Pressure washing brilliance

[thegiraffe]

I was pressure washing the pool deck earlier last week because it was...well...disgusting. It was a safety hazard because of how slippery it was.

Anyhow, we have cut-out flower beds, and I was trying to get under the leaves of the big ligustrum (who in their right mind puts ligustrums in a pool screen? They're HUGE! They were there when we moved in though...) and my leg got in the way of the pressure washer.

This was immediately after:




And this is today...a few days after it happened:



Oh yeah...it's ugly.


My brother and I had cleaned the gutters before pressure washing. The idiots who installed them before we moved in put the gutters INSIDE the pool screen (yeah, I know...it doesn't make any sense), so we had quite the mess on our hands. As I was hosing down the walls to get all the gutter yuck off of them, the spray hit the pool brush pole, and I instinctively grabbed it so I wouldn't get clocked in the head. I didn't, but my hand did get in the way of the pressure spray.




It's deeper than it looks. That thing takes layers of skin clear off!

I think I'm going to lay off on the pressure washing for awhile. I've had my share of injuries to last me a long time haha.

On a plus side, the pool deck looks good!!

[Food Lady]

My stomach balled up as I looked at those! I'm afraid you may scar. But a preemptive strike (after the wounds heal) is some kind of cream with vitamin c & vit e. (I have plenty of experience with mishaps, mostly burns, though.)

[thegiraffe]

I actually don't scar very bad. I'm REALLY accident prone and should have many more marks than I have to show for it. Partly helps because I'm fair-skinned

I'm using copious amounts of neosporin to ward off infection because of the depth of the wound, so that helps it stay somewhat moisturized I hope. We'll see...

[gremcint]

My sister used to work for a cleaning company, she was going to be put on a different day than usual. There was this macho idiot who was the only one who worked that day and was doing completely different duties than her said he was going to use the pressure washer on her. Everybody told him he was being an idiot and that they's kick his ass if he did.

After seeing these pictures I got say he would have deserved it.

[thegiraffe]

It's not horrible if it's from a distance (say 20+ feet). This was from pretty close to the nozzle...within a few inches. I was blasting dirt and mildew from the pool deck with the same pressure water that hit my leg and hand. My hand is looking much better than it was, but the cut on my leg is really deep...I was just looking at it. I had it on the 'fan' setting, so I'm glad I wound up on the narrow edge of the spray. Who knows how bad it would have been if I got hit by the broad edge.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

This thread has inserted in my head the mental image of that kid on Stanley Spadowski's Clubhouse drinking from the firehose.

Just thought I would let you know.

[Mr. Rager!]

You may want to get those checked out by a doctor. Apparently, cuts from a pressure washer can be very dangerous. I used to sell the damn things and we were always told that it can be very dangerous to get cut by those and people should see a doctor.

I forgot the reason why it was so horrible. It's been like 3 years.

[thegiraffe]

I think it has something to do with air being pushed into the skin, FL. I'm not real worried about it though because it came from the side...if that makes sense. It wasn't directly aimed at the skin.

That, and I don't have health insurance right now, so I can't afford to get it checked out. I can barely pay my bills as it is. I've felt fine and it's been almost a week, so I'm not too worried. Thanks though!!

[Bright_Star]

They look infected. Better go to the doctor & get it treated. Better safe than sorry.

[taxguykarl]

They look infected. Better go to the doctor & get it treated. Better safe than sorry.

I'm with Bright Star on this one. BTW, when was your last tetnus shot? At the absolute least break out the NeoSporin.

[thegiraffe]

I had a tetanus shot a few years ago. They look more inflamed in the picture than they do in person. They're not oozing, and they're not abnormally sore (they're tender, but that's to be expected with something like this). I bandage them every night and let them air out during the day, but cover them if I'm doing yardwork or whatever.

The different levels of coloration are literally different layers of skin because of how the spray hit. I can totally see how they look infected, but I'm positive that they're not. I'm REALLY accident prone...I've had tons of pretty spectacular injuries

I've been using copious amounts of neosporin several times daily. I'm expecting a pretty crazy looking scar...

[RootedPhoenix]

All I can say is OW. OW OW OW. >.<

As for the choice of head vs hand, I'd have chosen my hand too. *shudders at thought*

Hope you heal soon.

[Cyphr]

Oww, just out of curiosity what is your sprayer Rater? I took a full on blast from mine once and it wasnt nearly as bad, although it's an electrical light duty sprayer so it's alot weaker than most.

[thegiraffe]

I'm not sure, it's my brother's. I know it has a honda gas motor though and it's heavy and on wheels...

[Mr. Rager!]

Oww, just out of curiosity what is your sprayer Rater? I took a full on blast from mine once and it wasnt nearly as bad, although it's an electrical light duty sprayer so it's alot weaker than most.

Sometimes, it has to do with the tip as well. But, I'd say anything above 1500psi should be able to do that.