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What is a Waterblaster?
Need to clean your deck, driveway or roof? Want to wash down your boat or caravan? Is your fence looking dirty? You need a waterblaster!
Waterblasters can be used for a huge variety of jobs around the home and when used correctly they can’t be beaten for the results they produce. One common mistake people make when buying a waterblaster is underestimating all the tasks that can be undertaken around the home. Coming home with a waterblaster that is too small for the task or is not up to being frequently borrowed by friends and neighbours will eventually be frustrating.
Read the guide below and talk with the team at Mitre 10 to fully understand which waterblaster would be the best option for you.
What Can You Use a Waterblaster For?
Some common tasks that you can effectively tackle with a waterblaster include:
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Cleaning outdoor surfaces such as decks, driveways, patios, paths. |
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Cleaning the exterior cladding of your house – windows,weatherboards, brick, etc . (See our "Caution" note below.) |
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Cleaning your roof – either with high pressure, or with a slow acting chemical treatment. |
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Cleaning fences, awnings, garden furniture |
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Washing down boats, boat trailers, caravans, motorbikes |
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Removing dirt, built up grass, or even concrete from garden equipment such as spades, lawn mowers, wheelbarrows etc |
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With the right accessories, some waterblasters can even be used to unblock drains or sandblast paint or rust off metal surfaces. |
Leading brand waterblasters can be used with or without detergents or chemicals. Depending on the task, a pretreatment of detergent will soften and lift the dirt meaning less work is required to complete the job.
Here are some things you should consider if you plan to buy a waterblaster as well as some advice on how to use waterblasters.
Electric Vs Petrol Waterblasters
In most urban household environments, an electric waterblaster is the most efficient option. High quality electric machines provide more than enough performance and are much quieter and far more efficient to run than a petrol or diesel powered machine. With common sense and a quality RCD (residual current device) and extension lead, an electric waterblaster is safe to use around the home even with water being present. Your family and neighbours will certainly appreciate the benefits of a quiet electric option.
Petrol/Diesel powered waterblasters are ideal for rural or lifestyle properties where it isn’t practical to run long power leads or where there may be no power at all.
Leading brand electric waterblasters are also fitted with an automatic stop/start facility – meaning that whenever you take your hand of f the trigger the motor stops – preventing unnecessary wear and tear or potential damage to the machine. Most petrol powered machines do not have this feature and therefore require very careful operation by the user.
Water Pressure and Volume
Water pressure and volume waterblasters work with a spray jet which lets you vary the volume and pressure - either by adjusting the nozzle or changing it for a different type.
Most domestic water blasters offer a maximum pressure of between 1500 to 1885 psi. The acronym PSI stands for "Pounds per Square Inch," and is the common unit of measurement for pressure. It can be understood as the amount of force that is exerted on an area of one square inch. So the higher the psi, the more pressure the waterblaster is capable of producing. It is the pressure that forces the dirt to be lifted off the surface that you are cleaning.
Volume relates to how much water the waterblaster is actually spraying onto the surface under pressure. It is important when purchasing a waterblaster to consider the pressure output AND the volume that the machine delivers. It is the volume of water that is critical in taking the loosened dirt and flushing it away from the surface.
Leading models are supplied with a minimum of two different nozzles, or nozzles that can be adjusted to provide varying degrees of pressure or volume depending on the task.
Size and Mounting
Do you need the portability of a compact, lightweight machine, or a larger mobile unit such as those mounted on a trolley for managing larger, heavy duty jobs? Consider where the machine will be used – at home as well as the bach? Will family members or neighbours be borrowing it? Will it always be positioned in one place? – would it be handy to have a model that can be wall mounted?
Also consider the length of the high pressure hose that is supplied with the machine. The time saving benefits of owning a waterblaster can be destroyed if you have a model with an extremely short hose length – you may need to frequently stop and reposition the waterblaster as you move over the area you are cleaning. If you intend to clean cars or boats with a waterblaster you will need enough hose length that you can position the waterblaster at the front or back of the vehicle and clean all the way down each side without having to move the machine.
Look for a model that provides onboard storage for all your accessories – hoses, lances, brushes etc. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to find where you last left the hose or nozzle!
Quality Components and Accessories
Choose a waterblaster that has a quality high pressure hose and not a thin, kinked plastic one. Also, the better lances have replaceable nozzles and are long enough to reach the ground without the operator needing to stoop over for long periods.
Look for a model that has a strong durable metal pump, and also an automatic stop start feature to minimise unnecessary wear and tear when the machine is in standby mode.
Many cleaning tasks can be done more easily and safely with the right accessories. A patio cleaning device for example, can clean large flat areas such as patios or decks up to six times faster than the standard nozzle.
A right angle nozzle that simply plugs into the end of the lance is a real saviour when it comes to cleaning out spouting on your house or reaching underneath a car or boat trailer – no more kneeling down and getting covered in water and mess.
The right accessories make cleaning safer too. For example, instead of climbing up on to a slippery roof to wash it, a waterblaster fitted with a roof cleaning accessory can apply a chemical treatment on to the roof (up to a distance of 15 metres) while the operator is standing safely on the ground.
See our Waterblaster Department to browse a range of Waterblasters.
Advice on Using a Waterblaster
To get the optimum use from your waterblaster we recommend:
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You read the instruction manual carefully and keep it for future reference. In particular understand how dangerous high pressure water can be if directed at people or animals. |
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The water supply must be clean and free from dirt or other contaminants. If in doubt install a water filter at the inlet to your waterblaster so that the pump is not damaged by foreign objects. |
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Make sure that there are no kinks or leaks in the supply hose and that no other appliances that use water are working at the same time, ie: Washing machine and dishwasher are off. |
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Always turn on the water supply to the waterblaster before you switch the waterblaster on. |
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Unroll the high pressure hose and electrical cord completely before every use. |
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On electric machines we recommend you use an R.C.D. (Residual Current Device ), this detects any leakage of power to earth and switches off. Remember, water and electricity can be a deadly combination so be careful. |
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To avoid voltage drop use a commercial grade extension cord that is less than 25 metres long. The cord must be completely uncoiled. If you have to clean a long distance away it is better to install a high pressure extension hose between the waterblaster and gun rather than risk damaging the machine by having too long a extension lead |
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When you have finished using the water blaster, switch off the machine and turn off the power before turning the water supply off, then squeeze the trigger to release the pump pressure. Disconnect the high pressure hose from the waterblaster and gun to allow the residual water to drain out. |
Caution
Do not waterblast stucco type houses. Cladding made from fibre cement sheets or stucco should not be waterblasted because the high pressure can force water to penetrate the cladding and this causes damage. This warning especially applies to "monolithic clad" houses built in the period 1990 to 2003.
Waterblasting weatherboard, brick, concrete block or steel (galvanised iron) is acceptable as long as the correct nozzle is used and adjusted correctly. Be careful to not spray too close to bare timber when set at high pressure as the water pressure can cause timber fibres to lift.
Thank you to Nilfisk for their assistance in compiling this information.
Buy Nilfisk Waterblasters online here.
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