The Pressure Washing Coach: How to Start a Pressure Washing Business, Pressure Washing Tips, Advice, Training and Product Recommendations

Pressure washing tough stains like graffiti, oil, grease and chewing gum, are better performed by a hot pressure washer. The problem with hot pressure washing equipment is that it requires a burner to heat the water, so you’ll have to pay more money to get setup with a hot water unit.

The advantage is that it will allow you to do a wider range of work. Chewing gum and graffiti are both unsightly and a big problem for companies who have large publically-used premises. Think of football stadiums, gyms, shopping centres, etc, these are the sorts of places you want as customers because doing such large commercial work should prove very profitable.

But don’t think you definitely need a hot unit, many pressure washing companies, including my own, only run a cold unit. But then you must remember that I don’t rely on pressure washing as my only source of income, so I can be picky and turn a lot of work away.

The other disadvantage with having a hot water unit is that they are bloody heavy, so you will probably want to use them from a trailer or van setup.

This picture is of a burner, the burner coil itself is usually diesel fueled but the rest of it, the pump and motor, runs on eletricity.

This is the piece of equipment that will heat your water before it's sprayed out of your pressure washing lance.

You'll usually find this stuck in a trailer system because of the combined weight of the burner and pressure washer is very heavy.

A portable hot pressure washer.

This is actually an American pressure washer and I'm not even sure if you can get portable hot pressure washers like this here in the UK. I guess it's the same with everything over there, the bigger the better.

This is a pressure washer with a petrol motor and a diesel heater which means this probably weighs over a 100kg.

What this picture shows you though is that you've got a more expensive and larger piece of equipment if you opt for a hot setup. This will be a seriously heavy and I imagine quite difficult piece of kit to manoeuvre. Getting it in and out of your van will be a battle and a half too.

Your other option is to buy a portable hotbox like the one on the left which connects up to your cold pressure washer and turns it into a hot machine.

This one is made by Oertzen. The benefit of this machine is that because its got its own set of wheels you don't have to move your pressure washer and burner as one unit like with the American machine above.

I think these are a great option because you'll only need hot water on certain jobs, most jobs won't need it. So when you don't need it you just leave it back at your home. It will also be a lot easier to move your hotbox/burner and pressure washer if they are seperate machines.

Unfortunately this machine has one major drawback, the price, it costs over 2 grand.