Power washer not a pump up sprayer...
A pump-up sprayer doesn't even put out anywhere near as much pressure as a garden hose nozzle. A power washer is a "consumer" version of a pressure washer.. It's an electric or gas powered version that only has about 10-15% the pressure of a commercial pressure washer (the last one of those I rented was 15,000 psi machine...the consumer models are 1000-2000. I had a 1000 psi Karcher power washer for nearly 10 years (regular price in those days was over $300, I caught it on sale for $250)....actually bought it to clean up the "project" boat I'd just bought, and it did a bang-up job of cleaning the bilge as well as knocking 5 years of dirt off the hull and decks. And I continued to use it (along with half the people on my dock) for as long as I owned the boat...for bilge cleaning, spring cleaning, even to take the waterline scum off my bottom paint...WITHOUT ANY HARM to the gelcoat, anything in the bilge, or even the bottom paint. This past spring I "upgraded" to a new 1600 psi that Sams had for $127...and based on my experience pressure washing my deck and deck furniture at home, as well as my eaves, I don't think 1600 ps will harm anything if used to clean a bilge or any other part of the boat unless you put the nozzle tight up against it and leave it there. If you're afraid of 1600, there are 1200 models out there for about $100. IMO, power washers are the best thing for boat cleaning (and a whole bunch of jobs at home too) ever to come along.
