The ultimate question when considering a pressure washer is: what is it for? Is for just cleaning the patio, freeing the car of mud and grime, or cleaning garden furniture? Or are you needing to blast all the brickwork of your entire house before painting?
Light and medium-duty
If it’s smaller jobs, you probably won't need to spend more than £200 for a top-quality, light to medium-duty pressure washer. For light-duty pressure washers, you'll want to focus on a build quality and a kit that provides the right accessories to suit you.
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In terms of oomph, consider pressure washers with a respectable water flow rate. This will determine how quickly you can clean something. Since most small pressure washers come with good maximum pressure of at least 100 bar (1 bar = 14.5 psi), water flow rate is the most important number to take into account.
However, the other crucial factor to think about is power. For example, a pressure washer with a maximum pressure of 120 bars with 1500W will be more comfortable in maintaining its pressure and being used for longer periods than one with 1200W because it doesn’t have to work so hard.
The best light/medium-duty pressure washers
Turtle Wax TW110 Pressure Washer
Turtle Wax have a produced a great compact machine with the TW110 for people who want a portable machine for light domestic use. It also comes with the useful cannister attachments for foam cleaning, in addition to the regular lance.
Output is 335 litres per hour (l/h) flow rate, 110 bar maximum pressure, and 1400W. It will therefore make quick work of lighter jobs. While the Norse TW110 is indeed nice and light at under six kilograms, bear in the mind the hose length is only five metres.
Kärcher K4 Premium Power Control Car & Home
For those perhaps wanting something a bit more serious, the K4 from household brand Ku00e4rcher will do the trick. On first impressions, you may be taken aback by the jump in price. However, while you do indeed pay a bit extra for the name, you do get a fantastic piece of kit that will be all you'll need for around your property. Power (1800W), pressure (130 bar), and flow rate (420 l/h) get an increase from the Turtle Wax unit but there is more than that.
There is an LED display on the trigger gun that lets you choose what pressure you'd like, plus a collection of Karcher's excellent T5 Surface Cleaner, Vario Power lance, and car cleaning kit. Therefore, it's extremely versatile both for delicate and heavier jobs. What's more, with its water cooled motor, along with quality components, you can expect your K4 to last you for many years. The higher price up front will pay dividends in the long run.
Kew Nilfisk Alto C110.7-5 X-TRA
www.ffx.co.uk
Nilfisk has an enormous range of cleaning equipement for both commercial and domestic use. This model is compact and fairly light, yet still packs plenty of power: 110 bar, 1400W, 440 l/h. Naturally, one of the major advantages here is that you get a full collection of accessories: extension lance, tornado nozzle, powerspeed nozzle, foam sprayer and bottle, patio cleaner, and a brush.
You can relax about reliability too. Nilfisk has a great reputation for quality; the pump head on this unit is aluminium and has an auto stop-start function.
Heavy-duty
More heavy-duty options vary more than lighter models because you have the addition of petrol-powered pressure washers. If you need a washer for both big and small jobs around your property, then electric ones will still be ideal. They're quieter and lighter than petrol options, yet still pack enough punch to cope with any domestic job, no matter how big.
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Meanwhile, petrol options will give you huge pressure but are, on average, more expensive than electric ones. Apart from their massive performance difference, being petrol-powered they become very handy in remote places or anywhere where electricity isn’t easily accessible. However, many petrol pressure washers are too powerful for use on cars, for example, and can damage them (we haven't included such units here).
Nilfisk E 145.4-9 PAD X-TRA
In addition to the fact that the Nilfisk E 145 comes with all the cleaning accessories, the real bonus of this washer is the nine metre hose. Most pressure washers come with a five or six metre which are usually fine, but nine metres gives you far more movement without having to cart the washer with you.
There is a lot of force to go with the long hose too: a maximum flow rate of 500l/h, 145 bar, and 2100 W of power. Nilfisk is one of the best makers of pressure washers around, so while this model is somewhat hefty at nearly 20kgs, you can be safe in the knowledge it will stand the test of time.
SIP CW2800 Pressure Washer
uktoolcentre.co.uk
This SIP unit has a variable pressure range from 130 to 180 bar with a maximum water flow rate of 510 l/h. Itu2019s motor packs a wallop too at 2800W. Those are the headlines and you can tell this is at the limit of domestic use and edging into light commercial territory. Itu2019s therefore ideal for those with larger properties and bigger jobs to undertake.
The motor is a reliable brushless induction unit and the pump is heavy-duty (hence the big pressure and flow rate) with a Total Stop function for reduced power consumption and longevity on the pump. The hose is eight metres and there is also a big 1.8 litre detergent tank for serious foam cleaning.
Kärcher K7 Premium Full Control Plus Home Pressure Washer
Big power and versatility is what you get here. While the Karcher K7 has ample top-end power (180 bar, 550 l/h, 2800W) to tackle large jobs like cleaning the brickwork on the family home, it also has the dexterity to deal with more delicate jobs too thanks to the control modes on the trigger gun.
The lance is a 3-in-1, which almost eliminates the need to change attachments, unless you are using the included T450 patio cleaner for example. We also like the Plug 'n' Clean system (though not such a fan of the name), which allows you to easily click in detergent bottles onto the top of the pressure washer, ready for application.
There are numerous options for pressure washers out there, and we have kept things simple for you by recommending a small handful of the best available. If you shop around further, remember the important factors to consider: build quality, suitable accessories, and the power/pressure/flow ratios.
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Top tips for using pressure washers
Anyone who has used a pressure washer or even watched someone else use a pressure washer will know how much fun they are. Watching the high-pressure jet of water carve clean lines in a surface is something to enjoy. In order to get the best from your pressure washer, here are some useful tips.
Start-up
Each machine will have operating instructions that you should follow. But to give you a rough guideline, you should connect the hose to both the pressure washer and the garden tap and squeeze the trigger on the lance until a uninterrupted stream of water is flowing - this gets rid of any airlocks. You can then plug in and switch on the pressure washer.
When you've finished with it, turn off the pressure washer, then the garden tap; release the remaining water pressure by squeezing the trigger and disconnect the hose from the machine.
Which attachment?
Your pressure washer may come with a collection of attachments, and even if it doesn't, there will be a whole collection available to buy. A common attachment includes the disc-shaped patio cleaners that have downward-facing jet nozzles encased in a round splash guard. These are superb on almost any flat surface including decks, driveways, and walls.
Lances are often variable pressure or high pressure. The former are great for use on cars where you may need to adjust the water pressure as you clean different areas of the car. The latter are great in instances such as blasting a grimy stone wall.
There are a host of other attachments too, including brushes and detergent cannisters that mix cleaning solution with the water to create a spray foam.
Cleaning techniques
You are best to use a pressure washer at an angle. Don't spray a surface head-on because this tends to spread dirt rather than remove it. Instead, attack a surface at about 45 degrees (you don't have to be pedantic about it).
Consider the delicacy of the surface you are cleaning and spray from a sensible distance. You'll want to avoid gouging your precious softwood deck or dent a metal surface. Avoid windows altogether, a pressure washer can and will break them.
Cover small areas at a time. It makes for a tidier job.
You may want to consider laying down a sheet or tarpaulin at the area you're cleaning if you want to be able to clean up the loosened debris.