How to Clean Pool Tile with Pressure Washer

A pool is a perfect place to relax during the hot weather. When the cold season comes along, the pool closes. During this time, the interior develops muck and grime that a standard pool brush might struggle to deal with. Inside your storage, you have this powerful pressure washer, and you’re wondering if you can use it to clean the pool. If you do not have one already, you might be considering to get one. Right?

Well, this post on how to clean pool tile with a pressure washer is here to advise you on the best routine to use. I will also advise you on things to remember while performing the cleaning. I hope, in the end, you can confidently pick your pressure washer and get your swimming pool surfaces clean again.

Is it safe to use a Pressure Washer to Clean a Pool?

This is a question asked by most pool owners, especially those with a pressure washer they use for other cleaning purposes at homes, such as car washing, roof cleaning, and more. The main concern here is, will the pool surfaces handle the pressure?

Of course, a pressure washer can clean pool tiles if appropriately used. Pool tiles are made from ceramic or porcelain. These two materials can be damaged by a pressure washer if used with much power.

You must follow the right techniques on how to clean the pool tile with a pressure washer. Later on, I will discuss various ways you can pressure wash your pool tiles properly and avoid damaging them.

How To Clean Pool Tile With Pressure Washer

A pressure washer is a handy machine that handles a lot of cleaning quite well. Even though it’s not the recommended mean of cleaning pool tiles, it can handle the cleaning well. However, you need to be careful and follow the following steps.

Acquire Pressure Washer

If you don’t already have a pressure washer in your storage, you will need one. You can decide to buy or rent one depending on how often you’ll be using it. Another thing, you have to think of the most efficient and sufficient pressure to buy or rent.

I would recommend you buy a pressure washer. According to those who have tried cleaning pool tiles with a pressure washer say a steam pressure washer does a fantastic job. The best is that you do not need detergents, allowing a more eco-friendly clean and saving more money.

Apart from that, you will still need to consider other features to make sure you buy something practical. Since cleaning will require you to move around, you may want to purchase something portable.

Another thing, the unit should be able to get water to at least 300°; you need it to ensure the tiles are appropriately cleaned. Finally, an ideal pressure washer for cleaning pool tiles should have a 2000 PSI minimum and 2600 Psi maximum.

Clearing the Pool

A pressure washer can work correctly is the pool is empty. However, draining your pool can be quite tedious, tiring, and exclusively expensive; it wouldn’t be a cost-effective method.

That doesn’t mean you cannot still clean your swimming pool if full of water. What you need to do is make sure there is no debris in your way. The water needs to be reasonably clean.

To have it clean, you can turn on the pool filtration system and get a handheld pool skimmer to pick any debris, twigs, and leaves left in the water.

You can take your time to make sure the debris is all out of the water. You will be more comfortable with pressure washing in clean water.

Testing the Pressure

The next step is to test the pressure on the tile. As usual, read the user manual – while at it, try to find out if there is a specific setting for use with pool tiles or tiles in general. It’d be best to start with a lower pressure setting; that way, you won’t be exposing the pool tile to high breakage risk while you clean.

Run the water on a single tile for around half a minute. Choose a place that is more stable and less risky to break. If you suspect any damage while you clean or after, you will have to lower the setting. You might make more than one adjustment to find the ideal pressure setting.

Work One Section at a Time

Once you get it right, start small; work on small sections, bit by bit. Don’t be in a hurry; take your time, and ensure each area is spotless before moving to the next little part.

It might seem like a time-consuming task, but it’ll be worth it. You will be able to perform a thorough job and prevent you from returning to the same spot.

If you get to areas where it gets tricky for the water to reach, you will want to use a different nozzle(s) or a separate attachment(s) to push water to those areas properly. If you decide to go with a steam pressure washer, you should keep distance as it’s going to be hot.

You may also want to use a pool tile brush to loosen those stubborn stains and dirt. It will help when you splash them out with the pressure washer later.

What to Remember: Pool Tile Pressure Washing Tips

Now that I’ve covered how to clean pool tile with a pressure washer, you still need to know how to use the pressure washer to avoid damaging your pool tiles. Here are things you need to remember:

Use the Right Pressure

The first you’d want to do before you point the water on the tiles is to set the right pressure. If you’re an absolute beginner in using a pressure washer, the first step would be reading the instructions in the user manual or asking for help.

Always start small. I mean, start with low pressure and adjust as you test the right point. I recommend you start with 2000 PSI and go up slowly, the maximum being 2600 PSI.

If your pool tiles are more fragile, use pressure lower pressure. Keep in mind that you’ve to test the strength first on one tile before proceeding and adjusting from there.

Keep Distance

It would be best if you also kept a distance from the tile surface you’re cleaning. Pressure washers shoot highly concentrate water, and that’s why they damage the surface cleaned with high pressure.

You should stay away from the spot you’re praying to make sure the water sprayed isn’t concentrated too much. I recommend you stand around 3-feet away.

Use the Right Tip/Nozzle

If you use the wrong tip, you can use too much strength to damage your pool tiles. I recommend you use a nozzle exerting the least pressure. Most of the best pressure washers will come with multiple nozzle tips. If not, you can ask for assistance in choosing the best nozzle tip for cleaning pool tiles.

Move a lot

You don’t want to stay in one spot for too long. Even if you have the right nozzle tip and at the right distance while you use less pressure, you could still damage if you stay in one spot for too long.

I recommend you work on one spot for at least a half a minute and check for any damage caused. If the place has some stubborn dirt, you can use the right pool tile brush to loosen it.

You can also spray the area longer but not continuously; do it for 30-seconds and get to it again till it’s clean.

Final Verdict!

And that’s how to clean pool tile with a pressure washer. You must follow every step and tip I’ve shared here to make sure you achieve the right result and avoid damaging your pool tiles. The cleaning needs to be done right, with the ideal pressure, distance, and timing.