PowerWash Simulator

Update 2/1/23: The new power wash tomb raider DLC update has unfortunately gotten rid of the save icon so this glitch is now patched

Update: This glitch only works on the Xbox One S Not the Xbox series S or X
You must also have the game downloaded for the save icon to appear

I have found a bug in the game that makes getting this achievement a joke. This will work for both time and water challenges but, I would recommend doing vehicles as they are much quicker.

First what you will need to do is load into a challenge let's say for example dirt bike time trial. Next you just clean it until there are only three items left that show on the left side of your screen. Then you will want to open the item list with the start button and scroll over to the orange save icon near the top right and press A to save. Now go and click the vehicles tab on the top left and go back into the same challenge you are currently in, in this case dirt bike time trial. Now all you have to do is pick resume job and it will keep your progress but reset the timer in this case or the water used for water challenges. You can then just quickly finish the job and boom you got a gold medal and the "Going for Gold" achievement. Repeat this 4 more times on different challenges to get the "Gold Standard" achievement.

Here's a video I made showing the entire process:

Hello folks.

EDIT(July 26th) I added 2 more Gold Medal runs for the Bungalow and Back Garden Time Challenges, so check them out! I finished both of these Time Challenges with 5 minutes to spare, so if some of these vehicle Challenges are causing you a headache, the building ones, though longer, may be a better option.

Today we are attempting to get the "Going for Gold" and "Gold Standard" achievements for getting 1 and 5 Gold Medals in the Challenges available from the main menu. These Challenges only become available after clearing the respective level in the Story Mode, so you will have to play through the story a bit to unlock all of the ones I've listed below. Once you complete, say, the Van in story mode, you can now attempt a Time Challenge and Water Challenge of the Van, where you need to complete it quickly(for the Time Challenge) and using less than a certain amount of water(for the Water Challenge)

Generally I found the Time Challenges to be easier, but there are Golds from both categories below.

I am aware of the glitch on the Xbox One consoles, but that's already been covered here in other solutions. For those of you who don't have access to that or want to do them legitimately, I hope the videos below help you out. I've also posted 8 videos and levels total in order to allow you some leeway in case one of the Challenges is giving you trouble, as you only need 5 Golds for the Achievements.

Below are 8 Descriptions and Videos detailing the 8 Challenges I found easiest to get Golds on. I've tried to cater to both text lovers and video lovers, but for these Challenges I do think the videos do a better job of showing how to get the Golds.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Gold Medal #1

Van - Time Challenge

Text tips for the Time Challenges are a bit more difficult, but generally, use the Left DPad immediately to trigger the auto-spray and never stop moving or pressing Right on the DPad to bring up the dirt locations.

I use the Yellow nozzle for everything except the windscreen, windows and the right side door and the right back door(and sometimes the dirt around the windows if my first pass with the yellow nozzle didn't get them). For these I switch to the Red Nozzle.

For the grill, keep in mind that the portion that wraps around the headlights and turn signals is part of the grill, too. You need to spray the grill from the top AND bottom which can be tedious, so making sure you get the dirt from everywhere else on the grill can save you a few seconds.

If you have plenty of time left and only a few items, don't be afraid to use the Tablet to highlight what you have left instead of searching aimlessly.


Gold Medal #2

Van - Water Challenge

For this challenge, TAKE YOUR TIME. You have no time limit, so don't be afraid to take things slow.

I do long passes with the Yellow nozzle across the entire vehicle. The yellow nozzle can handle almost everything on the Van except for the windscreen, windows and the right side door and right back door(and sometimes the dirt around the windows). For these I switch to the Red Nozzle.

For the grill, keep in mind that the portion that wraps around the headlights and turn signals is part of the grill, too. You need to spray the grill from the top AND bottom.

Other than that, don't be afraid to use the Tablet to highlight the items you still need.


Gold Medal #3

Dirt Bike - Water Challenge

I start with the Yellow Nozzle and do quick sweeps left-to-right and up and down on all portions on the bike. I then begin to do some detailing, using the right DPad to find smaller bits. To finish it off, I switch to the red nozzle and do taps on the trigger.

