Your questions on pressure washers answered
What is a pressure washer?
A pressure washer (sometimes referred to as a power washer) uses a high-pressure jet of water to clean a wide range of surfaces and items, including patios, garden furniture and cars.
What can you use a pressure washer for?
Pressure washers can clean everything from decking, garden furniture and fencing, right through to vehicles, exterior paintwork, swimming pools, gutting and patios – while heavy duty machines can even clean large paths, driveways and stonework. A good machine should remove stubborn dirt and grime, mould, loose paint, and even chewing gum.
How does a pressure washer work?
Pressure washers are mains-powered, and they also connect to a garden hose. They’re water pumps powered by an electric motor. The water comes out of a part commonly described as either a nozzle or a wand. Pressure washers will usually come with different adaptors. These will typically be different, smaller nozzles which fit onto the end of the wand, or entire wands, which can be easily attached and removed. These wands are often referred to as lances.
What type of pressure washer should I get, petrol or electric?
Most pressure washers are electric, corded machines which run off mains electricity. They are quiet, affordable and easy to use. Petrol-powered pressure washers are more powerful and expensive, making them more suitable for heavy-duty jobs and working away from home. They lack annoying cables but will need constantly topping up with fuel. These machines are fairly common in North America, but they are expensive in the United Kingdom.
Are pressure washers bad for your car?
Most pressure washers can be used to clean cars – even prized motors with pristine paint jobs. This is because the average pressure washer will come with several attachments and will have controls that enable users to alter the power of the water jet. Just be careful to use the machine on a low setting.
The best pressure washer features to look for
Pressure
Light-duty machines are up to 100 bar, which is good for decking, fences and garden furniture. Mid-range machines are 110 to 130 bar – these can also tackle vehicles, exterior paintwork, guttering and small patios and driveways. Heavy-duty machines are 130+ bar – these are best suited to large areas and stonework, and may be too powerful for delicate paintwork or soft wood decks.
If you want to use a pressure washer on a wide range of surfaces, you need a machine with a responsive nozzle and several spray patterns. Different fixtures – such as pressure washer brushes designed specifically for patios – will come in handy, too.
The best machines have high pressure and a high flow rate.
Length of hose
It’s also worth taking a second to consider how the pressure washer will attach to your water source. The best pressure washers have long hoses – or can be attached to long hoses – so that they can be used all over the garden.
Accessories
All machines come with a standard spray head, but some come with added extras, including:
- Specialist brushes (for cars and bikes, for example)
- Specialist lance (most come with a basic one, but you can get others for different surfaces)
- Patio cleaner (which concentrates the power into a small area)
- Foam nozzle (a handy way of applying detergent – great for vertical surfaces like cars)
- On-board detergent tank
- Professional hose (adds length to your water supply hose)
Auto start/stop
Pressure washers with this feature use the trigger on the spray gun, as opposed to a switch on the main machine, to start and stop the flow of water. This can save quite a bit of water, especially for more fiddly jobs that don’t need a constant flow.
Storage
If space is at a premium, look for more compact machines with integrated storage, especially a reel for the cables and the hose.
How to care for your pressure washer
In the same way you drain a hose before storing it, make sure you drain any excess water from the hose and motor after using the pressure washer, especially in winter. If you don’t, water will freeze inside the machine, expand, and crack, breaking your pressure washer.
What is the best pressure washer?
There is very little the Titan TTB2200PRW isn’t capable of, from the dreaded deck clean to the subtler soaking that’s required of cars, windows and garden furniture. It scored high across the board, including value for money, making it the best pressure washer on test.
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