Pressure washer (Is it worth the money to buy a hot water/steam pressure washer or better to go with a cold-water high-pressure machine?)

[1wonton]

My old/antique truck has a hundred years of dirt, grease baked on.  Is it worth the money to buy a hot water/steam pressure washer or better to go with a cold-water high-pressure machine?

[Mark Shaw]

Neither.  High pressure can damage paint, tires and rubber seals.  Just use a garden hose nozzle. 

[Phillip Cole]

Mark is right. You can do a lot of damage with a pressure washer if not careful. I have three large decks at my home and I quickly learned to use the widest head, least pressure to clean them.

I'd say try a noncorrosive degreaser and a hose first. 

If that doesn't work to suit you, check for a Hotsy rental  There is a Hotsy dealer near me, and they do rentals.

[1wonton]

The old Mack truck has no seals, paint or rubber parts to be damaged.  Just curious about anyone's experience with hot and cold water pressure washers, are they worth the cost or is it best to just use the old muscle and scrape?

[pont35cpe]

I`ve always just used a flat blade screw driver, and removed the build up manually. The old grease and dirt buildup, usually comes loose in big chunks, right down to the steel surface, then i use a solvent to clean before painting.

[46 woodie]

My neighbor did $2400 worth of damage to his engine and electric system components with a pressure washer. 

[TerryB]

I hear Simple Green works good on loosening grease and dirt buildup.  The Mack truck, being built like a Mack truck, would laugh at a pressure washer.  I raced off road motorcycles for many years and avoided using pressure washers as they put water in places that were harmful to the suspension bearings and other bits and pieces.  Lots of garden hose time got the bike clean.

[Walt G]

Yes, I agree with Terry = Simple Green is good stuff. If you use a hose etc and water gets into places you can't get a rag into , to dry it out if you have an air compressor you can "vacate" the water with the tip of an air hose turned up to some pressure. I used Simple Green to clean off the grime of 80+ years on a collection of fancy ornate cast figural motor meters I bought at Hershey this past  October spray it on and let it work. ( used a tooth brush to then get the small areas clean before rinsing off).

[R Walling]

 I spray a strong detergent onto the frame and wet it well.

 Then I use cold water in a 1500 lb. pressure. I start from a distance to remove most dirt and grease, then take notice of delicate wires etc. and then go closer to the indestructible parts. 

 

I can remove grease from a truck fifth wheel so well that you can eat a jelly sandwich from it.

 

 The beauty of the cold water and detergent is that it flushes cleanly from the concrete without leaving a film on it as long as you don't step in the blobs of grease.

[60FlatTop]

Solvent and cleaning cloths are the best way to go. Steam and water will saturate everything. It puddles and leaves rust stains in the deepest places.

 

On my cars I only use a hose on the whitewalls. I don't suds up the body or do anything to get water in the nooks and crannies.

 

Once cleaned I wipe down non-cosmetic surfaces with WD-40 and a paper towel.

 

Three night ago my garage was full and I had to leave my Buick outside. No sign of rain but I was sure of dew.

Didn't even want that.

[Bloo]

I'll be the odd man out here. I remember using a homemade diesel fired steam cleaner about 30 years ago, and it was some sort of a miracle.

 

I DO agree with the others commenting that you would not want to aim one at a whole truck. That would be a really bad idea. On the other hand, individual parts? Yes. A bare engine block or bare frame (for instance) that you will dry out thoroughly and refinish right after? Sure. I wish I owned one. It was way more effective than a pressure washer, though pressure washers are also useful.

 

[kings32]

I have a hot water I use with pressure washer , never had . Wash down engine in my dieisl truck  has 260 K never hurt it was most cars that come in my shop don't like working on dirty cars ,

[TAKerry]

I have a cold water pressure washer, may be 4000 psi. I have used it to clean parts, the rear end, stub frame, stuff like that as long as its not on the car. I also use a good degreaser. Im another in the simple green camp. Great stuff. I think if you use common sense you can use a pressure washer. You do need a de greaser though as I have found the water just pushes the grease around not as much as blowing it off the part. Dirt doesnt stand a chance. I will use it on occasion to get the under carriage of my pickup but from a distance so as to not be using too much pressure on anything. Other than that I will not use it to clean any vehicle surface.

