dislodging dirt - any nozzle nearly as good as PW?

[pasadena_commut]

Presently when washing our cars I use a regular garden spray nozzle, which does not have enough oomph to blast all of the dirt off the surface, even at the hardest setting and close range. In truth, the prerinse only takes off the most loosely bound dirt, and gets the car wet, so that later scrubbing with soap can remove the rest of it. Folks say that a PW actually blasts the dirt off the surface at the initial rinse, and I have no reason to doubt their observations.



What I'm wondering is if there are specialized nozzles for a regular hose which are better optimized for cleaning cars, and which approach the effectiveness of a PW?



Typical house water pressures when directed through a very a small nozzle can result in very high velocities, and I assume it is water velocity that is the critical component in dislodging the dirt, with water volume at that speed mostly just increasing the area covered by the stream, and possibly preventing the dislodged dirt from resettling downstream. So it seems possible that a well designed washer nozzle on the end of a garden hose could be effective at removing surface dirt, although probably only when applied from a very close distance. There are a lot of "car wash nozzles" and "car wash wands" around, but it is hard to know which, if any, are actually worth bothering with. Your thoughts?

 

[David Fermani]

Looks into a Fireman's nozzle. It will make your garden hose act like it's on steroids.

 

[louie586]

You could check out the Water Jet -- you know, that As Seen On TV product. Not sure how well it actually works, but it can't be any worse than a regular garden hose. And at $20, it probably won't break the bank. I'd say give it a try.

 

[citizen arcane]

Looks into a Fireman's nozzle.

+1



Combined w/ a 3/4" hose this is as good as it will get without a PW.