Manufacturer service intervals are written in hours of operation, not years. "First oil change at 5 hours." "Air filter every 25 hours." "Pump rebuild at 200 hours." These numbers are meaningless if you don't know how many hours your unit has done.

Some commercial units have built-in hour meters. Most domestic and prosumer units don't. Doesn't mean you can't track hours, just means you have to do it yourself.

The simplest way: a logbook taped to the unit or kept nearby. After every job, write date and rough duration. "5 May 2026, 45 minutes, driveway clean." Add it up monthly or quarterly to know cumulative hours.

If you're not into logbooks, an even simpler approach: write usage on the unit itself with a permanent marker.

For petrol units, you can buy a clip-on hour meter that wraps around the spark plug wire. Counts running hours automatically. About 25 to 50 dollars from auto stores or online. Mounts in seconds, no wiring required, runs on its own internal battery for years.

Why bothering with this is worth it:

• You service at the right intervals. Catches small problems before they become big ones.
• You know when warranty applies. Some warranties have hour limits. If you're under, you might still have coverage.
• You know when to replace consumables. Hoses, seals, plugs, filters, all have hour-based intervals.
• You make better buying decisions next time. If your unit lasted 800 hours over 4 years, you know what to expect from the next one.
• Resale value goes up. A unit with documented hours and service history sells for more than an unknown one.

The mental shift: pressure cleaners aren't furniture, they're machinery. Machinery has consumables, wear cycles, and service intervals. Once you start thinking of yours that way, the hour tracking and service scheduling becomes natural.

Five seconds after each job. Build the habit. Pays off for years.