Pressure washers have become a popular tool for cleaning tasks around the house. They have numerous advantages from cleaning cars, siding, decks and more. The pressure washer comes with a detergent tank where you add your cleaning solution. After you have added the solution to the detergent tank, you select the low-pressure setting on the nozzle and spray your dirty surface. This allows the detergent to work on loosening the dirt before you switch back to high pressure to wash it off. When this process does not work, it can be frustrating.

Here are some things you can do to fix this problem:

• The first thing that you should do if your pressure washer is not sucking up soap is check the detergent tank. The hose that runs from the tank to suction must be inserted correctly into the tank or it will not pick up any of the detergent inside of it. This can happen when you make repairs on your pressure washer such as changing out a filter or replacing a hose. Just make sure that this hose is firmly seated into the tank so that you can get all of your cleaning solution sucked up by your pressure washer.
• Check for an obstruction in the suction tube. If there is one, remove it and see if that fixes your problem. If not, then move on to step two below.
• Check for a kink in the hose. This is probably what’s causing your problem, and most likely all you need to do is straighten out your hose! Be sure to check both sides of the hose, just in case there’s another kink somewhere else along its length...
• The most common is the distance from the soap container to the pump. If there is too much suction hose, it can cause cavitation in the pump, which will prevent it from pulling any soap or liquid into the pump.
• Another common problem is that the pressure washer is not “primed” before starting. If you do not prime your pressure washer, then there is no water in the system and thus no way for the soap to be drawn into the water stream.
• A third reason that a pressure washer may fail to suck detergent is that it does not have a down-stream injector, or that it has one but it is not installed properly. A downstream injector will allow you to draw detergent into your spray stream without using any additional hoses or pumps.
• Finally, some pumps are designed specifically for use with only certain types of detergents and some may require more than one pump to operate all of them (for example, some pumps require two pumps to function properly).
• First, make sure you're not just low on cleaning solution. If the reservoir is empty or nearly empty, it's going to be very difficult for the pump to pull it in. Refill the reservoir and try again.
• If it still won't pull in cleaning solution, there's probably some sort of blockage in the line. First check the strainer screen on the suction side of the pump. This is usually a small white plastic piece that twists off and allows you to clean out any debris that has gotten into your cleaning solution supply.
• Next, check where the soap line enters your pressure washer. It's common for these fittings to become loose over time, which can result in leaks and other problems.
• If all else fails, check your unloader valve. The unloader valve is responsible for regulating water pressure at the output of your pump, but sometimes they can fail in such a way that they prevent water from flowing back into the pump at all. If it still fails contact the experts at the Giraffetools collections for further guidance.