Fact Checked By Daniel Wood | Post Updated On: April 29, 2023
If I say more specifically, GPMs for different pressure washers are different and fixed; we need to choose a machine whose GPM is appropriate for our cleaning work. For the very new users to understand what is a good GPM for a pressure washer, they should know GPM. GPM stands for Gallon Per Minute; it measures the water supply rate. The measurement of gallons of water the machine can throw in one minute is its water flow rate or GPM.
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What is a Good GPM for a Pressure Washer – Choose the Right One!
Importance of GPM
A pressure washing machine uses its force energy to clean the dirt from any surface. With only force and insufficient water supply, you will not get an impressive cleaning as there will be a lack of water to go with the force.
For this reason, it’s important to consider a little higher GPM for your machine than those which have lower GPM. With a little lower PSI, if you have a higher GPM, you will get better cleaning. The above discussion should be enough to understand the importance of GPM in your machine.
Considering the Facts for Choosing GPM
There are multiple facts and situations you need to consider before choosing the right GPM. The electric machines maintain comparatively lower GPM than gas-run machines. A good combination of PSI and GPM in your machine boosts your cleaning performance.
If your machine supplies plenty of water but has low PSI, the dirt will not get proper hits to be removed from a surface.
To clean different surfaces, you need a different amount of water; the amount of water needed to clean your car or vehicle will be different from cleaning your patio.
Choosing the Right GPM
As mentioned in the previous section, different surfaces require different GPM. If you want to clean your car, motorcycle, or light vehicle, 1-1.5 GPM will be enough for you.
To clean your home sidings, deck, or porch, you will need 2 GPM water supply. 2.3-2.5 GPM is appropriate for washing away your driveway, garage, etc. For concrete surface, 2.5 GPM or higher works better.
For commercial and tougher jobs, such as removing old paint from houses or buildings from 3-7 GPM water supply, will give you the appropriate result.
Learn More on: Commercial Power Washer
These are the ideal GPM measurements for different surfaces though they might vary depending on the type and strength of dirt.
It’s impossible to buy multiple machines for multiple surfaces, so; you have to find the surfaces you need to clean the most. Based on your surface selection, you have to choose the right GPM for your pressure washer.
Combining GPM and PSI
As stated earlier, a good machine should have a perfect combination of its PSI and GPM for effective cleaning. Most of the machines have a good combination of PSI and GPM set from the factory. For this reason, you need not to worry much about its combination.
After using it for a while, if you see its cleaning performance has to drop down, you should go and get your machine checked for the right combination of PSI and GPM.
For weak PSI, higher GPM doesn’t work, and in the same way, strong PSI, lower GPM doesn’t work. It’s really important for a machine to have a good combination for better cleaning performance.
For any cleaning sufficient supply of water is necessary. If it cannot provide adequate water supply, the cleaning will not be as your expectation.
Maintaining the above measurements and considering the conditions, you should choose the right GPM for your machine.
