# Patio Cleaner PW attachment



## JoeyJoeJo (Jan 3, 2014)

Are these actually any good?
My drive has an accumulation of grime and I'd like to give it a going over but don't just want to use the lance as it's quite directional and difficult not to get stripes, wider spread is less power so ineffective.

In theory, the attachments seem like a good idea but canvassing opinions....?


----------



## Juke_Fan (Jul 12, 2014)

Used one of these on my riven slabs and it worked well, far lass mess that using the turbo head.


----------



## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Yes they work quite well. I have the Karcher one and it has two advantages over using just the Lance nozzle:

1) it clears a stripe about 8" - 10" wide 

2) it keeps the water blast on the floor and under the lid - so you don't get soaked in a backblast of dirty water like you do when you use a lance nozzle pointed at the floor.

One important tip for drive / patio cleaning. You will generate gallons of dirty water, which will happily flow back over the area you have just power washed and then settle back down and dry off, so the next day you will only have a slightly cleaner drive !!

So when you buy the patio cleaning attachment, invest also in a decent quality wide yard brush, so that once you have cleared a small area, you can then use the brush to move all that dirty water away towards a drain or flower bed and you will then be left with a properly cleaned drive / patio.


----------



## Sh1ner (May 19, 2012)

Over the years I have done a huge amount of pressure washing, of all sorts hot, cold, vehicles, boats, decking, timber, concrete, workshops etc etc and never found an advantage overall with an attachment. Turbo nozzles can shift certain stubborn bits but are not the route to an even finish.
If you are getting stripes it is usually because the surface is still dirty.
Trying to go too quickly and/or swinging the lance in an arc instead of keeping the nozzle the same distance away from the surface at all times are common mistakes. Good technique is all important and actually saves time despite sometimes giving the impression it takes longer.
There are no short cuts, being thorough is the key.
I find the best way is to work methodically over each area with overlapping passes and a suitably aligned nozzle.
With a little experimentation it will quickly become clear how close you need to/can keep the nozzle to the surface to remove the grot in one pass. The job will dictate how quickly you can go. There is no point in rushing as you will need to do it again anyway if there are stripes.
With a correctly angled nozzle then there is no need for wet feet or splashback and you can push the water away from you as you go and leave the surface clean and virtually dry.
If you work with the lie of the area being cleaned and direct the excess water in a suitable direction there should be no run back.


----------



## JB052 (Mar 22, 2008)

I use one, very easy and less mess than just a lance especially if SWIMBO uses it.


----------



## JoeyJoeJo (Jan 3, 2014)

Sh1ner said:


> With a little experimentation it will quickly become clear how close you need to/can keep the nozzle to the surface to remove the grot in one pass.


I hear what your saying but my current lance/pw combo cleans effectively only when close to the bricks and the "stripes" are only an inch wide, with the area to be cleaned maybe 20 feet square, that'll take forever and still look pants no matter how careful I am, that's why I'm thinking the wide attachment with abrasion will give quicker and better results?


----------



## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

It also depends on the power of your PW. Remember that what the patio cleaners do is draw lots of overlapping circles which give the impression of clearing a large area. However if you move too quickly you just end up drawing and elaborate spirograph pattern on whatever you're cleaning.

I agree with all the points Sh1ner made in his post - a carefully used "turbo" or "dirtkiller" lance won't necessarily soak you to the waist, although on large flat surfaces run back can be an issue. Ideally you want a helper equipped with a yard brush.

What machine and nozzle are you using at the moment?


----------



## JoeyJoeJo (Jan 3, 2014)

I've got a Halfords own that's adequate without being startling. Looking closer, I thought the patio cleaners had rotating brushes like a larger scale one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Powerwasher-80000-Universal-Pressure-Accessory/dp/B000EEU48A
but it seems not. Think I'll just have to make do with a stiff broom for now! Maybe get a kit one bundled on the next pw.

Thanks for the pointers all


----------



## Sh1ner (May 19, 2012)

JoeyJoeJo said:


> I hear what your saying but my current lance/pw combo cleans effectively only when close to the bricks and the "stripes" are only an inch wide, with the area to be cleaned maybe 20 feet square, that'll take forever and still look pants no matter how careful I am, that's why I'm thinking the wide attachment with abrasion will give quicker and better results?


If that is all your PW will manage then I would expect a worse result with an attachment. More nozzles will further reduce the pressure at each nozzle on the head and something spinning around fast is just sapping vital pressure. 
It will be less tiring and not take so long if you are comfortable and not over reaching.
Are you sure, if you have an adjustable nozzle that it is fully closing. I have seen many Karchers that require an extra tweak to fully close the nozzle and develop full pressure at the machine. They then clean much better.
It might seem like a lot of water is being used but without the pressure to back it up it is just tickling the dirt especially with lower rated machines.
Realistically I would not expect to clean more than a two inch strip properly, even with my gear, with every pass. I find it difficult to maintain the correct nozzle distance once you get over a sweep of about 24 inches, side to side. It just wears you out because you are stretching to reach. I overlap by an inch over the previous pass which effectively means I can completely clean an inch by 24 inches every pass.
It sounds slow but in reality once you get the pace and rhythm of it an area is soon cleaned and you don't have to go back and do it again once it has dried.
There are no shortcuts and even if you can only manage to clean half an inch to an inch at a time properly, it will soon be done.
That said if you have brick/block paving gap filled with sand I don't envy your task.
I cleaned one for a friend. I weedkilled it and then made a thin jig with a brick sized slot that could be stood upon, so it did not move, and went from brick to brick and gently rinsed it all down at the end.
That was hard work but did look good once done.


----------

