5 Ways You Never Realized You Could Use Your Ryobi Pressure Washer
The Ryobi hardware brand offers a variety of different pressure washer options, with backpacks and rolling tanks blasting out a pressurized jet of water at PSI levels in the thousands. As the term "pressure washer" probably implies, the primary application of these devices is cleaning — a pressure washer is great for blasting away tricky, ground-in messes on outdoor surfaces like patios, driveways, stone fixtures, and more.
When you put a pressure washer in someone's hands, though, something kind of miraculous happens. You can't help but wonder, "What else could I use this thing on?" You may assume that the answer is nothing, as there couldn't possibly be anything a pressurized jet of water would be good for besides cleaning stuff. However, not only are there several other uses for your Ryobi pressure washer, but those uses break into territory you may never have considered.
Whatever you do with your pressure washer, remember to observe safety protocols: Never point the pressure washer at another person or living creature, and don't use it in the house, just to name a couple of major rules. Additionally, some pressure washers aren't as powerful as others, so your results in these pursuits may vary.
Strip paint
As the surfaces around your home get older, the paint that covers it can start to take a turn for the worse, losing its shade and luster. If it gets bad enough, the paint can start to chip away, leaving your home looking decidedly less house-like and more shack-like. If you want to remove old paint quickly, a Ryobi pressure washer is an efficient option.
With a pressure washer in the 2,000 to 4,000 PSI range, you can quickly and easily blast away water, latex, and oil-based paints from any solid surface, including wood, metal, and concrete. Oil is a bit stubborn in the staining department, so if the paint is oil-based, it may take a higher pressure and more concentrated blasting. Even so, it's still very possible. Just like that, a job that would normally take an entire day of back-breaking labor becomes a breezy afternoon, pointing a jet wand at things and watching them change color.
Remove heavy leaf piles
When the fall season rolls around, the leaves start fluttering down from the trees and accumulating on the ground. It's nice to look at for a while until your lawn is completely consumed by rapidly rotting plant life that may or may not have a variety of creepy crawlies dwelling in it. Normally, the solution for piled-up leaves is a leaf blower, but if it's been raining a lot, the leaves can solidify together into a surprisingly sturdy mound, kind of like lumpy oatmeal. In this situation, the solution is, ironically, more water.
While you're normally not supposed to use a pressure washer on plant life, as it'll definitely kill it, fallen leaves are another story. If you've got wet clumps of leaves around your yard, the power of a Ryobi pressure washer can easily dislodge the clumps and move the leaves elsewhere. This also has the side benefit of blasting away any insect colonies or hives that have taken up residence within the clumps. Once all of the piles have been cut down to size, you can use a leaf blower or rake to mop up the remnants.
Retrieve out-of-reach toys
If you have kids and a yard, the odds are good that, at some point, a toy is going to end up in a spot where everyone would prefer it not to be. Frisbees end up on the roof, balls end up stuck in trees, carelessly thrown action figures end up in the gutters, and so on. These situations would normally necessitate a grown-up (i.e., you) busting out the old, rickety ladder and overextending themselves as they try to reach the toy from a disadvantageous position. It's a very unsafe and inefficient solution to a simple problem. Instead of putting yourself at risk of tumbling from a high place, keep your feet on the ground and bring the toy to you.
Using your Ryobi power washer with a steady hand, you can fire off a quick, controlled blast of water to snipe misplaced toys out of high spots. Whether something's stuck on the roof or in a tree, it just takes one well-placed shot to get it out of there and back on the ground. As long as you keep your washer on a low setting and use a quick burst instead of a sustained stream, you shouldn't damage the toy or whatever it's stuck in.
Debark firewood
If you like to have the fireplace going during the cold season or make use of a wood-burning stove, you always want to have a cache of firewood on hand. Depending on who you ask, it may be better to remove the bark from chopped logs of firewood, as insectoid pests can take up residence under the bark. If bugs are digging through your firewood, they'll create pockets where moisture and air can get trapped and cause mold to take root. Removing the bark makes firewood better at dispersing moisture, which in turn makes it burn better.
So, what's the best way to debark firewood? Surprisingly, it's a pressure washer. A Ryobi pressure washer with at least 2,000-3,000 PSI of power and a turbo nozzle can systematically strip the bark from the wood. If you do this before the cold season and give it time to dry out afterward, you'll have plenty of nice, clean-burning firewood ready to go.
Peel potatoes
Potatoes are one of the staple vegetables of the West for a reason: they're plentiful and generally well-liked. If you want to enjoy some potatoes with dinner, you need to peel them first, which can be an irritating and time-consuming task, even with a dedicated peeler. If you don't mind getting a little silly, though, there's another way you can peel those spuds and have some fun doing it.
A Ryobi pressure washer can be used to peel the skin off an entire batch of potatoes in the time it usually takes to peel just one. Just dump your potatoes into a wire basket, take it outside, and blast the surface of it with your pressure washer at close range. The peels will fly right off, leaving your spuds pristine. Obviously, this isn't the most efficient way to peel potatoes, and you might want to give them a secondary washing after the fact, but it definitely makes your meal prep a little more interesting.