How to descale a pressure washer

The two methods of descaling a pressure washer

Descaling a pressure washer can be achieved in two different ways:

• Either you partially disassemble the motorization of your device, as well as the various accessories to then proceed to their cleaning, with white vinegar or a descaler.
• Either you simply run white vinegar or any other anti-limescale product in the motorization and accessories of your device.

Descale a pressure washer by removing scaled components

Given the scope of the brands of pressure washers (Wen, Karcher, Craftsman to name only the main ones), it would be difficult to propose a specific methodology to dismantle. Indeed even if the parts of the pressure washers have an identical function, the nature of their material, their assembly varies according to the models, brands and intrinsic characteristics of each washing machine.

Accessing to the motorization of a high pressure washer is possible but this operation requires to be handyman.

• Remove the pressure washer casing which is fixed to the frame by cruciform or torx screws with a screwdriver. When removing, be careful not to tear off the connector wires but to disconnect them by marking them with a colored marking.
• Locate the pump head located on the electric motor, it is recognizable by its nozzle where the water arrives.
• Remove the pump head by unscrewing the screws that hold it.
• Descale the valves which are then accessible using an anti-limescale product.

Nozzle, hose, lance.. all accessories of the high pressure cleaners can also be descaled by soaking.

The main thing is to know how to reassemble what is dismantled and not to break any plastic clip necessary for the sealing of the device and equipment nor to pinch and/or damage the assembly joints.

Descaling a high pressure cleaner without disassembling it

The principle is to run an anti-limescale solution in the appliance's water circuit to descale it. For that, you need:

• An anti-limescale solution such as white vinegar or a dedicated descaler
• Bucket,
• Two 50 cm long garden hoses with a quick connector at one end and a hose clamp at the other.

A 6-step descaling process

• Connect the hose with the quick connector to the water supply nozzle and plunge its other end into the bucket filled with an anti-lime solution.
• Connect the hose with the screw clamp to the fitting where the hose connected to the gun is attached and submerge also its other end in the bucket.
• Descaling occurs under pressure, in short one-minute sessions separated by a 30-minute break necessary for the action of the anti-limescale solution.
• The pressure washer, turned on for 1 minute, will activate the pump which will suck the anti-limescale and circulate it throughout the motorization to the drain hose connected instead of the gun hose.
• It is necessary to have several liters of anti-lime product in the bucket and to keep the supply hose in the solution so as not to deactivate the pump (air infiltration). The second pipe simply evacuates the anti-limescale needed for its reinjection.
• Repeat the action ten times and then rinse the device so that the anti-lime solution by its corrosive power does not damage the motor: fill it with water and simply use it for several minutes.