Washing Trees With Pressure Washers: Why It’s Not Recommended

Most property owners use pressure washers to clean areas such as the sidewalk. But can you use the same machine to wash or spray your trees? As a reliable Toronto arborist , Al Miley & Associates don’t recommend using pressure washers. They have so much power that can instantly ruin your trees. They are up to 50 times stronger than a standard garden hose which means the kind of force they put on the trees can cause extensive damage.

What happens when you use a power washer?

The kind of force that a pressure washer is designed to give out will clean your car, patio or even outdoor furniture really well. But when you try and use it to clean your tree trunks, you may end up losing huge chunks on the bark. When that pressure is applied for a long time, the damage can get to the tree cells behind the bark. It doesn’t matter if you set the pressure washer to the lowest setting, it’s still likely to be too strong to clean trees.

What can you use to clean your trees?

If your trees need cleaning, all you need is a garden hose. Other unwanted elements such as lichen or moss can be removed by pulling them off the trees without using any pressure. If you use a pressure washer to spray trees with insecticide, you may end up removing or shredding the leaves. Furthermore, the insecticide can easily get to the nearby area if you spray it using a power washer which creates an environmental hazard.

Look for a professional pesticide applicator if you need to spray your trees and a standard garden hose to keep them clean and avoid any form of damage to the tree trunk and leaves. Pressure washers should only be used for the job they were designed to handle and not cleaning trees.

Al Miley & Associates expert Tree restoration Toronto.