Fact Checked By Daniel Wood | Post Updated On: April 29, 2023
Winter is the biggest enemy of your pressure washer pump and engine. Many people who have pressure washers in their house face this problem. They say the machine or its pump doesn’t work properly after the winter is over. We hardly use pressure washer during this season as it’s too difficult to contact water because of extreme cold. We keep our pressure washer in the garage and take it out when the weather becomes normal. At that time, we find either the pump got a crack in it and refuses to work. Most of the time, the situation becomes worse, and we need to replace the pump or other components. Winterize a pressure washer with Antifreeze is the best solution to this type of problem.
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How to Winterize a Pressure Washer with Antifreeze in Less Then 15 Minutes
Why is it Important to Winterize a Pressure Washer?
In the country’s chilliest lands where water gets frozen normally during the winter season, the pump finds it’s not easy to survive. If there is water remaining inside your pump, it becomes solid, which expands from its standard size and puts pressure on the surface; the moisture also plays the same role.
This helps the metal to get a crack, or it damages the other portions of your pump, leaving it totally unusable once winter is over. To get rid of this kind of situation, one needs to winterize the pump with Antifreeze, which helps the machine remain workable for other times.
How to Winterize a Gas-Powered Pressure Washer?
There are a few steps you might have to follow to winterize your gas powered pressure washer.
Step# 1: First, empty your machine and drain out all the water that remained inside the pump and remove all the machine components such as nozzles, spray gun, HP hose, garden hose, and other pipes if there are any.
Step# 2: Next, remove the spark plug before you put the antifreeze solution into the pump.
Step# 3: Connect a garden hose to the water inlet hose fitting and put a funnel at its tip.
Step# 4: Put the antifreeze solution into the pump through that hose and lock the inlet.
Step# 5: Put the spark plug next and pull the starting recoil handle several times to circulate the solution thoroughly inside the pump.
Step# 6: After completing this process, put some oil stabilizer solution inside the fuel tank for the oil to stay normal during winter.
Now your machine is ready to deal with the extreme cold and stay fit and fine. Your final work will be to store your pressure washer in a dry place in the garage.
How to winterize an Electric Pressure Washer?
Winterizing an electric pressure washer follows the similar steps of a gas pressure washer apart from its fuel tank storage.
Step# 1: When your last usage is done before the winter, and you decided to store it for a long time, remove all its components.
Step# 2: If you have a detergent tank, wash it with clean water and possibly dry it.
Step# 3: Remove all its pipes and run the machine for around 10 seconds to drain out any remaining water.
Step# 4: Next, you put the pump guard solution that is available in the market into the hose inlet and run the machine for a few seconds.
Step# 5: Once you see, the solution started coming out through the hose outlet, stop it. This process will make sure that the solution has run through the pump and is stored inside.
Step# 6: After that, remove the power cord and put all the components in their proper storage. Now keep the system in a dry place inside your garage as it’s ready to handle the freezing cold of winter.
Is it Safe to Use Antifreeze?
It’s perfectly safe to use any antifreeze in your pressure washer pump until you got a genuine branded product. Try to buy the solution from an authorized shop and check its instruction before you apply it.
Conclusion
When you buy a pressure washer, you think of using it for a long time and don’t want to get into trouble because of the weather. Many of our machines, not only pressure washer, stop working after a really cold winter as they cannot cope with extreme weather. It’s always advisable to take proper care of your machine to deal with any weather. Winterizing a pressure washer with Antifreeze is always recommended when you store your machine for a long time during winter. This will help you increase your machine life.
