Service and Repair Tools

by Diane M. Calabrese | Published December 2025

 

 

If it’s broken, fix it–and get the fix right. That’s the unrelenting goal of service centers.

So how do members of our industry ensure they have the service and repair tools necessary to provide excellent results? They assess and calibrate every dimension of service: tools, training, logistics, parts, etc.

“Making sure each service tech has their own portable workstation [and] toolbox” provides a good foundation, says Dennis Black, president of McHenry Pressure Cleaning Systems in Frederick, MD. “All common hand tools are available right where they are working – in shop, outside, etcetera.”

Ease of access expedites work in-house and on mobile calls. “We provide each one of our service techs with their own tool cart,” explains Black. “They are responsible for the box and its contents, and only they use it.”

Careful consideration of ways to expedite work of team members leads to continuous improvements. “We have also found success in providing cordless tools for all our mechanics” says Black. “These include drills, impact wrenches, and cut-off saws. These have increased work efficiency.”

Black adds that his company has multiple sets of cordless tools in his shop. And each service truck has a set for onsite use.

Does Black have any recommendations for contractors regarding the tools they should have on hand while at jobsites? Needs of contractors and technicians who provide in-field service to contractors do overlap in field.

“Pressure washer techs need a good quality multi-meter with the correct functions, such as being able to determine AC and DC volts, AC and DC amps, [and] other readings,” says Black. “Other items include pressure gauges for oil and gas–natural and LP–and pressure and temperature gauges for output of pressure washers.”

Black proffers, too, that he has a perspective on torque wrenches. “I see some shops may not provide or encourage the use of torque wrenches. Although not always necessary, proper torquing assemblies is the correct and professional way to perform assemblies and rebuilds.”

Is there any priority higher than an excellent result in repairs? Yes, of course there is. That is safety.

Proper tools are essential to worker safety. “Using the wrong or inadequate tool can [result in injuries],” says Black. That’s in addition to the damage to property.

“Using improper tools can also result in breaking or damaging what [a technician is] working on,” explains Black. “In other words, making the damage worse or breaking parts that originally did not need replacing.”

Distributors and contractors share a vested interest in having the optimal collection of tools, the best tools, and the most up-to-date understanding of tool use. In the next section we get a perspective from the point of view of a distributor. And in the third section we get a perspective from the point of view of a contractor.

 

Distributor’s Perspective

 

When we put questions about service and repair tools to Aaron Auger with BE Power Equipment, which is headquartered in Abbotsford, BC, Auger reached out to some of his company’s customers. He spoke with Greg Rothbardt and Jacob Hendren at Hanson Industrial Inc. in Moline, IL.

Rothbardt is the owner of the company based in the Land of Lincoln state. And Hendren is a service technician at the company. In the paragraphs that follow we relate some of the approaches that Rothbardt’s company has taken to ensure service and repair tools are deployed and exploited to their full advantage.

A system for winterizing pressure washers was added recently. The system makes the process easier and faster.

“We have also recently added a test station including a water tank to our shop for testing equipment,” says Rothbardt. “This eliminates having a lot of standing water due to spraying equipment on the floor of our repair center.”

Rothbardt and Hendren say that the one tool no contractor should be without on a jobsite is a fuel stabilizer. They explain that most of the pressure washers the company sells are gas driven; and when gas sits in the tank, it can separate.

Separation in the fuel tank can lead to issues with starting the pressure washer. “This is very prevalent when a contractor has equipment sit over the winter,” says Rothbardt. “They go to use it in the spring, and the engine won’t start.”

In most cases, Rothbardt and Hendren explain, the fuel stabilizer prevents the separation and ensures the pressure washer will start. In addition to the fuel stabilizer, they cite a voltmeter as something every contractor should have. The testing and verification of a customer’s voltage verifies that the correct voltage is available for the equipment being used.

Rothbardt and Hendren offer a list of the four top concerns they have about unwise practices that can accelerate the need for major repairs. One is starting a pressure washer with no water. Doing so generally burns the packing/seal kit, and then the washer will not perform properly, they explain.

A second concern surrounds nozzles. Using the incorrect nozzles is common, explain Rothbardt and Hendren. They note that contractors often go to a big box store and pick up nozzles without knowing the correct orifice they need.

A third concern deals with the failure to stay ahead of leaks. As Rothbart and Hendren explain, the stress that leaks put on pressure washers is avoidable. Repairing them should be a priority.

The fourth concern from our sources in Illinois is that contractors often do not cool down their hot water units before shutting them down.

 

Contractor’s Perspective

 

Tailoring tools to recurring jobsite needs will somewhat depend upon the type of work a contractor does. But there is an overarching axiom contractors should keep in mind: Using the wrong tool inevitably leads to trouble–perhaps not immediately, but soon enough.

“Using the wrong tool to repair a machine would not usually work due to the fact that you’re not using the correct tool to do the repair correctly,” says Tom Rice, owner of Island Wide Pressure Washing, which is based in Wantagh, NY, and serves Nassau and Suffolk counties. He takes on residential and commercial jobs.

To assemble the tools of greatest utility, a contractor should ask one question, says Rice: Which tools are most commonly used?

“A handpick to remove and replace broken O-rings is a valuable tool to have in the field,” says Rice. “O-rings tend to break over a period of time.”

As for what he keeps on his truck, Rice explains that is as comprehensive an array as possible. “I basically have a small mobile mechanic shop on my truck.”

Rice emphasizes that the tools are “very neat and well organized,” or in other words, both accessible and protected from damage in transit. “We keep everything on the truck from new guns – both pressure washing and soft washing–to new swivels for the hose reels, nozzles, and quick connects–male and female, quarter-inch, half-inch; we basically have everything on the truck to do any sort of repair in the field.”

Channel locks and adjustable wrenches “are very useful for a quick fix, whether it be changing out new quick connects on an extension pole or the end of a lance,” says Rice. So he keeps those tools at the ready onsite too.

“I recently bought a rather unique tool that has been very beneficial and helpful to me [in the field],” says Rice. It is a rigid one-quarter inch hand-threader die head.

The hand-threader die head “is very helpful when you need to thread the quarter-inch extension poles,” says Rice. He explains that his company uses five- and six-foot extension poles for difficult to reach and high areas.

“The extension poles are typically aluminum, and the threads sometimes break off,” says Rice. The hand threader enables him to make a fix of new threads within a few minutes.

Rice stresses the importance of being equipped to handle small repair issues at a jobsite. Being able to do so dramatically reduces downtime.

One tool that Rice recommends all contractors consider carrying is a vise. “I would suggest that no contractor should be out on a jobsite without a vise. Many years ago I took a vise and mounted it on a trailer-hitch tongue, and we keep it on the truck.”

Rice encourages other contractors to think about just how useful a vise might be to them. “This tool is very handy. [We] work on many different applications, such as replacing a quick-connect from the high-pressure hose or swapping out a broken gun, that the vise makes possible. I would definitely recommend keeping a vise on the truck.”

 

Whether it’s a tool set that gives a service technician autonomy and a no-wait environment, or a multimeter to ensure that there is no miscommunication between the tool and the power source, distributors and contractors strive for the best repair environment. The standard repertoire of tools is well known.

But it’s subtle configuration modifications (unique to each company) and specialty tool sections (made by each company) that add up to best practices industry wide.