What is a snowfoam lance
Written by: Vinnie van Rooij
The snowfoam lance is an attachment for a pressure washer that pushes water and a soap micture through a nozzle with a very fine filter in it. This makes the soap mixture foam as soon as it leaves the nozzle. The foam is sprayed over the surface you want to clean. In turn, the foam will soak the dirt, making it easier to rinse off the dirt before washing.
Contents
What is a snowfoam lance
The snowfoam lance is made up from a connector that is attached to the handle from a high pressure washer, a bottle that holds the cleaning liquid, a turn-knob to adjust the mixture of water/soap and an adjustable nozzle. The water enters via the connector and enters the adjustable valve. By turning this knob, the user can change the ratio between water and soap-micxture. The soap is drawn from the bottle that is usually filled with snowfoam-liquid and water. When the mixture leaves the valve, it is pushed through a small mesh-like filter using the pressure given by the pressure washer. The filter aerates the mixture, causing it to foam up. The foam leaves the nozzle under high pressure and is sprayed over the surface. The nozzle can be turned to adjust the spray. It can either be adjusted from wide to small, or from horitzontal to vertical. Thicker foam will run off less easy, but will use more soap. Thicker foam does not always have to mean better cleaning power, as snowfoam clings to dirt. So a clean surface will always make the snowfoam run down quicker then a dirty surface.
Why use a snowfoam lance
Snowfoam is a specially developed type of cleaning liquid that is designed to soak off as much dirt as possible. It won’t remove all, but it will make it easier to rinse the dirt off. All the dirt that is removed via this non-mechanical way will keep your paint from being swirled by mechanical washing with a washmitt and will keep your rinse water clean for longer. It will also make it easier to clean the surface during washing. The snowfoam lance is specially developed to apply the snowfoam liquid in the best way possible. As much aeration as possible will give you more foam, clinging longer and better to the surface. Apart from some maintanance needed, the snowfoam lance is a good way to clean with a little risk as possible.
How to use a snowfoam lance
The bottle underneath is filled with water. Check the label from your product to see what the best ratio is. On average this is about 1:10 or 1:30. This means that a 500ml bottle is filled with 450ml water and 50ml snowfoam (1:10) or 480ml water and 20ml snowfoam (1:30). Adding the product last will prevent the mixture from foaming when adding the water to fill the bottle. After filling, the bottle is screwed back onto the snowfoam lance. When you turn on the high pressure washer and squeeze the handle, the water will start to flow. You might need to turn the knob to adjust the mixture in order to get the best foam. Aim the snowfoam lance at the surface and cover the area you want to clean. Let the snowfoam soak for several minutes before rinsing it off again.
Maintenance
After use, it is best to fill the bottle with clean water and flush the snowfoam lance until there is no more foam coming from the nozzle. Every 10 times you use the lance, it helps to unscrew the black nozzle and take out the mesh filter. Clean this under running warm water and dry it off. This is fairly simple maintenance that will keep your snowfoam lance perform better for longer. The mesh filter will need to be replaced eventually.
After a longer period of use, some of the rubber rings might also wear out, causing leaks at certain points. In general, these are faily simple to replace. Just ask the manufacturer what spare parts they offer.
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