Approaching East Link

[soc]

Spotted a silver FTO heading towards Ringsend (along coast road) at about 5pm yesterday evening. Was that you Eamon? I was hiding in a borrowed 1.0lt silver polo heading towards merrion gates.

[Eamon]

Most probably was me. Snuck out of work early.
My car is now dirtier that it has ever been i the three years I've owned it.
I just put it down to all the motorway driving.
Nothing major planned for the weekend, so I may get a chance to wash it.
Was thinking about buying a power washer - have any of you guys got one ? I see Argos sell Karcher, but they also sell a high power JCB one for a lot less than the Karcher models.
Are they worth the money ? Are they fiddly to use ?

E.

[soc]

Most probably was me. Snuck out of work early.
My car is now dirtier that it has ever been i the three years I've owned it.
I just put it down to all the motorway driving.
Nothing major planned for the weekend, so I may get a chance to wash it.
Was thinking about buying a power washer - have any of you guys got one ? I see Argos sell Karcher, but they also sell a high power JCB one for a lot less than the Karcher models.
Are they worth the money ? Are they fiddly to use ?

E.

My Dad has one that I used to use on my car when I was living at home - well worth the money. Absolutely brilliant for cleaning the car - just make sure you don't get one that is too powerful caue I've heard of people stripping paint off their cars cause of the high pressure.

[Dave]

yeah i would agree, my old man has one and it's dead handy to use, just attach it to the hose and plug it in and you're sorted, and most of them have a twist handle for soap dispensing, don't know which model but deffo worth it.....

[CJ]

Power washers are bad for paint full stop. The higher pressure models get in under the paintwork on stonechips, especially on plastic. Bucket and sponge is your only man!

Ciaran

[Dave]

yeah if you're putting the nozzle right up to it, which i don;t thikn most of us would do

[JD]

I find the power washer more trouble than it worth. If you really want to get the dirt off you have to use a lot of pressure (which could damage the paint), or else wet the car then sponge/brush it down and use the power washer to rince it off.
I got one of those car brushes - its just like a sweeping brush except you plug it into your hose - and away you go. Washes the whole car on five minutes, no effor and no damage (and you stay dry). Once in a while I use the power hose on the wheels.
JD

ps. the power washer is brilliant for cleaning the decking, paths, gutters etc - So I get plenty of use out of it.

[Dave]

yeah i would agree, i only give it a spray and take off the loose dirt with the washer then sponge her up and rinse her off, it's just handy cos the washer has the soap in it as well....... i'm sure everyone has their own way of doing it.

[Eamon]

Well, I went out and bougth one yesterday.
Used it to lightly spray on the detergent, then
brushed the dirt off with the brush attachment and then
rinsed off with the power hose. Also good for cleaning the wheels.
Then spent 2 hours cleaning the driveway - amazed at the bacterial growth - came up many shades brighter. Then did the gutters on the garage, the barbeque and the patio. Well worth the money.

[Kace]

Did you look at the various types - what's good and what type did you buy in the end ?

K

[Eamon]

Got a Karcher. Don't know the model number, but it is rated at 150 bar max pressure. Bought it in Atlantic Homecare in Airside Retail Park just past the airport on the Swords road. The only accessory was the car wash brush, but they stock a large range of accessories for nearly every job you can think of. Woodies also stock a goo range of accessories, but they didn't seem to have a great selection of washers.

E.

[CJ]

Is it the hundred quid model?:

[pergau]

I got the 150 Bar JCB model in Argos a while ago - It's way too powerful for the car but what I do (when I do wash it) is sponge the car and use the power washer to rinse it off, and clean out the wheels and brakes.

I have tried the brush attachment which is ok but I find I keep missing bits and it's no quicker than a sponge.

It's just soul destroying to wash the car and get it covered in crap the next morning on the way to work.

[Eamon]

It's just soul destroying to wash the car and get it covered in crap the next morning on the way to work.

Agreed, but if I wash the car on Saturday morning, at least it'll stay clean for the weekend, as I find that motorway driving is the culprit when it comes to dirtying the car.

Since I moved out of Dublin, I find that I'm less inclined to want to go out on Friday and Saturday nights, thus saving me money which I can spend on stuff for the house. By the way, the selection of stuff on Buy4Now for Atlantic is rubbish. Don't know why Atlantic don't set up their own website (like B&Q www.diy.com) and put their full product list on there. I'd certainly use it a lot more.