I don't want to sound like a hysterical alarmist (there are plenty enough in this world), but it is starting to worry me that there are so many posts about pressure washer problems. If this board is even close to being representative of the general public, there have got to be a lot of pressure washer issues out there.

I worry because a pressure washer failure can be a very dangerous event. I worked for one of the major pump manufactureres for almost 10 years and was involved in evaluating failures and dealing with liability claims. The injuries resulting from a failure can be quite severe and dibilitating.

Many of the failures involve unloader/regulator problems, like a lot of the problems that have shown up on this board. If an unloader fails and deadheads the pump a lot of bad things can happen. If you are lucky, it just pushes out an o-ring or pops a gasket. Maybe breaks a headbolt. A little water sprayed around and no big problem. If you are unlucky, you may get hit by a plug being blown out. If you are really unlucky, it may blow out the discharge fitting where the hose goes into the pump. Then you have a heavy piece of metal on the end of a hose at 3000+ psi that is stretched and deflating, shooting out the water and whipping the end of the hose with its added metal end all over. A garden hose flying around is similar, but of orders of magnitude less. The damage to a body can be severe, usually in the form of a shattered ankle or lower leg bones. If you happened to be bent over the unit when it blew, you could take it in the head, with severe consequences.

There are a few things to look out for if you have a pressure washer.

Surging: If the engine is running up and down when the trigger is pulled, or not pulled, the unit may be alternately unloading and loading. This can cause early wear on the unloader, and they can fail in the loaded direction. If the gun is closed you then have a deadhead. This is a very common cause of failures.

Stalling: If the engine is stalling on startup, especially if it runs a few seconds and slows to a stop, you could be starting in a deadhead condition. The delay is because the hose has to blow up before you get full pressure. This is a very common time for a failure to occur, as unloaders with problems seem to like to fail when they have sat a while and then are used. This situation can be very dangerous because after the stall, the washer can be sitting, not running, but be at severe overpressure. It could fail at anytime, just sitting there off.

Delays in getting pressure when you trigger the gun, or delays in unloading (bogging) when you close the gun would indicate something not right with the unloader and you should fix/replace it before it fails. Odd things happening at open/close of the gun can also be caused by a partially plugged or wrong size nozzle. Surging may also happen from nozzle issues.

IMHO you should always stand away from the pump side of the washer when you are starting it, especially stay clear of where the hose could get you. If you are having trouble with the unit, resist the temptation to get a "close up" look at things while it is running.

I am usually not one to say folks should not fix things themselves, but if there is any chance you don't totally understand how all the parts work, it would be a good idea to get it to someone who works on them daily. Not a general repair place, hardware store, etc., look for an approved repair center for the unit.

I talked to lots of customer over the years, and one thing I learned is that a lot of the way a pressure washer pump/unloader/gun/nozzle works is counter intuitive to many of even the most mechanical minds, so do your homework.

Way too long winded, but I do hope you all stay safe.