It all depends....if your images are looking washed out it could be you are either shooting into the sun or the images are over-exposed.
try knocking exposure compenstaion down until the exposure looks right.
The polarizer should make skies look bluer as long as you are not shooting into the sun, try taking the picture with the sun behind you.
The polarizer will also help reduce glare from reflective surfaces.
Hope this helps....probably totally wrong but hey hoe...
