What Size Garden Hose for Pressure Washers: Best Sizes

A garden hose pressure washer can serve as a great tool for cleaning different surfaces and objects in your garden. Whether you want to clean your aged deck, stained concrete, dirty fence, and so on, a pressure washer can get the job done easily. But what size garden hose for pressure washers?  Let’s find out.

Rather than using your regular low-pressure hose to clean these surfaces, you can simply connect your regular garden hose to a pressure washer. However, you also need to get the ideal garden hose size that will fit the pressure washer for optimal results.

A garden hose pressure washer will help you get rid of any dirt that may be deposited in any porous material. Hence, this makes the pressure washer an effective tool for cleaning brick, wood, mortar, and paving tiles. So, here is an informative guide about garden hose pressure washers and what size garden hose is for pressure washers. 

Garden Hose Pressure Washer

A garden hose pressure washer is an electric-powered tool that is designed to take in water from a regular garden hose and this toll generates an increased water pressure. This works with the help of the mechanical pump that forces the water flowing in to move up through a narrow hose and out through the nozzle by directing the flow of water.

5 Main parts of a pressure washer

Before you begin to work on these tools, you should have some info about the various parts of a pressure washer. We have 5 main parts to a pressure washer and they are:

1. Water pump: this is responsible for pumping water with enough force to bring about high-pressure output used for cleaning tough materials.
2. Engine or motor: gas or electricity is what the engine or motor runs on. So, an electric pressure washer will require plugging into an electrical outlet. Then the one that runs on gas will require the gas tank to be filled before use.
3. Water inlet: the water inlet needs to be connected to the garden hose to supply constant water to the pressure washer.
4. High-pressure hose: once water can flow into the pressure washer, it is pumped out through the high-pressure hose. Now, this hose tends to vary in length but they are usually about 20 to 50 feet.
5. Wand and nozzle attachments: you can find the wand at the end of the high-pressure hose which is installed with the nozzle attachment. The direction and water output of the pressure washer can be controlled by this wand. There is a trigger that needs to be squeezed on the wand for water to spray out of the nozzle at the end of the wand.

What Size Garden Hose for Pressure Washers: Ideal Size

The common garden hose size diameters include 5/8, 3/ 4, and half inches. However, when it comes to connecting your garden hose to a pressure washer, you might want to consider going for a bigger size such as one inch or 1 ¼ inch.

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The reason is that once the water from the pressure washer enters the garden hose, more room is required to move or flow through. Therefore, to ensure there is adequate space for increased water flow, a wider end of the garden hose is required.

• A garden hose with a diameter size of one and a quarter inches can take up to 2000 PSI. Hence, this can handle almost nearly all types of pressure washers you may find without allowing them to destroy your plant or flare up your area.
• With a diameter size of one inch, it can handle up to 1500 PSI. This size is ideal for high-end pressure washers. However, if the pressure washer is more low-end, then it can still handle it.

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What Size Garden Hose for the Pressure Washer? 

The length of the hose may not really matter except the hose is extremely long. You can go for a length of 25 feet of hose for your balconies, patio, as well as small yards. However, when you’re dealing with bigger yards, you will need a longer length (as long as 50 feet) to get to corners that are hard to reach. But know that longer hose length filled with water will feel heavy to carry or drag around.

You can have a decrease of about 4 PSI per 100 feet for an average 5/8 inch supply hose. What most manufacturers recommend is a pressure washer with a minimum of 20 PSI.

Can a Longer Garden Hose Decrease Water Pressure?

The length of the garden hose can truly affect the pressure of water as well as the rate of flow. If the length of the water hose is long, it can lower the flow of water and vice versa.

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Garden Hose Pressure Washer: Precautions to Take

Sometimes spraying your face with some water can feel refreshing, especially in hot weather outdoors. A regular garden hose stream is not so forceful, so if it touches your face, it may not cause any harm.

However, you need to take care when using a garden hose pressure washer if it is releasing very high water pressure. If this high-pressure water sprays on your face, it may cause serious damage to some parts of your face.

Your eyes may be seriously affected and it may cause serious bruising and abrasions on the skin. Therefore, ensure you learn how to handle this tool with proper care.

You can further take some good steps by wearing protective eyewear, closed-toe shoes, and gloves just to keep yourself safe.

Can You Use an Expandable Hose With a Pressure Washer?

To put it simply, yes you can. However, the hose must be between your hose and the water inlet of the washer. If you’re unsure whether you can do this with your expandable hose, try referring to the manufacturer’s guide for more detailed information.

DIY Garden Hose Pressure Washer

If you’re wondering how to make your own pressure washer from the comfort of your home, then look no further. You’ll just need the following four supplies:

• plastic pen
• plastic cable ties
• super glue
• garden hose

Now all you need to do is:

1. Choose a pen. The pen should be easy to dismantle and have a similar width to your hose.
2. Disassemble. Disassemble the pen completely so you’re left with singular components. The only parts you’ll need are the tip and the main plastic bulk of the pen. The rest can be recycled or reused for another project.
3. Glue. Using your super glue, glue the tip and plastic back together again and leave it to dry.
4. Insert pen. Place the dried pen into your hose so that it fits snugly (place it around halfway into the hose itself) – this is why the width of the pen must be similar to the width of the hose. Take two cable ties and tie both around the end to ensure the pen stays firmly in place.
5. Test. Slowly turn on your tap and check that it isn’t too aggressive. Your DIY garden hose pressure washer is now ready to use!

What if I Have Weak Water Pressure?

You may notice that it’s not the pressure nozzle that’s the problem, but your water pressure itself. If this is the case, you can test this and fix the problem with ease. Let’s take a closer look.

Grab a bucket and fill it with water and add around 1/4 cup of bleach. Coil your hose and place it into the bucket, completely covered in water. Leave for at least 8 hours and then move the hose to a second bucket. This should have clean water in and leave for another hour or two. Reattach the hose itself to your tap and turn on the water, allowing any excess badness to wash away.

Where to Buy High-Pressure Hose Clamps?

You can buy high-pressure hose clamps from many stores, online, and in person. However, I’ve found that the easiest place to find high-pressure hose clamps is Amazon. In terms of ease and price, it doesn’t get better than Amazon for high-pressure hose clamps. These are essential for any budding gardener. Just be sure to buy the correct size for your hose.

Final Word: What Size Garden Hose for Pressure Washers?

A garden hose pressure washer can do a great job cleaning lots of surfaces and objects. And this article provides an informative guide on the things you need to know about this useful tool.

If you’re looking for an average of the size you’re most likely to use for a garden hose pressure washer, the best size to use is around 1 1/4 inches. This allows good water flow and good power – both of which are imperative for an effective pressure washer. Do you have any tips or tricks when it comes to what size garden hose for the pressure washer to use? If so, please feel free to let us know in the comments below. And remember, sharing is caring!

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