How to Store a Jet Wash Between Jobs the Right Way
If you use a jet wash or pressure washer regularly for work, you already know how much punishment that kit takes. It travels in and out of vans, gets caked in mud and grime, and sits unused for days or weeks between jobs. How you store it during those gaps matters a lot more than most people realise.
Store it badly and you’re looking at cracked seals, seized pumps, and a machine that won’t start when you need it most. Store it well and it’ll run reliably season after season without draining your wallet on repairs or replacements.
Here’s what we know works, whether you’re a sole trader keeping your kit safe between contracts or someone who uses their pressure washer for home and garden maintenance across the year.
Clean the Machine Before You Put It Away
This sounds obvious, but a surprising number of people skip it. Storing a pressure washer with detergent residue, dirty water, or grit still sitting in the pump and hoses is one of the quickest ways to cause long-term damage.
Before storage, run clean water through the system to flush out any detergent. Trigger the gun a few times to push residual water out of the lance and hose. If you use a downstream injector or foam cannon, give those a rinse too. Leaving soap or cleaning chemicals sitting inside the pump housing can corrode internal components and leave deposits that clog the system.
Wipe down the exterior as well. A jet wash stores better when it’s dry and clean, and you’ll thank yourself when you pull it out for the next job and it looks professional rather than grubby.
Protect the Pump From Frost
This is the big one, especially relevant right now given we’re heading into the back half of the year. Frost is the single biggest killer of pressure washer pumps. Any water left sitting inside the pump can freeze, expand, and crack the pump housing. That’s often an uneconomical repair on a mid-range machine.
A few things worth doing to protect against this:
Use pump antifreeze. You can pick up pressure washer pump protector fluid cheaply from most tool suppliers. Run it through the inlet and let it coat the internal components. It lubricates the seals as well as protecting against freezing, which is a double benefit.
Drain everything properly. After flushing, tilt the machine gently to encourage any remaining water to drain out. Don’t leave it sitting flat on its base with water pooled inside if you can help it.
Store somewhere frost-free if possible. An unheated shed or garage might feel fine in July, but between October and March, temperatures in the East Midlands can drop well below freezing overnight. A proper, enclosed storage unit gives you much better protection than a metal outbuilding that offers no real insulation.
Coil Hoses Correctly to Avoid Kinks and Cracks
High-pressure hoses are tougher than they look, but they’re not indestructible. Leaving a hose coiled too tightly, kinked under weight, or draped awkwardly over a sharp edge will cause the outer casing to crack over time. When that happens, the hose becomes a safety hazard, not just a maintenance issue.
Coil hoses in large, loose loops and store them off the ground if you can. A simple hook or wall bracket in your storage unit works well. Keep the hose away from anything that might crush or pinch it, and don’t leave it coiled around the machine’s handle if the bend radius is too tight.
Same goes for trigger guns and lances. Store them upright or laid flat rather than jammed in at awkward angles.
Store Accessories and Attachments Together
One of the genuinely frustrating parts of pressure washer ownership is turning up to a job and realising the patio nozzle or the rotary brush attachment is sitting somewhere back at your yard. Keeping all your accessories together in one place solves that immediately.
A small plastic crate or toolbox stored alongside the machine works well. Keep your nozzles, foam lance, extension wands, and any specialist attachments in one container so you’re loading everything as a complete kit every time. Label it if you share a unit with other kit or if multiple team members need to access it.
Why a Self-Storage Unit Works Well for This Kind of Equipment
A lot of tradespeople we work with across Newark, Peterborough, Corby, Stamford, and Melton Mowbray started renting a unit because they’d outgrown their van or garage. What they quickly found is that having a dedicated, secure base for their equipment changes how they work. Everything is in one place, it’s protected, and they’re not cluttering up their driveway or cramming kit into a transit.
For pressure washing equipment specifically, our drive-up units are genuinely practical. You can pull up, load the jet wash and hose reel directly, and be on your way without carrying anything across a car park. 24/7 access means early morning starts and late finishes aren’t a problem either.
Our units come with individual locks, perimeter fencing, monitored CCTV, and PIN-controlled gate entry, so your equipment is properly secured between jobs rather than just sitting in a van overnight.
We also work on flexible terms with no lengthy contracts, so if you only need storage during a busy contract period, you’re not paying for months you don’t need. Units can be resized as your kit grows too.
A Few Final Tips Before You Store
- Check all connections and O-rings before storing. Replace any that look worn so you’re not chasing a leak on the morning of your next job.
- Refer to your manufacturer’s manual for model-specific storage guidance, particularly around pump protection.
- Keep the machine upright during storage where the design allows it. Storing a petrol-engine pressure washer on its side risks oil contamination in the cylinder.
- Don’t store fuel indefinitely in petrol models. If the machine will sit unused for more than a month, drain the fuel tank or use a fuel stabiliser to prevent gumming in the carburettor.
If you’re a tradesperson working across the East Midlands and you’re tired of your equipment taking up space, getting damaged in transit, or sitting exposed in a leaky outbuilding, we’d love to show you what we’ve got available. Take a look at our current units and availability at Optima Self Store and get in touch with the team to find something that fits the way you work.
