Forums > Specific Focus > Home, Garden & Construction in Mexico

gbatrucks

Dec 7, 2011, 7:30 AM

Post #1 of 5 (3551 views)

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Pressure washer

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So....I bought one of the Karcher pressure washers that Costco had on sale last month. On reading the manual I see that if I don't use their proprietary detergents, my roof will cave in, my cats will die, yada yada... The questions are, (1) Are Karcher products available in the lake Chapala area? (I know where their store is in Guadalajara) and (2) does anyone have experience using non-Karcher detergents in a sprayer? if so, what do you use & and what ratio of detergent to water seems to work?
"The trouble with life is there's no background music."

AlanMexicali

Dec 7, 2011, 8:33 AM

Post #2 of 5 (3526 views)

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Re: [gbatrucks] Pressure washer

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http://hotsy.com/detergents.aspx?Cid=542

Where I retired from I was the Facilities Engineer among other things and our pressure washer was commercial grade. When researching I found that the recommended detergent must be biodegradable. The brand we bought was the brand from the company in the above link. We purchased the largest size to save money. Any brand of biodegradable detergent will be safe. As far as I know you will be able to go to Home Depot and read the labels or even a commercial cleaning wholesale type store and find what you need for the best price. You might not find the mixture on non power washer detergent labels but you find the mixture on power washer detergent labels [or online] and use that mixture for anything you do buy. Good luck. Commercial cleaning companies are generally cheaper than Home Depot, but Costco , Walmart and Sam's Club have good prices. When going to Home Depot in Mexico, we just completed building a house, compared to San Diego my wife has to check out everything for hours and she is always amazed how high prices in Mexican Home Depots are. Once she was going to take a Badger 3 garbage disposal on the plane and decided not to. It was $99.00 + tax. When she went to buy it in San Luis Potosi at the Home Depot she paid $2,500 pesos for the same thing. The double the price there and savings in San Diego would have almost paid her cost of the one way airfare. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I find in general American products in Mexico usually sell for full retail price with zero discount no matter if they are made in Mexico or not. The full retail on the Badger 3 is $199.00 US and that is what my darling wife paid.

(This post was edited by Rolly on Dec 7, 2011, 9:17 AM)

donemry

Dec 7, 2011, 1:12 PM

Post #3 of 5 (3492 views)

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Re: [gbatrucks] Pressure washer

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I use a Karcher pressure washer at out house in PV to clean the mold off the terrace tiles. I never use detergent, just water. Try just water first. I also use the optional rotary nozzle as it cleans well and there is less chance of damaging softer tiles.

mazbook1

Dec 7, 2011, 2:14 PM

Post #4 of 5 (3486 views)

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Re: [donemry] Pressure washer

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Not knowing for certain, but I would bet that the "special" detergent for pressure washers is the same as the "anti-foaming" detergent used in side-loading washing machines.

NEOhio1

Dec 8, 2011, 1:29 AM

Post #5 of 5 (3446 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] Pressure washer

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I LOVE to use the power washer. For getting moss off shady areas I usually spray the area with 50/50 bleach and water from a garden pump then wait 3-4 days for the moss to die and just wash it away. For hard surface cleaning I usually just drizzle some dishwashing soap over the area and get to it. The soap and low suds does a fine job of spreading itself around. Most of the time I just let the water do the work.