FACTS
- Use of pressure washers can cause hearing loss.
- Use of pressure washers in enclosed spaces lead to the buildup of carbon monoxide and result in asphyxiation.
- A pressure washer’s powerful spray is hazardous when misdirected, it’s strong enough to damage or lacerate the skin in an instant. Lacerations are the most common injury, followed by bruises, punctures, infections and eye injuries.
- Other injuries caused when using pressure washers include:
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- Infections such as tetanus.
- Injection injuries caused when cleaning chemicals penetrate the skin.
- Slip-and-fall injuries occurring on flat surfaces.
- Falls from height when use of a pressure washer on a ladder or scaffolding causes a worker to lose balance.
- Electrocution injuries.
STATS
- In 2014 alone, over 6,000 people were admitted into emergency rooms due to injuries they suffered while using power washers. While many only needed emergency medical treatment, almost 15 % of the injuries suffered were so severe that hospitalization was required.
- Up to 30% of pressure injuries eventually require amputation and expert surgical opinions in case reports even recommend that all high-pressure injection injuries receive a fasciotomy within six hours from injury onset in order to decrease amputation risk.
- Four hundred thirty-five cases of high-pressure injection injury to the upper extremity were identified. The amputation rate after these injuries was 30%. The location of the injury and the material injected contributed significantly to the need for amputation. For injections of paint, paint thinner, gasoline, oil, or jet fuel (organic solvents), the amputation risk was lower if wide surgical debridement occurred within 6 hours of injury.
- An estimated 6,057 people in 2017 alone went to an emergency room with injuries related to pressure washer use, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. And 14% of those ER visits led to additional hospitalization.