Pressure Washer Injection Injuries
29 CFR 1926.302 · 29 CFR 1926.95 · This talk in Spanish
Why it matters
A 3,000 PSI pressure washer stream cuts skin like a blade, and what it injects keeps doing damage after the surface wound closes: water, detergent, and debris driven deep into tissue. Injection injuries look minor for the first hours, then turn into infections that cost fingers. Add wet surfaces, ladders, and electricity, and the wash-down job deserves more respect than it gets. Today: the stream, the footing, and the wound that looks like nothing.
Hazards
- ⚠ High-pressure stream cutting and injecting through skin
- ⚠ Zero-degree tips concentrating full force on a fingertip-sized point
- ⚠ Kickback pushing users off ladders and platforms
- ⚠ Wet surfaces plus electric washers and cords
- ⚠ Flying chips of paint, concrete, and debris
- ⚠ Treating an injection wound as a scratch and skipping the doctor
Controls and safe practices
- ✓ Never point the wand at yourself or anyone, and never test the stream with a hand.
- ✓ Use the widest tip that does the job; retire zero-degree tips unless truly required.
- ✓ Two hands on the wand, braced for kickback, and never spray from a ladder without a plan for the recoil.
- ✓ GFCI protection for electric washers, cords out of the water path.
- ✓ Safety glasses or face shield, gloves, and boots with grip.
- ✓ Depressurize before changing tips; trigger lock on when not spraying.
- ✓ ANY skin strike by the stream is a medical visit today, even if it looks tiny. Tell the doctor it was high-pressure injection.
Crew discussion questions
- What tips are on our washers, and when do we actually need the narrow ones?
- Where will we be washing from heights, and what is the kickback plan?
- Is the washer circuit GFCI protected here?
- Does everyone know an injection wound needs a doctor even when it looks small?
Applicable OSHA standards
29 CFR 1926.302, 29 CFR 1926.95
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