Pressure Washer Surface Cleaners Buying Guide
You may have seen them around whether on YouTube or around homes, those circular discs that contractors and homeowners use when they’re cleaning their driveways or decks; they are called surface cleaners, and whether you’re a weekend warrior or a full-time contractor, they can be a great tool for certain jobs. In this guide, we cover what surface cleaners are, what they are used for, how they are used, different surface cleaner setups, and more. This will help you know the surface cleaner that will meet your project needs, the specific surface cleaner that will be ideal for you, and more.
What is a surface cleaner?
A surface cleaner is a round disc that has a rotating bar with pressure washer nozzles mounted on the bar. Some surface cleaners have multiple bars and hold multiple nozzles, though all of them typically have at least two nozzles.
When Are Surface Cleaners Best to Use?
Surface Cleaners are ideal for large flat areas that you need to clean, which are relatively hard like decks, concrete, and asphalt. By using a bar with two nozzles, they spread out the cleaning area and allow you to clean a large area with greater speed and efficiency than a traditional power washer tip will. Additionally, the wider coverage area tends to result in less striping and more consistent cleaning across the surface, resulting in an even level of cleaning across the entire surface.
What Should I Consider When Choosing a Surface Cleaner?
There are 3 primary things to know about choosing a surface cleaner. The first one is the width of the surface cleaner; this will be the cleaning area that is completed by the surface cleaner during each pass it makes. The wider the surface cleaner is, the more water volume is required to effectively run its nozzles but the faster the area will get cleaned. The Chart Below shows the typical gallons per minute required for different surface cleaner diameters.
The second one is the Pressure Rating of the Pressure Washer. Surface cleaners are rated for different maximum pressure but are usually rated for at least 4000 or 5000 PSI. Usually, surface cleaners also require a minimum pressure to run; for the majority of surface cleaners, this will be 2000 PSI but ideally, you will have 3000 Psi to easily run a surface cleaner.
The third one is the number of spray nozzles. Most surface cleaners less than 24 inches only have 2 spray nozzles. However, a 24-inch or larger surface cleaner can have 2 to 4 nozzles. The more nozzles you have, the faster a surface will get cleaned, assuming you have enough GPM to support the nozzles (see chart above for recommendations)
Additional things to consider when picking a pressure washer surface cleaner
In addition to choosing the right surface cleaner size and ensuring it is properly pressure rated, there are a few other things to consider. You can check whether the surface cleaner has wheels/casters or the option to have them added. Casters/wheels help make it easier to move the surface cleaner over concrete, especially uneven concrete; this helps make it easier to make smooth consistent passes which will provide a surface that is evenly clean in all areas. You will also want to check if the surface cleaner has a grease bearing. Surface cleaners with grease bearings tend to hold up better to heavy use as the spray bar can be continuously lubricated after jobs which helps protect the spray bar from sticking. It can also be good to check for a surface cleaner with handlebars. With larger areas, handlebars make for a much easier time compared to a surface cleaner that attaches to the end of your pressure washer wand; the handlebars will help improve control and comfort. A final factor to consider is if the surface cleaner will allow for use with heated water. For greasy and oily surfaces as well as better overall cleaning, hot water is hard to beat. If you currently have a hot water washer or plan to one day consider upgrading, you will want to choose a surface cleaner that will allow you to use hot water with it.
Overall thoughts
Surface cleaners can speed up cleaning large flat surfaces and help ensure you get a consistent equal cleaning across the entire surface. The larger the surface cleaner, the faster you can clean a surface, assuming you have a pressure washer with enough GPM to support the surface cleaner’s needs. Caster wheels make it easier to clean surfaces compared to other surface cleaners that rely on the pressure from the pressure washer to hover above the surface. Handlebars make washing large surfaces easier and more comfortable than connecting to your pressure washer wand. You can check out our selection of surface cleaners here.