I mentioned in the post of yesterday’s ride that Kuroko was awaiting a washing up in the Workshop in the Sky. I decided to go ahead and get it done, and have a look at the shifting another time.

Apart from faffing about with the sprayer, the bicycle cleaned up quite quickly. I spent more care than usual with the initial rinse, and sprayed off a good bit of the mud with just that. Then it was just a matter of spraying the detergent everywhere and going over the whole bike with the brushes — at least, every bit I could reach. Finally, another spray down and I’ve left Kuroko to drip dry on the Workshop floor.

Time to say goodbye

I’ve had the Kärcher spray washer for six years now. When I’m not using it (which is approximately 363 days of each year) it’s just sitting in the Workshop in the Sky. I never even bothered to empty the tank, because we don’t have to worry about it freezing.

Unfortunately, sitting in the elements — particularly the afternoon sun, which comes directly into the workshop — takes its toll on plastic in particular. Earlier this year when I was moving the Kärcher I poked a hole in the water tank — about the size of a 500 yen coin. Wow, that’s really become brittle, I thought. And then earlier today, when I was washing my cycling shoes and bags, I accidentally knocked another piece out. OK, we’re up to 1,000 yen now.

Finally, as I was preparing to wash Kuroko, I filled up the tank (knowing the water would slosh out the hole if I wasn’t careful). And when I tried to push the rubber stopper back in, the tank caved and a much larger piece broke off.

Well, it did make refilling the tank easier the second time around. But that’s it for this thing. I’m wondering what to do for a replacement. There’s a newer model with a foldable tank, but I think that’s likely to be even more delicate. There’s not a lot that’s similar except a number of off-brand copy-cat models. I need a sprayer with a tank because there’s no faucet in the Workshop, and the battery-operated model is nice (no outlets either). The downside (apart from its early demise) is the noise — I’m constantly concerned about disturbing the neighbors (although none has complained). Kärcher, typically, does not publish noise ratings and few of the reviews mention it.

I haven’t yet pushed the button to buy the same model again. Something might turn up.