[Bob]

Thank you to all who responded to my post about pressure washer extension
wands. You have certainly convinced me not to go the telescoping route.
However how about having a 79" regular extension wand in addition to the 36"
extension wand that came with the pressure washer? That way I would probably
need to go about 7 feet or so up the ladder to cover the 20' walls on my
house. Is there still enough control available with a 79" wand?

Thanks,

Bob

[SteveBell]

Bob wrote:

Thank you to all who responded to my post about pressure washer
extension wands. You have certainly convinced me not to go the
telescoping route. However how about having a 79" regular extension
wand in addition to the 36" extension wand that came with the
pressure washer? That way I would probably need to go about 7 feet or
so up the ladder to cover the 20' walls on my house. Is there still
enough control available with a 79" wand?

You'll just have to try it and see. It's depends on how strong your
pressure washer is and how strong you are. My experience tells me that
the angle at which you hold the tip to the surface is critical. An
oblique angle doesn't do much.

I last used my pressure washer to remove peeling paint from a one-story
brick house before repainting. For that job, I had to position the tip
an inch or two perpendicular to the surface and slowly move it back and
forth, varying the angle back and forth to get under the paint chips. I
used my three-foot extension to get to the soffit.

Beware, I've seen one "extension" attachment for PWs that did nothing
but shoot a jet of water 20 feet, like using a sprayer nozzle on a
garden hose, just longer. It's only good for delivering chemicals, not
for removing anything.

--
Steve Bell
New Life Home Improvement
Arlington, TX

[RicodJour]

On Aug 3, 9:51*am, "Bob" wrote:
Thank you to all who responded to my post about pressure washer extension
wands. You have certainly convinced me not to go the telescoping route.
However how about having a 79" regular extension wand in addition to the 36"
extension wand that came with the pressure washer? That way I would probably
need to go about 7 feet or so up the ladder to cover the 20' walls on my
house. *Is there still enough control available with a 79" wand?

If climbing the ladder is the problem, can you hire someone to climb
it for you? You really need to get up there to do a good job.

R

[TWayne]

On Aug 3, 9:51 am, "Bob" wrote:
Thank you to all who responded to my post about pressure washer
extension wands. You have certainly convinced me not to go the
telescoping route. However how about having a 79" regular extension
wand in addition to the 36" extension wand that came with the
pressure washer? That way I would probably need to go about 7 feet
or so up the ladder to cover the 20' walls on my house. Is there
still enough control available with a 79" wand?

If climbing the ladder is the problem, can you hire someone to climb
it for you? You really need to get up there to do a good job.

R

Here's how I did it, just this afternoon. Sistered a few 2 x 4's to get
the length to reach the peak. Fastened the wand to that. Banded the
trigger on.
Placed the 2X4 on the ground at an angle, held it about chest high
point, and started the PW at about half throttle just to get the feel of
it. No good; resting the 2 x 4 on the ground wasn't enough to not skid
it around, so I piled up a couple of cement blocks and repeated it.
Then switched to suck mode, spread the cleaner on, switched back to
pressure, and sprayed it off. Brought the wand fastening down about
half way, repeated, then was able to finish the rest standing on the
ground.
I'm sure a little water went up under the siding here and there
becaus eof the angle, but it should dry out soon enough. Oh, and
suffered through clouds and clouds of fly eggs & what not that came out
from the joints! Ugh!
20 feet wouldn't take that long a "stick" to fasten the wand to. Be
sure it's well positioned on the ground so it can't slip around, & start
slowly; there's quite a push-back when you get to full power! Next time
I'll drive some stakes in the ground & maybe fasten the 2 x 4 to them to
help me hold it. Shoulders are a little sore!

This was about 30' at the peak so fortunately the top part didn't take
too long. Second level was much easier. I can get to about 12-15 feet
up standing on the ground wiht just the regular wand, so ... made the 3
passes out of it.

Oh yeah, COVER vents, if you have any in the wall. I got some boxes in
the attic wet! Good thing that spray's mostly air or I'd have drenched
it!
And do NOT use full pencil-spray! You will NOT have enough control
to keep it from getting too close to the siding and maybe puncturing it
if it's vinyl. Besides, the pencil just leaves a lot of marks on you
that will look terrible.

It's gonna hurt in the morning, but ... it's done. I sure miss my
neighbor with his cherry picker!