Borrowed a power washer that nearly wrecked my fence

I was super skeptical about our neighborhood tool library when it started last spring. Figured people would return stuff busted or not clean it at all. Then last month I needed a power washer to clean my deck and fence before staining, didn't want to drop $200 on one I'd use once. Borrowed it from the library, got home, and noticed the hose fitting was cracked and leaking bad. Called the coordinator and she told me the previous borrower had dropped it but never said anything. They replaced the fitting the next day but I spent an hour cleaning up mud and water from my yard. Now I check every tool over before I leave the library, especially things with hoses or blades. Has anyone else gotten a tool that was damaged and they didn't catch it until they got home?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrewh958d ago

Funny you mention the hose fitting. Had almost the same thing happen with a pressure washer from a library down the street. Except it was the spray tip. Came off mid-blast and shot straight into my fence. Left a perfect little divot in the wood. Real talk though, the real issue is nobody checks the rubber seals on the hose ends. Those dry rot and crack before anything else looks bad. I always twist the connections by hand now, feel for any give. One loose seal and you're getting sprayed in the face, not just the yard.

martinez.karen7d ago

Right, because my morning was definitely missing the adrenaline rush of a rogue hose seal attack. @andrewh95 you've described my exact fear every time I water the tomatoes, just waiting for that perfect little divot in my face now. I've started doing the twist test too but my neighbor caught me and probably thinks I'm trying to summon a genie from the spigot. Guess we're all just out here playing roulette with cheap rubber parts and hoping the garden hose doesn't turn into a sniper rifle.