DON'T RUSH. You have infinite time. Take your time and plan your attacks.

Use your tablet to highlight pieces you still need rather than firing aimlessly.

The inside of the fairings can be difficult to notice dirt on, and you see me struggle with that for a bit.


Gold Medal #4

Golf Cart - Time Challenge

This isn't the best run ever, so while I only beat the gold time by 2 seconds, there is a lot of room for improvement here.

Text tips for the Time Challenges are a bit more difficult, but generally, use the Left DPad immediately to trigger the auto-spray and never stop moving or pressing Right on the DPad to bring up the dirt locations.

Again, I use the Yellow nozzle for everything.

Inside the canopy and windscreen were two spots that gave me trouble, as well as the seat and the front bumper.

If you have plenty of time left and only a few items, don't be afraid to use the Tablet to highlight what you have left instead of searching aimlessly.


Gold Medal #5

Motorbike and Sidecar - Time Challenge

This is probably the toughest of the Golds I've posted. It took me quite a few attempts to get this one.

Text tips for the Time Challenges are a bit more difficult, but generally, use the Left DPad immediately to trigger the auto-spray and never stop moving or pressing Right on the DPad to bring up the dirt locations.

I use the Yellow nozzle for everything.

I waste a little bit too much time in this run spraying wildly where I should've been using the tablet to find items, but I still got the gold.

A few items that gave me trouble on this one were the sidecar mudguard and the Spoke Sets. Both of them were hiding dirt that was very hard to see in my runs, and in this video you see that I wound up jumping and crouching and trying to hit them from every angle because nothing seemed to get the dirt off. The fender was always one of the last items, too, but I never had trouble with it once I knew it was still dirty.

If you have plenty of time left and only a few items, don't be afraid to use the Tablet to highlight what you have left instead of searching aimlessly.


Gold Medal #6

Vintage Car - Time Challenge

Conversely to the above challenge, and despite it being one of the last ones, I found the Vintage Car to be one of the easiest Golds.

Text tips for the Time Challenges are a bit more difficult, but generally, use the Left DPad immediately to trigger the auto-spray and never stop moving or pressing Right on the DPad to bring up the dirt locations.

Using the soap provided to you makes this challenge a cakewalk. I finished almost 2 minutes under the Gold Medal time.

Use the Yellow nozzle and do sweeps across the car, getting the surface dirt off of everything. After that's done, switch to the soap nozzle and Metal Soap, and focus on the red body, the gaps on the doors and windows, the hubcaps and the front of the vehicle with the bumper, headlights and horn. Do another pass along the vehicle with the yellow nozzle once you run out of soap, and then clean everything up with the yellow and red nozzles.

Inside the vents on the car body can be a pain, the gold on the chest in the back of the car needs the red nozzle to be cleaned off, and the headlights, mirrors and horns at the front always seemed to miss a few spots for me.

If you have plenty of time left and only a few items, don't be afraid to use the Tablet to highlight what you have left instead of searching aimlessly.


Gold Medal #7

Back Garden - Time Challenge

Text tips for the Time Challenges are a bit more difficult, but generally, use the Left DPad immediately to trigger the auto-spray and never stop moving or pressing Right on the DPad to bring up the dirt locations.

Using the soap provided to you makes this challenge easier. I recommend using soap on large areas. The soap nozzle has a wide area, but you need to be relatively close, so use it on large areas of dirt.

The Stone soap is best used on the patio(specifically under the patio furniture if you are able to), rock walls(not the pond liner) and steps. The multipurpose soap can be used on the pond liner and swinging sofa, and the wood cleaner is best used on the fences, the two trellis, and the shed walls.

Once the soaps have been used up, just take it slow. I start with the White Nozzle but I think Green works best, with an occasional switch to Orange for some of the tougher dirt. Use the stepstool to get to the roof of the swinging sofa and the shed.

