When setting up a power wash system make sure the pump is fed with filtered water. Most pressure washer pump manufacturers recommend 50 or 60 mesh screens. Hydro Tek pressure washers are set up with 50 mesh cone garden hose washer strainers for ¾” garden hose feeds. Pressure Washers with 4 gallon float tanks also include a 60 mesh strainer inside of the tank. Trailer mounted pressure washers that are fed with a bulk tank include 1½” 80 mesh (180 micron) strainers. When double-checking a system, figuring out the mesh sizes is fairly easy. Count the number of openings in one linear inch of screen. The number of openings is the mesh size. A 4 mesh screen means there are four little squares across one inch of screen. A 100 mesh screen has 100 openings, and so on. As the number describing the mesh size increases, the size of the particles that can pass through the screen decreases. Higher numbers equal finer material. Mesh size is not a precise measurement of particle size. A micron is another measurement of particle size. A micron is one-millionth of a meter or one twenty-five thousandth of an inch.

Quick Reference Chart (published in PGII bulletin)

The mesh numbers in parentheses are too small to exist as actual screen sizes; they are estimates included for reference.

Different Mesh Sizes