Since power washing uses heated water, it requires more expensive equipment, meaning you'll pay more for power washing. However, you get what you pay for in this case—especially if you have tough dirt and stains you want to quickly remove from concrete surfaces or other durable materials.

Ideal PSI for Residential Use For most home cleaning tasks, a pressure washer with a PSI range of 1300 to 2400 is often sufficient. This range is ideal for: Light-duty tasks: Cleaning patio furniture, bicycles, and small decks usually requires a pressure washer with a PSI of 1300 to 1700.

Homeowners with vinyl, metal, or composite siding should pressure wash their homes once a year. If you have wood siding, we recommend you pressure wash only when you have dirt or mildew buildup, unless you use very gentle pressure to wash away pollen or cobwebs on an annual basis.

For most deck surfaces 1500 pounds per square inch (PSI) is more than sufficient. The next step is to choose an appropriate fan degree for the nozzle. Typically decks will need anywhere from a 25-degree nozzle (for more stubborn build-up) to 40-degree (for newer decks with less damage or synthetic wood).