1
Read the pump, not the box
Stamped PSI and GPM pick the orifice. Most homeowner gas machines in the 2,600–3,200 PSI / 2.3–2.7 GPM band want a 3.0 hole — 25030 green, 15030 yellow, 40030 white. Confirm on the tip chart before you click a tip set.
How-to · concrete
How to pressure wash a driveway without etching it.
Match the hole to the pump, degrease before you spin a deck, and keep turbo nozzles and the 0° red tip off broom-finished concrete.
Two things that ruin a pad.
A turbo nozzle or a stalled 0° red tip will etch broom-finished concrete. Bleach, toilet cleaner, and
“just a little Clorox” through the inlet ruin the pump. Degreaser stays downstream.
This is the job sequence behind the driveway & concrete kit. It assumes a 3.0-orifice homeowner gas washer. If your stamped numbers sit outside that band, size the hole on the orifice chart first and only then borrow the steps.
The sequence
Five passes. One pad.
2
Sweep, then degrease the oil
Loose grit first. Peroxide driveway cleaner on oil, rust, and tire marks — foam cannon or pump sprayer, never the inlet. Dwell a few minutes in the shade. Do not let it bake.
3
Surface cleaner, overlapping passes
A 15″ deck in this band actually spins. Skirt flat, slow walk, half-overlap. Tilt it and you etch a crescent. Edges and expansion joints still need the wand.
4
25° on the edges, 15° only on spots
Green 25° for joints, fence lines, and the strip the deck missed. Yellow 15° for gum, tire marks, and stubborn pads — keep it moving. Leave the 0° red tip in the drawer.
5
40° rinse toward the street
White 40° to push dirty water off the pad. Stay off garage-door seals and the bottom of painted siding. Flush the cannon with clean water when you are done.
Why a surface cleaner beats a wand marathon
A wand on 25° leaves tiger stripes. A surface cleaner is two spinning nozzles under a skirt — if the bar has enough flow to stay alive. On 2.3–2.7 GPM that is a 15–16″ deck, not a 20″ “pro” plate that crawls and streaks. Diameter is coverage. GPM is physics. Detail: surface cleaner matrix.
- Confirm the cleaner’s minimum GPM and maximum PSI both fit the stamped pump.
- Keep the skirt flush. Overlap about half a deck each pass.
- Do not drop a 0° red tip inside the housing.
- The wand still does the fence line, the expansion joints, and the last two feet by the garage.
Oil spots are chemistry, not more PSI
Turning the unloader up does not lift used motor oil. A peroxide driveway cleaner with dwell does — foam cannon or pump sprayer, then the deck. Solvent and bleach never go through the inlet. The foam and soap guide is the chemistry path.
Worked pair: 2.5 GPM @ 3,000 PSI → 3.0 orifice, 15″ deck, degreaser in the cannon,
25° on the edges, 40° rinse to the street. That is the driveway kit.
Picks that match this job
Live Amazon links with tag nozzlekit-20. No invented ASINs or prices.
Tip set
Simpson Cleaning 80145 3600 PSI Universal Pressure Washer Nozzles, 1/4-Inch Quick Connect, Set of 5Orifice 3.0 — the homeowner-gas hole. Green for the pad, yellow for spots, white to rinse. Leave red in the drawer.
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Surface cleaner
Kärcher Pressure Washer Surface Cleaner 15", Quick Connect, 2600–3200 PSIRated about 2,600–3,200 PSI and at most 2.7 GPM. Two spinning nozzles, no wand tiger stripes.
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Downstream degreaser
Simple Green Oxy Solve Concrete and Driveway Pressure Washer CleanerPeroxide lift for oil, rust, and tire marks. Foam cannon or pump sprayer — never the inlet.
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Foam cannon
Tool Daily Foam Cannon with 1/4 Inch Quick Connector, 1 LiterDwell tool for degreaser on concrete. Wants roughly 2+ GPM. Flush it when you are done.
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Full short list, machine band, and danger notes live on the driveway & concrete kit. Wrong thread on the gun? See quick-connect wands.