There is a popular tool now for washing cars and sidewalks. It's called a pressure washer and it works by blasting out a powerful jet of water. However, one machine produced less of a blast and more of a dribble and its new owner was not too happy.
Powerful pressure washers blast away at oil and dirt and many city departments use them.
Laura Brusstar of San Leandro had the same idea for cleaning moss and dirt off her sidewalks and patio. She bought a Husky Power Washer from Home Depot, which has the same kind of high pressure water spray.
But it wasn't working right. Water started leaking out the sides and it wasn't blasting out at 2,000 pounds per square inch like it's supposed to. Laura shouldn't be able to safely stick her hand in the jet.
"If it was 2,000 pounds I wouldn't be able to put my hand in it like that, she said. "It would hurt pretty bad."
Laura paid $269 for the washer last year. Right after she bought it, water rationing was imposed, so she couldn't use it until this summer and that's when she discovered it was leaking and she went back to Home Depot.
"I tried to return it and they said they couldn't take it back without the receipt," she said.
So Laura went online hoping to find a way to get it fixed and instead she found dozens of similar complaints about the same washer. Immediately she asked husky for a refund, but received no response.
"I contacted 7 On Your Side," she said.
We called Home Depot which owns the Husky Brand. The store responded right away and after looking into the case, agreed to refund all of Laura's money.
Home Depot said it sells many of the husky washers and most of them work just fine.
The company said: "We're sorry for the inconvenience Ms. Brusstar experienced with her Husky Power Washer. The vast majority of the machines have performed without issues, but the manufacturer has stood firmly behind their product when problems have occurred."
Laura says she'll do without a power washer for now.
"I hope everyone else who's bought one hears this and goes down and gets the same result," she said. "I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere and I knew you would."
If you have a problem with your Husky Power Washer, call 888-550-1606 or cservice@fna-group.com .
Customers also can call The Home Depot Customer Care department at 800-HOMEDEPOT.