[MotiveLensPhoto]

I used to clean carpets and furniture for a living. Hot water is really not worth the effort. We'd use it mostly to make the customer feel better. The ONLY difference is that it evaporates quicker, but IMO the squeeze isn't worth the juice. You'd need to get that water up to well over 100 degrees to notice a difference and even then it wouldn't be much of a difference. You'll see faster evaporation with moving air than warmer water.

[1wonton]

Lot of good responses based on experience, thanks to all.  I had an old steam cleaner that was lost in a fire, but it really was the best machine I ever used for the job.  Don't know where to find one now so maybe just go with the cold-water pressure washer and hours of knuckle-busting scraping.

[TerryB]

Seemed every old garage in the 1950s has one of these Steam Jenny steam cleaners.

https://www.steamjenny.com/

[marcapra]

I used a pressure washer with cold water on my 48 DeSoto chassis.  It only gets off the loose dirt and sand.  It just bounces off the greasy caked on grime.  You have to use a spatula to get off the hardened grease.  And then use a steam washer.  

 

 

[Frank DuVal]

NEITHER!  So the answer is Hot Water! SO hot it is called  steam cleaner. THAT gets the job done! I have a small Alkota like the current model 122 I bought used 35 years ago from the local Alkota dealer. I had borrowed a locomotive looking unit and it did the job of cleaning used cars of the detailing products they did to try and avoid needing a body shop, but didn't succeed, so now we had to fix it. Washing just wouldn't get the Silicone compounds off the car and under the hood.  So off to buy one and the dealer had this "little" model used. Yes, there was a learning curve to not hurt the underhood electronics, but even the Nissan Q45 recovered....😮 

 

This unit will strip grease off of parts so nice! Pressure is lower than the cold water units, so not so much worry about forcing water into crevices.

 

BUT! Read all the instructions of how not to burn yourself. The big unit I borrowed was used to clean restaurant hoods of grease, and the workers in short sleeves wore red arm tattoos  because they would contact the wand metal parts trying to get up into the ducts. 😉

 

🚋🎠🚗🏎️

[SMB]

Purple Power is a great grease remover.

[Dandy Dave]

Every Tool has its place. I've used both, and do own an 11 HP cold water high pressure washer with a cat pump. It is capable of 3,000 PSI. With an adjustable valve on the handle to regulate the pressure. Great tool when I'm cleaning a nasty engine or other component when it is getting rebuilt or restored. Works great on Bulldozers and farm tractors and other equipment. Takes packed in dirt and mud away with ease. I've also used a steam cleaner in the past and it does better to melt away road dirt and grease. It is great when I need to get a component ready to sand blast as a sand blaster will not remove grease unless it it has dried up hard. Even then it does not blast off fast like rusty steel. Semi-soft grease the sand will just stick to. When I wash a component I keep my air hose handy to blow away and water left behind to prevent flash rusting. Also, even after doing a wash down if you are going to paint something you need to use a solvent to get the surface clean as there is a thin oily surface left behind. With all this said. I do not wash my 1915 Buick or other antique autos with it. I will wash a farm vehicle, like a pickup with it if it is really muddy or has something corrosive like fertilizer that needs to be washed away to prevent premature rusting from the chemical action.

Edited March 9 by Dandy Dave (see edit history)

[Andy J]

When I was a teenager,I hung around a shop near where I lived.The shop owner had some kind of an old steam cleaner he used.I think it used kerosene or diesel fuel for the burner and it took quite a while to get it hot.When that thing got hot enough,man would it degrease whatever you used it on.It didn't use pressure to blast grease off;just a gentle spray of scalding water. There wasn't a sign of anything left on whatever you were cleaning.Dirt,grease,and oil just melted away and the surface was spotless.

