Yahoo News Best pressure washers 2018
There is nothing ES Best likes better than getting out in the fresh air to test some toys to give your patio, garden furniture, refuse bins, bikes and, of course, cars a brand new look.
Gone are the days of leaky attachments and kinks in hoses to stop you in your tracks. Every machine tested here – and they go across the full range of consumer washers in size, power and budget – has the power and the tools to blast grime into the past. A bit of snow (well, quite a lot, in truth) could not stop us in our tracks, so we've donned its thermal underwear and bobble hat and got down to business.
Karcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus
The K5 offers everything needed to blast away the grime – and all in one box. Only 2kg heavier than its smaller brother, the K4, it comes with a minimum of assembly required. But there was plenty of paperwork to sift through before being able to get it out onto the drive, hooe-d up and ready to go. The LED settings are also installed on this machine, although its clever multijet spray lance means that there is no need to keep switching nozzles.
Install the batteries, press the plus and minus displays on the gun to make sure it’s listening to you and then all you need to do is twist the lance into one of the three positions. Hose reel and guidance system ensure no problems with the hose and an 8m length is totally adequate to allow you to move around a car without having to keep moving it about. As with the K4, the patio washer attachment was easy to set up and provided enough height to be able to use without hurting your back.
Nilfisk D-PG 140-4-9-PAD-X-TRA
Despite its powerful engine and size, Nilfisk have admirably managed to keep the weight down on this washer. This Danish firm take their eco credentials seriously and their power grip facility, located on the spray handle, enables the user to reduce power and save both electricity and water. The seven settings give you fine control over a variety of tasks and their anti-kink hose does exactly what it says on the tin. As with the Stihl, any extra weight on the machine is made up for with a 9m hose, making most outdoor tasks a breeze without having to lug it into position. It’s sturdy, has sensible and well-placed storage options and fulfilled all tests undertaken with a big tick.
DeWalt DXPW003E
Once man-handled out of its box – it weighs a whopping 31kg – we were delighted to be confronted with just a hose to hook up to the machine, a gun and one lance… all of which were chunky brass screw fittings. Simplicity itself. Getting it to the drive was no problem; its wheels are sturdy and it felt like a minor workout had been achieved. Once the hose was attached and we were all systems go, however, things began to go a bit awry. While there is a safety trigger on the gun and it is auto-stop start (it only starts working when the trigger is depressed), the nozzle was on its highest setting, resulting in a garden chair flying across the drive. Some feat, some power. Once the different settings had been worked out, the DeWalt performed admirably in all tasks. It’s big, it’s industrial… perfect for cleaning that old army tank that sits on your drive.
Spear and Jackson S2011PW
Despite being still in the entry level when it comes to price, the Spear and Jackson is in a different league when compared to the previous products. It’s big and heavy – weighing in at 13kg assembled – which means it requires some grunt to even get it out of the box. On the plus side, it comes mostly pre-assembled, which is great if you want to get going quickly with your new toy. Once the handle is in place – one of the few jobs required when putting it together – it is pretty easy to manoeuvre. A clever addition is a second set of wheels, meaning that the washer can be laid down on its back and moved about with ease. Once the sensible 7m hose was assembled and the power turned on, the Spear and Jackson’s power came into its own, stripping lichen and ingrained grime away with ease. Both brush attachments were effective but the seals were quite leaky. It could really do with a second extension lance for the patio cleaner as it’s a back breaker for anyone over 6ft tall.
Hozelock Pico Power
Like the Titan, an extremely compact product that is light and easy to transport once put together. Assembling the hose was relatively straightforward, although it would help if the illustrations and the written instructions were together in the manual. The click-in assembly required quite a bit of strength and the less dextrous might struggle a bit. Sensibly, and as you’d expect from a company that has made its name with all things related to hoses, it comes with a new attachment for your garden hose to click on to the machine. Initial fears that the much thinner washer hose would twist and deliver less spray proved groundless. The reduced weight makes the lances easy to manoeuvre and it delivered a powerful blast that saw it deal comprehensively with all the tests put in front of it, even on its widest and, therefore, weakest setting. Again, tall people could really do with an extension lance for the patio cleaner.
Karcher Premium Full Control K4
Probably the most instantly recognisable pressure washers on the market, Karcher’s K4 comes loaded with all you’ll need to keep cars, bikes, bins etc sparkling. Weighing in at 11.9kg without its accessories on board, this is no lightweight, but it does provide reassuring stability when set up. Installation is easy enough, but there were seven separate pieces of literature provided (you have to check them all, just in case you’re missing something vital). The hose reel on the back of the machine, plus its guidance system which feeds the hose to the front, guarantees kink-free unwinding and winding. Storage for accessories is well thought out, plus the net at the front is useful for smaller accessories that don’t have a natural home on the machine. The K4’s gun comes with an LED display which guides you to correct settings for every job undertaken… and it works.
