This time of year, the focus seems to be on getting our outdoor spaces ready. It all starts with a good cleaning, whether it's wiping down the benches on our back porch, or tidying up the garden beds or giving everything a good wash down.



The screened-in porch at the cottage needed a lot of work in this regard. We didn't realize just how dirty our porch would get. Being on the corner lot across from a major construction zone (new cottages are still being built at our resort!) did not help things.



Can you see that cloud of dust on our porch screens? Our outdoor furniture, cushions, and rug also have to be cleaned. It's not a big issue for me... I realize this level of dirt is only temporary while construction is ongoing, and the benefits of the large porch outweigh the cons (I'm still able to take porch naps, no problem!). Nonetheless, I really wanted to get the porch nice and clean so we could fully enjoy it for the summer.

RYOBI Tools was kind enough to offer a pressure washer for review. Have you ever shopped for a pressure washer? I didn't realize how many different options these tools came with: electric or gas? Light or super powerful? Seeing as we planned to use the pressure washer only 3-4 times a year and mainly for the cottage, we wanted a machine that was:
- small and compact for easy storage
- electric powered so we didn't need to worry about storing gas in the off-season
- suited to light to medium cleaning
- and not too loud

The RYOBI 2000PSI Electric Pressure Washer was just what we needed.




This pressure washer is very simple to use. The machine is light and compact and assembling it was easy. It comes with three nozzles, one for soap, a 15˚ for medium clean, and one for turbo cleaning. We stuck to the 15˚ nozzle which was good enough to get our floors, furniture, and screens clean.


The pressure worked well for surface cleaning and for pushing dirt out from between the deck boards. The long cord allowed us to reach all corners of our 10'x20' porch. I'm not sure how loud a gas powered pressure washer would be but this electric one was not overly loud. I liked that when the wand trigger was released, the pump would stop and the machine would be silent. Have a look:



Overall, the RYOBI 2000psi Electric Pressure Washer was the right tool for this easy cleaning job. This washer is capable of much more and we've brought it home. I'm excited to try out the turbo nozzle and see if it can help get our concrete front steps clean.