[30DodgePanel]

14 hours ago, 1wonton said:

Lot of good responses based on experience, thanks to all.  I had an old steam cleaner that was lost in a fire, but it really was the best machine I ever used for the job.  Don't know where to find one now so maybe just go with the cold-water pressure washer and hours of knuckle-busting scraping.

If you're only going to use it one or two times it may not be worth investing in a hot water unit. Cold after degreaser has soaked in then good ole busted knuckles... 

Hot water units are better though for sure but not that much better.

[1wonton]

21 minutes ago, Andy J said:

When I was a teenager,I hung around a shop near where I lived.The shop owner had some kind of an old steam cleaner he used.I think it used kerosene or diesel fuel for the burner and it took quite a while to get it hot.When that thing got hot enough,man would it degrease whatever you used it on.It didn't use pressure to blast grease off;just a gentle spray of scalding water. There wasn't a sign of anything left on whatever you were cleaning.Dirt,grease,and oil just melted away and the surface was spotless.

I had an old steam cleaner similar to that, it was a beast but a real steam cleaner.  Wish I could find another one, can't justify/afford anew steamjenny at over $5k.

[60FlatTop]

3 hours ago, Dandy Dave said:

Every Tool has its place.

If I had one I would put it on Craigslist.

 

A $10 bag of cleaning cloths from Walmart, 2 gallons of diesel fuel, and a putty knife over a cheap trap on the floor would do me just fine. All stuffed into a plastic bag for the big green truck that comes on Tuesday.

 

I had a boss one time that would have heard the pump pounding away, seen the steam and water flying all over, and the operator dirty and wet, he would have been aroused.

And if the operator got cut and had to run for a Band Aid he would have said "Now there's a worker!"

[Larry Schramm]

Every tools performance is totally dependent on the person on the person side of the tool.   

 

I have a plain pressure washer and I use it for all kinds of work.  It makes life a lot easier.  The distance from the end of the pressure washer wand to the object being cleaned is the important issue.  Rubber parts farther away and plain metal with no seals etc... closer.  On the pressure washers that I have about 6-8 inches is not high pressure.  Just like a standard garden hose.  On greasy parts I usually use some engine degreaser before I get out the pressure washer.

[Dandy Dave]

20 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

If I had one I would put it on Craigslist.

 

A $10 bag of cleaning cloths from Walmart, 2 gallons of diesel fuel, and a putty knife over a cheap trap on the floor would do me just fine. All stuffed into a plastic bag for the big green truck that comes on Tuesday.

 

I had a boss one time that would have heard the pump pounding away, seen the steam and water flying all over, and the operator dirty and wet, he would have been aroused.

And if the operator got cut and had to run for a Band Aid he would have said "Now there's a worker!"

That's cuz you work on them there fancy high end cars Burnie. You sur nuf aint no tractor, or bulldozer mechanic. I understand where them fancy cars are concerned, we are a lowly crowd.  I find when I do it the way you do it I need to use lacquer thinner just before painting it. Always amazed at how much dirt washes out in the solvent that way. Just when you think it is clean, It isn't. You can come and wash off the old Honey Wagon some time with your rags and diesel so we can get the broken floor chain back together without getting full of cow poo. 😉 Did I mention I don't use it on my 1915 Buick or other antique cars??? 😬 

Edited March 10 by Dandy Dave (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

1 hour ago, Dandy Dave said:

I understand where them fancy cars are concerned, we are a lowly crowd.  I

Uhmmmm, the car that comes to the forefront in my mind as most damaged by a steam cleaning job was a model the maker called a 20/25. You wouldn't associate with any of that type would you?

 

I worked on a couple of those tractors and dozers. If you think following behind the unknown fancy car mechanic has surprises those farm mechanics will cause you to wake up in the middle of the night.

 

[31Buick96S]

On 3/8/2024 at 10:00 AM, 1wonton said:

My old/antique truck has a hundred years of dirt, grease baked on.  Is it worth the money to buy a hot water/steam pressure washer or better to go with a cold-water high-pressure machine?

