Husky Powerwasher 1800 psi

 

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Husky Powerwasher 1800psi
I am one of those people who enjoys washing cars.  What some might consider a chore, I see as an opportunity to find diminutive details of design that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.  Caressing the lines, ensuring that no item is overlooked, admiring the results.  All bring joy and satisfaction. There is no better way to truly get to know a car (or person for that matter) than a thorough, soapy rub down. 

Unfortunately, a meticulous detail is time consuming. I end up preparing quite a few cars to either be photographed and written about or taken to events.  Any minutes that can be shaved from cleaning a vehicle can be used for enjoying it.  Since I am always on the lookout for time saving tricks, I thought I would try a high-pressure Husky Powerwasher to help hasten my car cleaning duties.

I should state right up front that this is not the intended use of the unit.  It is designed for light duty around the house - cleaning driveways, decks, lawn furniture, things like that.  I have no doubt it is capable of those tasks, but they are what I consider chores.

The Husky is a lightweight, easy to maneuver 1800 psi sprayer that runs on standard 120V electricity.  The unit comes fully assembled so just plug it in, connect your hose to the inlet valve, and choose your wand. 

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Click-N-Clean Spray Lance
The first option is the  “Click-N-Clean” variable spray lance.  This allows three levels of spraying: high pressure, medium fan, and detergent application - the latter by selecting one of the two onboard soap tanks. 

The other lance is a “turbo nozzle” that pulsates and rotates while you spray.  It certainly will power away almost anything on your car (and is quite painful if you accidentally pelt your foot with it) but I would be concerned about using it on paint for extended periods.  Plus, switching back and forth, while simple enough, is just one more step to add to the process.  It did work quite well to pummel the streaks left by the river of brake dust runoff on my driveway, though.

Overall I am very pleased with the performance of the Powerwasher.  It is compact, relatively quiet, and easy to move and operate.  At 1800 psi it packs plenty of power to blast away 95% of the brake dust and dirt from wheels or grime from an ignored engine compartment– even in the hard to get to spots.  As a bonus it even uses less water than a standard hose-end sprayer. 

After a few trials, I found the most convenient M.O. was to fill one of the onboard tanks with wheel cleaner and use the good 'ole soap and bucket for the main body washing (no “touchless” spraying can ever replace a car mit for outright cleaning ability). This allows me to move quickly from one section to another and to presoak the wheels before atomizing the grit from them.

The only drawbacks I found are that you can only apply soap with a low-pressure spray and the hose, while thirty feet long, isn’t flexible enough and invariably becomes a twisted coil akin to a Cobra preparing to strike. 

The Husky Powerwasher 1800 psi is a practical, efficient way to make cars picture perfect without spending all day working on them or resorting to the dreaded automatic car wash.  I am sure it works fine for around the house chores, but I hope my wife never finds out.  For the time, effort, and water saved, it is well worth the $170 asking price.