There are some problem items, but the health bars seem rather generous in completing pieces on this one, so you don't need to be TOO fine. Underneath and on the side of the steps is a big problem area, as are the stone walls near the ponds. The patio furniture can be troublesome, and make sure you get inside and around the swinging sofa. The wood beams up inside and around hide dirt really well, as does the cushions and underneath it. The handing decorations on the shed can hide dirt too.

If you have plenty of time left and only a few items, don't be afraid to use the Tablet to highlight what you have left instead of searching aimlessly.


Gold Medal #8

Bungalow - Time Challenge

Text tips for the Time Challenges are a bit more difficult, but generally, use the Left DPad immediately to trigger the auto-spray and never stop moving or pressing Right on the DPad to bring up the dirt locations.

Using the soap provided to you makes this challenge easier. I recommend using soap on large areas. In the video I use it in some spots I shouldn't have, such as the driveway edge. The soap nozzle has a wide area, but you need to be relatively close, so use it on large areas of dirt.

The Stone soap is best used on the driveway, steps, and bricks around the bottom of the house. The multipurpose soap can be used on the walls or the roof. The wood soap can be used on the trim and garage door.

Once the soaps have been used up, just take it slow. I start with the White Nozzle but I think Green works best, with an occasional switch to Orange for some of the tougher dirt. I recommend using the ladder to get the roof done fairly early, and make sure you get INSIDE the gutters from the top.

There are a few items that cause trouble, mainly the wooden trim, underneath the roof overhangs and the wooden posts on the porch. The windows and trim can pose some trouble too, so be thorough.

If you have plenty of time left and only a few items, don't be afraid to use the Tablet to highlight what you have left instead of searching aimlessly.

This guide is for the "Water" Challenges. For those struggling or not wanting to do the "Timed" challenges, I experimented a bit with all the Water Challenges and found them way easier (less stressful lol) to get the gold medals for the achievement. You do need to unlock the vehicles in the campaign in order to do the challenges for them. There isn't too much strategy to it, but I did try to summarize each challenge and what equipment to use to help you have a more successful run. Below, I'll list the order in which I used each equipment, where on the vehicle, and include my general time for them to give you an idea of wiggle room w/water usage.


Tips:
- Never hold down the water.
- When you spray with green/yellow nozzles think "spray can", where its 1-2ft short spray vertically or horizontally without holding it down. If its the red nozzle, think as if you are trying to spray paint a dot and do a TAP.
- Remember you have NO TIME LIMIT so really take your time to get used to spraying without holding it down and how to clean more of the intricate parts. It might take you a couple times to get used to it, but you will absolutely get it with practice.

Van - (Gold: 15.00L) / (My Use: 10.42L)


Golf Cart - (Gold: 4.25L) / (My Use: 3.8L)

Dirt bike - (Gold: 4L) / (My Use: 3.48L)


Vintage Car - (Gold: 15.50L) / (My Use: 12.76L)


Motorbike and Side Car (6.72L) - (Gold: 15.00L) / (My Use: 12.91L)


After getting 5 golds in these vehicles, you will unlock the achievement! GLHF!

When I started to do challenges I was always running short a few parts before the gold time and on the water ones running out of water with the base sensitivity on the game. The best way to get gold medals is to max the sensitivity in the settings for controller sensitivity and controller cursor sensitivity. After I maxed it I got gold first try on them after struggling multiple times on the games base sensitivity. If they give you soap for the challenge be sure to use the soap. It may take a few try’s to learn the best areas to use the soap to finish with a faster time. The main nozzle I used for the time challenges was the yellow nozzle. When there was a car with thicker dirt I used the turbo nozzle. Also with the water challenges it’s best to use bursts to cover a lot of area with little water consumption with the green nozzle and if there are thicker areas of dirt that the burst doesn’t clean go back over those areas with the turbo nozzle using bursts to finish it off.

The easiest levels I found to do were:
Van - time challenge
Van - water challenge
Dirt bike - time challenge
Golf cart - time challenge
Vintage car - time challenge