areas to focus on are your machine’s power cord and outlet. If the cord is fraying or the outlet has any damage, you may have a significant electrocution hazard on your hands.

Otherwise, follow the tips we covered earlier, looking over the hoses and connective areas for clogs and leaks.

Pressure Washer Pump Maintenance

Regardless of your engine type, the pump inside your pressure washer is the heart of your machine. It has a thankless job of creating that forceful spray of water that blasts away dirt.

Since the pump works so hard, it can be prone to issues and frequent repairs. We recommend regularly inspecting your pump by checking all seals and valves for damage. Replacing these seals and valves is critical, as leaving room for leaks can cause costlier issues.

You should also periodically flush the pump to prevent mineral buildup and corrosion.

Other Necessary Maintenance Measures

A few less obvious upkeep tasks are still vital to perform regularly.

For example, there’s a fundamental difference in maintenance requirements for hot vs cold water pressure washers.

Hot water models contain a heating coil that should periodically be descaled and checked for mineral buildup. Cold water machines don’t have this, but you do need to take extra care to prevent freezing temperatures in your pump.

Other components to inspect regularly include your unloader valve, which regulates temperature, water filters, and the frame and wheels of your machine.

Preparing Your Unit For Long-term Storage

Many business owners only use their pressure washers seasonally due to lighter cleaning needs. If you stash your machine away, you must take the proper steps to avoid long-term damage.

First, clean and dry the entire machine, from the exterior to the tiny internal valves and attachment points. This includes clearing out the fuel system and running the engine until it is dry.

Disconnect all hoses, wands, and nozzles and thoroughly clean them. Then, add a fuel stabilizer to your tank to guarantee the machine is ready to go when the time comes.

From there, simply find a cool and dry place away from the elements, and you’re all set.

You now know how to maintain a pressure washer. Keeping your trusty machine in peak condition and ensuring that no stain survives long starts by following these steps.

But performing maintenance and inspections yourself is only a part of the battle. You’ll need professional guidance to keep your machine in peak condition without stress.

Thankfully, the #1 home for sales, repairs, and maintenance of commercial cold water pressure washers in New Jersey is here to help!

Leave Industrial Pressure Washer Maintenance to the Pros at RJP Hotsy!

Pressure washers are complex machines with several moving parts. While you can learn the basics, you’ll need an expert’s touch to diagnose your machine fully.

That’s where we come in. RJP Hotsy is renowned by local businesses as the #1 home for maintenance, repairs, and sales of commercial pressure washers in New Jersey.

The Benefits of Expert Maintenance

As a business owner, when a problem arises, your natural inclination is to extinguish that fire as quickly as possible.

But your power washer is in a class of its own. Without the proper training and expertise, you could create three new problems while trying to solve one, and then you’re really wasting time and money.

Instead, let seasoned professionals who know the intricacies of these machines take the wheel. They’ll be able to get to the root of any problem and fix it correctly on the first try.

When you take your machine into the shop, you’ll have peace of mind that it is operating in peak condition. No more stressing about faulty parts, the cost to rent a power washer temporarily, or impending doom (in the form of expensive repairs).

What Makes Us the Trusted Choice in New Jersey?

For an expert’s touch, look no further than RJP Hotsy. As the #1 home for commercial pressure washer repair in NJ, we’ve assisted thousands of businesses in the area, including Stericycle, Greyhound, and Phillips 66.

Our team has mastered the art of how to repair pressure washers. We use a 24-point inspection process to identify problems before they become headaches. We service and maintain both Hotsy and non-Hotsy machines, giving you the peace of mind to confidently blast away dirt on your property.

You’ll also experience lightning-fast turnaround times for all repair services. Our compassionate service team will review all maintenance tasks and potential repairs with you to keep you informed about the health of your machine.

Beyond repairs, we’re the #1 home for sales, rentals, and commercial pressure washer leasing in NJ.

No more scrambling to determine where to rent a pressure washer if you’re experiencing downtime. We’ll set you up with a commercial pressure washer rental in NJ from our inventory of powerful Hotsy machines.

We’ll even walk you through how to rent a pressure washer for a stress-free experience.

RJP Hotsy even offers commercial pressure washer trailers in NJ for mobile projects. Whether you seek DIY pressure washer trailer customization, advice on mounting a pressure washer to a trailer, or guidance on how to plumb a pressure washer trailer, we’ve got your back.

Parting Thoughts on How to Maintain a Pressure Washer

Powerful cleaning that stands the test of time awaits, provided you keep our tips in mind. Maintenance tasks are vital to the lifespan of your machine, from significant upkeep, like your pump, to the occasional filter change.

So why not let the experts take charge? Our team at RJP Hotsy will provide your power washer with the TLC it needs after a long day of blasting away oil and grease. Plus, with our 24-point inspection process, you’ll rest easy knowing your machine is ready to go the distance.

We’ll also help guide you through the buying or rental process.

Our team will compassionately answer your burning questions, like what size pressure washer do I need, what GPM means on a pressure washer, how to pressure wash concrete, the best pressure washer chemicals, and how much pressure washer PSI you need

Whether you’re stopping by for upkeep, repairs, or a new machine, RJP Hotsy is the place to go. Check out our inventory of commercial hot water pressure washers in New Jersey at our New Egypt location or give us a call to learn more!