Pressure washers

[Steven_5065956]

A friend has advised me not to wash my caravan with a pressure washer because it can ruin the window seals?

Is this true? or are there any other reasons for or against using a pressure washer!

 

[WatsonJohnG]

It depends on the jet on the pressure washer and on the use of common sense by the operative.As manufacturers have to assume no common sense will be used they advise against pressure washers.

If you use a pencil jet on high pressure CLOSE to the van it will destroy decals and damage seals.If you use a fan jet and stand further away you will do no harm.I always use my pressure washer to pump water from the water butt and have only had slight damp in one corner of one caravan in a 25 year period. Hope that helps

 

[Steven_5065956]

It depends on the jet on the pressure washer and on the use of common sense by the operative.As manufacturers have to assume no common sense will be used they advise against pressure washers.

If you use a pencil jet on high pressure CLOSE to the van it will destroy decals and damage seals.If you use a fan jet and stand further away you will do no harm.I always use my pressure washer to pump water from the water butt and have only had slight damp in one corner of one caravan in a 25 year period. Hope that helps

Thanks for your reply!

As I thought, used sensibly there fine to use!

 

[MickC1]

Hi Steven

I used a pressure washer a couple of times on our 'van, but to be honest, as you have to work with reduced pressure there was no real advantage. I still had to work over it by hand to get rid of all the black streaks and winter gunge from all the nooks and crannies. So I don't bother with it any more. There are too many areas to be aware of as well. The roof lights don't seal, so water can 'bounce' under them and get the interior wet. You have to be careful of all the vents, such as the fridge or heater vents or again you'll end up filling the inside of the 'van with water. As you've said the windows seals are another area to avoid. And any mastic that's not tightly sealed or is getting a bit hardened with age can easily be blasted out and so will cause all sorts of problems, so avoid all joints.

By the time you've avoided all the above areas there's not a lot left to use it on. Plus the spray back produced on a caravan wall, especially on a windy day, can leave you as wet as the 'van.

Nah, it's easier with a bucket and sponge and just use a hose with a fine spray to rinse it off afterwards. Car shampoo for the 'van and Cif cream for the marks.

 

[354]

I have never found the need for a presure hose. Give me a bucket of hot soapy water with fenwicks caravan shampoo, followed by rinsing with Bobby dazler solution and dry it of with a chamious leather. Excellent finish.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Del I use my pressure washer every time I clean the car/caravan because I pump rain water through from the water butt thus avoiding the need to leather off etc.Just an alternative approach. As the question was on the use of a pressure washer that is why I have answered.

 

[Barney2]

I have never found the need for a presure hose. Give me a bucket of hot soapy water with fenwicks caravan shampoo, followed by rinsing with Bobby dazler solution and dry it of with a chamious leather. Excellent finish.

Hiya Mick,

I agree entirely with Steve,for my own part I wouldn't go anywhere near a caravan with a pressure washer. We used them on the trucks at work, and if the pressure was too high , the paint was blasted off, on one memorable occasion, right down to the bare metal on an almost brand new unit. The transport manager was hopping mad.

It's too easy to leave them on the higher settings.

My brother in law bought one and was using it to clean moss off his tarmac drive/housewall. He blasted the mortar out from between the damp course, and ended up having to do a lot of re pointing. Stick to the hosepipe and a sponge.

All the best,

Barney.

 

[Susan_5062191]

We have also been worried about pressure washers. We normally take the van to our local Tesco because its got no roof on the car wash. However I am going to get a Washmatic - if you do a google search its on simplyshopping TV or something like that (QVC) about

 

[ProfJohnL]

There is the obvious concern of high pressure water physically finding its way under seals and damaging mastic, but the other problem is that some cleaning agents used in some washers are highly aggressive and can attack the rubber seals chemically.