It really depends on how much time and effort you’re willing to spend to scrape and degrease your truck. If you’re going to strip it down for restoration, the hot water washer will be faster and require less labor to scrape away built up grease and dirt. I have a gas powered pressure washer and use it on a fairly regular basis around my property. It works fine to do the work you want to do, it does require a good degreaser and some hand labor to scrape off heavy deposits. For a one time project, I’d recommend renting a hot water machine to get a quicker, better quality with less manual labor.

[Jack Bennett]

On 3/8/2024 at 7:00 AM, 1wonton said:

My old/antique truck has a hundred years of dirt, grease baked on.  Is it worth the money to buy a hot water/steam pressure washer or better to go with a cold-water high-pressure machine?

Even if you are a professional detailer, and used the hot water/steam pressure washer to make, instead of spend money, I’d still advise against buying it. 
I am supposing the Mack truck is being worked on as a hobby project, rather than a vehicle to use in commercial trade.

As such, my recommendation is that, since you will have plenty to do as recreation/relaxation projects working on the truck, you have little need of another machine, namely a fuel sucking, storage space gulping pressure washer, which is very needy of maintenance in itself, to play with.

There are some environmental friendly engine degreasers available, and, as you have read in the responses, there are some really good, off the shelf, cleaners and degreasers available which work well with a little elbow grease.

A suggestion I do have is that you get a good, stiff, nylon brush and visit the Dollar store and stock up on their three for $1.25 paint brushes. These are great for doing seamers, and are cheap enough you can trash them after a rough days use.

Oh, and the cold water machine……unless you have stripped the truck of all electrical devices, removed all dash panel instruments and taken out any wiring which will be damaged, I’d pass on buying the cold water pressure washer too.

Jack

Edited March 11 by Jack Bennett (see edit history)

[Dandy Dave]

22 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

Uhmmmm, the car that comes to the forefront in my mind as most damaged by a steam cleaning job was a model the maker called a 20/25. You wouldn't associate with any of that type would you?

 

I worked on a couple of those tractors and dozers. If you think following behind the unknown fancy car mechanic has surprises those farm mechanics will cause you to wake up in the middle of the night.

 

20-25 RR.  Yep. Been there. Aint never steam cleaned one though. Sounds like the guy holding the wand didn't know where to stick it. That ill make it ruff on the old girl. Where's Ed??? He auto be in this conversation.  

Edited March 11 by Dandy Dave (see edit history)

[Jim Skelly]

I've used this for small cleaning projects around the outside of the house.  If used in conjunction with a degreaser such as Gunk, does a good job on greasy surfaces.  Old toothbrushes also work well with another application of Gunk foam spray or liquid to finish the job.

 

Turbo Jet High Spray Hose Nozzle Attachments 1000243 - The Home Depot

[Paul Dobbin]

A good Tool Rental Store, will save you a fortune and space, because it you buy it, you  have to store it and maintain it.

[60FlatTop]

On 3/11/2024 at 8:32 AM, Dandy Dave said:

Sounds like the guy holding the wand didn't know where to stick it.

It was a shop that advised the car be given a thorough dousing. It was a mess. Trails of rusty water stripes in the splash pans, dripping from the electrical conduit, floor boards soaked.

There are people who think all that noise and activity indicate hard work being done. Me, quietly removing caked on evidence of the ages in the manner of an archeologist, would be and has been, called lazy by some. Their perception, their reality, as the annoying man said.

 

I am a Navy spit shine shoe polisher. When I taught my wife to shine my shoes she was amazed at the light, gentle method. She was raised to think it was hard men's work. She had to relearn so much in those first few years, well, I guess she still is.

[Hemi Joel]

For heavy caked on old grease, I use my steamer. It puts out a high volume of steam at low pressure, probably less than 100 psi at up to 375 degrees. It has the ability to meter a chemical degreaser to the water before it goes into the pump and the boiler. 

I think it is the fastest, easiest, most thorough method I have tried. Using common sense, I avoid damage. I mask off areas that I don't want any splashing on.