Tony,

Larry Hill is right, bigger is better. Last time I used one to wash
house, I rented a 3500psi model (actually, they had nothing smaller
available for rent). You can back away from the house and move towards
it as necessary for the additional pressure. When I first fired this
one up, I blew a chunk of wood siding off the house which I never did
find. :^) The lower pressure ones (1000 psi and under) are good for
general use, but if you're painting your house, I would get a higher
pressure unit, at least 2000 psi. I like the gas units for the
convenience of just having to have a long hose pipe if necessary and
not the additional long extension cord. I saw a 2000 psi gas powered
unit at Wally World for $200 which I thought was an excellent dal. I'm
just not in the market for one at the moment. Keep in mind that after
you pressure wash your house, you should wait at least three days
before painting! The pressure washer forces water into the wood
siding (if that's what you have) and you need to give it a chance to
dry out a bit.

One pice of advice regardless of whether it's gas or electric, is to
ensure that the water is turned on BEFORE you fire up the unit and is
still on AFTER you are finished. It isn't a bad idea to leave the
water on a few minutes after you are finished. Even when not running,
water will still flow and this will help cool the pump down. Unless
things have changed recently, the pumps are fairly sensitive and will
certainly last a LOT longer if you do this.

You just might be surprised how much paint comes off the house when
using a pressure washer. If the pressure washer knocks the paint off,
you wanted it to come off to begin with as it didn't adhere as well as
you might have thought it did.

-Jim

Tony V wrote:
I am looking to buy a pressure washer for my house before
I begin painting it. Naturally, I would like to use it to clean
the boat as well.

Does anyone have any recommendations as to pressure, GPM,
electric or gas or whatever?

Thanks for any help.

Tony Van