The nozzle is the only part of a pressure washer that decides what happens to the surface. The pump sets what is available. The tip on the end of the wand decides how that energy arrives: spread across a wide fan at moderate force, or concentrated into a point that will carve wood. Most surface damage caused by a pressure washer is a nozzle choice, not a machine choice.
The color code and what each angle does
Quick connect tips follow an industry color convention. It is not a legal standard and it is not universal, but it is consistent enough across the major brands that the colors are worth memorizing.
Red is a 0 degree tip. It produces a single pencil jet with no fan at all. Yellow is 15 degrees, a narrow chisel used for stripping. Green is 25 degrees, the general purpose angle for most washing. White is 40 degrees, a wide gentle fan used for rinsing and for anything fragile. Black is 65 degrees, and it is a low pressure tip rather than a cleaning tip.
The angle changes two things at once. A wider fan spreads the same energy over more area, which lowers the force on any given square inch, and it also covers ground faster. A narrower fan concentrates force and slows progress. Working distance matters just as much: a 25 degree tip held two inches from wood behaves more like a 15 degree tip held twelve inches away.
The red 0 degree tip
The 0 degree tip is the one that causes trouble. It concentrates the entire output into a spot roughly the width of a pencil lead. On wood it cuts grooves. On painted surfaces it strips paint in a stripe. On concrete it leaves visible etch marks that do not weather out. On vinyl siding it can punch through. Several machines in this catalog ship with one, including the Westinghouse ePX3500, which lists a five tip quick connect set starting at 0 degrees, and the Giraffe Tools Grandfalls G30B, whose four nozzle set runs from 0 to 40 degrees. The Sun Joe SPX4800 listing describes the same span, from a 0 degree pencil jet up to a 40 degree fan.
Its legitimate uses are narrow: a rust spot on steel, caked material on equipment, a stubborn deposit on masonry that will not respond to anything wider. It should never be the tip someone reaches for first, and it should never be aimed anywhere near a person or an animal.
The black tip is a pressure drop, not a spray pattern
The 65 degree black tip is often labeled the soap nozzle, and the reason is mechanical rather than cosmetic. Its orifice is much larger than the others, so pressure at the pump falls sharply when it is fitted. On machines with downstream detergent injection, that pressure drop is exactly what opens the injector and allows chemical into the stream. Fit a high pressure tip and the injector stays closed, no matter how full the detergent tank is.
The Karcher K1700 listing is explicit about this, describing a 15 degree nozzle for regular cleaning, a turbo nozzle for heavier work, and a 65 degree soap nozzle for applying detergent, alongside a removable detergent tank. The Worx WG605 pairs an onboard soap tank with a dedicated soap nozzle and includes a turbo tip and a 40 degree tip for the actual cleaning.
Turbo and rotary nozzles
A turbo nozzle, sometimes called a rotary or dirt blaster nozzle, is a 0 degree jet spun in a cone by the water itself. The result behaves like a narrow tip in terms of force but sweeps a circular patch several inches across, so it removes material faster than a fixed 0 degree tip without dwelling on one line.
It is still an aggressive tool. A turbo nozzle will strip paint, raise wood grain, and mark soft masonry. Machines in this catalog that include one are common: the DEWALT DWPW2400 ships with five nozzles including a turbo tip, the CRAFTSMAN CMEPW1900 ships with three including a turbo, and the Greenworks Pro GPW3001 is listed with a 15 degree tip plus soap and turbo nozzles.
Wand systems that replace loose tips
Not every machine uses interchangeable tips. Karcher builds adjustment into the lance on some models. The Karcher K5 Premium listing describes a Vario Power wand, where the spray angle is changed by twisting the lance, and a separate Dirtblaster wand that performs the rotary function. The advantage is that nothing gets lost in the grass. The disadvantage is that the machine is limited to the angles the lance provides, and third party quick connect tips will not fit without an adapter.
Orifice size is matched to the machine, not universal
Color and angle are only half of a tip’s specification. The other half is orifice size, which is chosen to suit the flow rate of the machine it came with. Fitting a tip with too small an orifice on a higher flow machine raises pressure beyond what the pump and hose were designed for. Fitting a tip with too large an orifice drops working pressure and the machine feels weak.
This matters because tips are cheap, they get mixed between machines, and they look identical. A 25 degree tip from a 1.2 GPM corded unit and a 25 degree tip from a 2.5 GPM gas unit are not interchangeable even though both are green. The physical fitting is standardized at quarter inch quick connect across most of the electric machines and the gas machines in this catalog, which makes the wrong tip easy to install and impossible to notice by eye.
This catalog is thin on standalone nozzle sets. It carries guns and adapters, such as the Sooprinse short gun with a quarter inch quick connector, but nozzle tips are mostly bundled with machines rather than sold separately here. Anyone replacing a lost tip should match the orifice size printed on the original rather than buying by color alone.
Damage and safety
Choosing a wider tip and standing further back is the single most effective way to avoid ruining a surface, and it costs nothing but time. Manufacturers commonly specify starting with the widest tip at the greatest working distance and closing in only if the surface is not coming clean. The manual for the specific machine governs, and where it names a tip for a material, that instruction takes precedence.
No tip in any color is safe to point at a person or an animal. A high pressure jet can force water and contamination through skin and cause an injection injury, which can present as a small puncture while causing serious damage underneath. Any suspected injection injury needs emergency medical assessment. Eye protection is standard manufacturer guidance because tips throw back debris as well as water. Where a gas engine drives the pump, that engine emits carbon monoxide and must never be run indoors or in a garage, including with the door open.
