Pump types and PSI

There is a growing field in the washing industry that does not rely totally on high pressure put out by the pressure / power washer. Instead using a lower psi to place water and newer soaps and cleaner that have an active ingredients to clean your home them rinse it off with a stream of water this is called "soft-washing" or soft wash the psi on these pumps are usually under 200 psi. You may also use some pressure washer to move the water with some modifications to the psi and delivery system it is called "down streaming" or DS just another way to protect you home or business that should be considered when thinking about having your property cleaned by an "external cosmetic cleaning contractor"

 These are some types of pumps that may be used but most the first 3 are not used too much with chemicals or soaps listed below.

The rollers are thrown out trapping a section of water and then pushes it down the line.

The rotation of the motor cause the water to be funnelled in to the sections between the fins and forced in the centre hole forcing water out.

Vain style the veins slid in and out with the rotation of the motor water is trapped between veins and forced out similar to the roller pump.

In one form or another the diaphragm pump is the most common for use with chemicals and cleaners. It can be powered by several methods air, gas motor, or electric motor. This picture is a twin diaphragm air driven pump water is captured and then compressed forcing water or cleaners out.

 These pumps run a lower pressure psi but in some cases the pumps can achieve a greater cleaning force than some pressure washers.  You may ask how can that be? Easy we use the best soaps and chemicals now don't the word chemicals scare you. All things have chemicals look at your toothpaste or your soda-pop they have chemical ingredient in them. We use the same basic formula that you would use to wash your car, clothes or dishes, again professional cleaners are good stewards of the earth wanting to do their part for our world. Just cause you have a large pressure washer does not mean it is best suited or a cleaning job. Too much pressure can cut or blow vinyl siding off a house. "Soft washing" or "DS" down streaming are lower pressure cleaning methods that you should consider when having you home washed. Cleaned by Pete does the softer safer washing for your home. Ask your prospective house washer what he thinks about pressure washing and soft washing and be 100% satisfied with their answers before hiring them.

Now we need to introduce the last equation in the mix. All this blogging from the start boils down to this one thing "cleaning units".  You now know how a washer works and what the key principals that make it work. So what are these cleaning units?  Cleaning units are the total force that the water hits the partial of dirt and the power it takes to move it off the surface into the water stream. How do we calculate this now? CU (cleaning units) psi (pressure per square inch) GPM (gallons per minute) in this formula CU = PSI x GPM example 4000 psi pressure washer putting out 4 gpm =16000 cleaning units or 3000 psi @ 8 gpm = 24000 cleaning units. You can see here that the smaller pressure has more cleaning units then the larger pressure unit. Lets take the average house 40 psi and 10 gpm = 400 cleaning units you can see now why it takes a fraction of the time to clean with a pressure / power washer than your hose and that a pressure can be environmentally friendly. With this formula you can calculate the cleaning unit of all water pressure applications and you then can see that water energy weather gas or eclectic is being saved. Pressure washer are environmental friendly and for cosmetic cleaning professional contractors can get the job done better and quicker saving even more resources. The last thing I want to say is just because someone pulls up in front of your home or business with an eighteen foot trailer loaded with all types of tanks, washers, machines of all types and tells you how hot and powerful this is. We can blow that mold off your house with this kind of pressure this does not make them the best. Sometimes high pressure is called for and other times it is not, we here Cleaned by Pete want to sit down with you and talk about your needs and what is right for you.

I hope you have seen how things work, though brief and in the most basic form. There is more science in the pressure washing industry anymore it just not water squirting out a hose with incredible pressure. New products and methods come around all the time and we have tamed the this beast using it to its full potential. By influencing the psi, gpm, nozzles, pumps types and motor size we can now clean better, safer, quicker, and more efficient than ever before. But the cleaning contractor needs to under stand it also. Arm yourself with this knowledge and ask questions to protect your home and business against "fly-by-night" or "low-ball" individuals. Cleaned by Pete does their very best to stay up with all the new cleaning methods and equipment, please just ask us anytime to explain what we are doing or why. We are schooled in both pressure washing and soft washing ask us what is best for your home. I will talk about equipment and add on tools next time. Thank you for your interest and time. Knowledge is the key.