Can You Use a Pressure Washer on a Car?

Can You Use a Pressure Washer on a Car?
Spread the love

`you have a new pressure washer, and want to wash your car. So far, so good. However, can you actually use a pressure washer on your car?

Yes, for the Most Part - Pressure Washing cars good bad

Ok, so this is not exactly a straightforward yes or no answer. So, for the most part, yes, you can use a pressure washer to wash your car. Of course, it is convenient when you can use soap and a high speed jet of water to blast away the grime; it does make life a lot easier when compared to manually washing a car.

However, there are some factors you need to keep in mind. You can’t just crank up a big time PSI pressure washer to max power and start blasting away at your car. That’s not going to end very well. Let’s now go over the most important tips and points that you need to keep in mind when using a pressure washer to clean your car.  

Hot Water vs. Cold Water

First off, when pressure washing, depending on the pressure washer in question, you can use hot or cold water. There is no debate that hot water does a much better job at loosening grime and removing various buildups than cold water does. The heat makes a big difference, but can you use a hot water pressure washer to wash your car?

The answer here is yes, you can, but make sure that the water is not boiling hot. Hot water will do a pretty good job at pressure washing your car, but having the water too hot is not the best; water that is too hot may damage rubber and plastic parts, more or less melting them, or at least warping them, plus it can have a negative effect on the paint as well.

However, you also do not want to use very cold water to wash your car, as this may be even worse than water that is too hot. If the outside temperature is warm, and the water is very cold, the cold water may cause the metal to shrink temporarily, warp, crack, and it can mess with the paint too. Therefore, when using a pressure washer on your car, make sure that the water is warm, but not hot, and not too cold.

Plain Water vs. Detergent - Can you wash a car with just water?

The next thing to keep in mind is whether or not you want to use detergent. If you are going to use detergent, make sure that you are using detergent specially designed for washing cars. Not all detergents are made for cars, and some of them have harsh chemicals that may strip away paint and cause damage to plastic.

So, always make sure that it is car washing detergent, as well as detergent made for pressure washers. Not all pressure washers have detergent tanks, and not all chemicals are made for all pressure washers. You need to check if you have an upstream or downstream detergent system, if any detergent system at all.

Some car-washing pressure washing detergents are only designed to be mixed with the water in the spray gun, whereas others can be infused into the water in the pump system. Of course, using detergent that is specially designed for cars and pressure washers will do a better job at cleaning your car than just plain water alone.

Make Sure to Have the Right Nozzle

Next, as you probably know, pressure washers can come with different nozzles, but not all of them are ideal for cars. For instance, you have super high PSI nozzles which concentrate the water into a very strong and narrow jet. Ones such as 0 and 15 degree nozzles, both of which produce very strong and concentrated streams, should never be used for washing cars. At the very least, they will strip the paint right off your car.

Worst case scenario, you might actually blow a mirror off the side of your car or crack a window. The 25-degree nozzle is a better option to go with, but it still quite strong. It is recommended that you use a 40-degree nozzle for most car pressure washing applications. These are strong enough to remove most types of debris and buildup, but not so concentrated that you run the risk of damaging your vehicle.

Soft Washing Your Car

Another thing you can consider doing if you are really afraid of damaging your car is to soft wash it. The pressure washer is usually designed for high-speed jets of water, but depending on the type, and on the nozzle you have, you can turn the PSI down to as low as 500 PSI or even down to 100 PSI.

The water does not come out very fast or hard, but soft washing is also specifically designed to be performed with specialized detergents, and usually with warm water. It’s a good way to get rid of certain types of buildup, but may not always remove really stuck-on debris. To soft wash, you either need a special soft washing nozzle or a pressure washer with a highly adjustable pressure setting.

Not Too Much PSI!  What is a good PSI for a pressure washer?

The other thing that you need to keep in mind is that you never want to use too much PSI when pressure washing your car. Ideally, around 1,500 PSI is as high as you want to go, with the absolute maximum being 1,900 PSI, with a flow rate of about 1.6 gallons per minute.

If you have the pressure washer turned up higher, or if you have a nozzle that creates more PSI than this, you will end up stripping paint off your car, and in some cases even creating dents.


So, the answer to the question is yes, you can use a pressure washer for your car, but just be sure to pay attention to what we have gone over today.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below

Leave a Reply: