The weird thing that happened after 6 months of pressure washing driveways

I noticed something strange after I started using a surface cleaner attachment instead of just the wand. My first 50 driveways took me about 45 minutes each, but after I switched to a 16 inch rotary nozzle from Home Depot, that time dropped to 20 minutes. The before and after difference wasn't just speed though - the water usage went down by almost 40 percent because I wasn't spraying everywhere. Has anyone else seen a big drop in water bills after changing your equipment?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona_carr2613d agoTop Commenter

Hang on, forty percent less water? That's insane. I've been pressure washing my own driveway and a few patios for years, and I thought I was doing fine with the standard wand. I probably waste half the water just overspraying onto the lawn. You're telling me a simple attachment swap cuts the bill nearly in half? I gotta see this for myself because that doesn't even sound possible. My water bill is already stupid high in the summer from gardening alone. No way a $30 part makes that big of a dent.

the_sean12d ago

Have you tried one of those turbo nozzles yet? I got one last summer after a neighbor let me borrow his and it cut my driveway cleaning time in half. The spray rotates so it covers more area without you having to sweep back and forth as much, and since it blasts at a tighter angle, way less water ends up in the grass. I was skeptical too until I used it on my concrete walkway and saw the difference. Saved me about 20 bucks a month on my water bill during the summer months.

wader7112d ago

Hang on, forty percent less water though? That's a massive claim. I gotta ask, are you sure it wasn't just a coincidence with the weather that month or something? Like did you compare it to the same time last year or were you actually timing how long you were spraying? I'd be curious to see if the savings hold up when you've got really stubborn grime that needs more blasting. Also, do you find the rotating nozzle chews up the surface more on softer concrete or is it pretty gentle unless you hold it too close?