 Portability is low (18kg) Hose is long (10m) Bonuses include a 3-in-1 multi jet lance, patio cleaner attachment, detergent and smartphone app Made in Germany for over 70 years, Kärcher pressure washers are ten times more searched-for than the next most popular brand. They range from the portable K2 Compact (reviewed below) to this big, heavy and very powerful K7, which must be regarded as the big daddy of domestic pressure washers – although it's not necessarily the right choice for everyone. The heavy weight comes from the motor and components needed to deliver the immense 180 bars of pressure. I found it very difficult to manoeuvre on its two wheels but once in place, it can largely sit in one spot – the pressure from the end of the 10m hose is high enough to clean large areas of decking or patio extremely quickly. I attacked a decades-old, grime-encrusted garden table for just 20 seconds and it came up looking brand new. The wand – although you may prefer to think of it as a rifle – has three nozzles which you twist to select: a low pressure spray for applying detergent, a high pressure, spinning 'dirt blaster' jet (you'll use this with the patio cleaner attachment) and a 'vario' jet which lets you choose between six settings for different jobs like decking, paving or car cleaning. There's also a Boost function which adds an extra 15 bar for 30 seconds. It's like getting a power-up on Mario Kart. The K7 along with other models at the top of the Kärcher range comes with Smart Control, linking it to a phone app. Being old, I'm generally against that kind of thing but this app is helpful. Tell it what you're cleaning – car, bike, wood, glass, stone and so on – and it will tell you what attachment and what settings to use and how to get the best results step by step. A foot-wide patio cleaner attachment is included in the box, along with a bottle of patio detergent which slots neatly into a feeder dock on the main unit. Together they'r){kind=link}
Here are the best pressure washers for cleaning power and usability, recommended by experts and tried and tested in driveway and garden
Can you use a pressure washer to clean a car? What about a bike, patio, gutter, barbecue, garden chair or window? The answer is yes, to all of these. Some people even use them to clean their carpets and chimneys, which seems foolhardy. The trick is to use the best pressure washer for the job, since the likes of Kärcher and Clarke differ from Bosch and Worx.
High pressure is essential if they are to lift any sort of deeply-ingrained dirt, but lower-pressure washers are more economical if you’re just cleaning mucky boots. Pressure washers generally draw between 1,400 and 2,800 Watts, which at today’s prices will cost between 42p and 84p an hour to run. Any type of pressure washer will use less water than trying to clean stubborn dirt with a hose, because they require far less water to make an impact.
Below, you can find in depth reviews of all the biggest brands in the business as well as some advice from a professional gardener on how to use them. If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick look at my top five:
The key thing to look at is the cleaning pressure. Anything over 150 bar is very high, capable of blast-cleaning concrete. Anything under 50 bar is very low, better for plastic garden furniture. It’s worth checking the quality of the materials (metal pumps being better than plastic, for example), and you should take into account any accessories it comes with, since these can be expensive to buy separately. Hose length, noise level, weight and value for money are also important.