Bosch Advanced Aquatak 160
The German green giant’s newest offering is ideal for the toughest of tasks due to its great versatility. Its quad engine means that power delivery is really smooth, thereby reducing the risk of vibration when using it for any length of time. The big box had us fearing an almost as large manual to digest, but Bosch have sensibly included a one-to-six step set of diagrams on the inside box-top, meaning the 160 is all set up with just the occasional glance needed. Large rubber tyres make transporting this near-26kg beast easy, while a stabilising foot ensures it is not going to tip over when in place. There are plenty of storage points on board and it comes supplied with a variable fan and rotating nozzle for heavy duty cleanings tasks, plus a wide-angle fan jet nozzle (a happy accidental discovery on the drive) that provides a rinsing facility, as well as giving a gentler clean for more more delicate items. With a simple and effective detergent system, Bosch have ticked virtually every box.
Grizzly HDR 100
A relative baby, weighing in at just under 2kg more than the Ozito, but still making it easily transportable. The Grizzly comes with its own chassis, meaning it can be pulled along on its wheels or carried. Whilst appearing like a handy feature, the chassis didn’t always lock in place, meaning the chassis could fall off if you have to carry it over uneven ground, but the wheel locking device was useful if you wanted the washer to stay in place. There were no illustrations in the manual but assembly was explained well, so there were no glitches when putting it together. There was also a reassuring click when attaching the hose and nozzles in place. In spite of the relatively no-frills accessory list – an extension lance and two different types of nozzles – the Grizzly coped admirably with its tests.
Ozito PWE-1300U HERO
The baby of the bunch weighs in at just 4.3kg assembled. It makes this machine great to throw in the back of a car and easy to keep out of the way if you have limited storage space. The instruction manual was clear and the washer had easy click-and-go connectors, although slightly more assembly was required than you’d think necessary for such a small machine. When ready to go, the 3-metre hose proved annoyingly insufficient and the lack of real oomph from the 1300w motor meant getting close up and personal with whatever you are cleaning. This meant wet weather gear was essential if you didn’t want to get soaked through. It cleaned everything put in front of it well, but its size meant that all the jobs inevitably took longer. Extremely good value as an entry level washer but could do with a few upgrades from the manufacturer which would vastly improve this product.
£49.99 | Homebase | Buy it now
Titan TTB669PRW
The box size made us think we were in for another battle getting the Titan up and running but, in fact, weighing in at a reasonable 10.2kg fully assembled, it was a breeze. The instruction manual was clear and the illustrations easy to follow. Whilst it’s unlikely to win any beauty contests, the Titan is reassuringly compact and simple to use. Its 6m hose is reassuringly chunky and the click-and-go combination of the hose attachments leaves you in no doubt that they are going to stay on. On start-up, it was quite hard to find a middle ground quickly using the vario nozzle and it left some marks on wooden furniture where it had proved too powerful but, once attuned to its controls, it passed the rest of the tests with flying colours. Once the job was done, that chunky hose was heavy, though, and had a mind of its own when it came to winding up.
Stihl RE129 PLUS
Stihl work hard on their customer relations, so the machine was assembled at the nearest dealership before being brought round in person… and we weren’t allowed to get our hands on it until all of its functions had been explained, along with some useful tips for storage to prolong the life of the machine and its components. A double click-open cover at the front of the machine provides storage space for the two nozzles supplied as standard, plus a place for the essential cleaning pin… the one piece it is so easy to misplace. Despite its weight, the adjustable handles made it easy to manoeuvre. It has a sensible nine-metre-long hose and the gun and nozzles, while not having the aid of the gadgetry available to some of its rivals, provided an excellent variety of pressures to cope with all the jobs in hand.
Nilfisk E160.1-10 H X-tra
When you hand over your money for any of these machines, you want to get it home, get it out of the box and go. Nilfisk’s simple design is effective – and for we are grateful. The E160 has the same power settings we liked so much on the 140, while the supplied value pack (yes, it is an optional extra) contains not just the patio brush but also a rotary brush (great for the car and garden furniture alike without damaging paintwork) and a drain and tube cleaner… perfect for dislodging leaves and other assorted detritus from guttering pipes.
Verdict:
While all of the pressure washers have their pros and cons, in our minds, there is only one winner, the Karcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus due to its intuitive and easy to use features. A must-have for a sincerely deep clean.
