Top Rated Pressure Washers

How to pick the best pressure washer

When picking a pressure washer there are some things to keep in mind:

Performance: What's the working pressure and water quantity? What level of water temperature can the pressure washer cope with? How quickly does it work?

Ease of use: How easy is the pressure washer to handle? How mobile is it? Is the hose long enough? Does the hose get tangled? How easily does the pressure washer topple over? How ergonomic is it? How noisy is it?

Design: What material is the pressure washer made from? What storage options does it have?

Construction quality/durability: How well designed is the pressure washer? How much stress and wear should the construction tolerate? Is the material sufficiently durable? Can the pressure washer tolerate falling over? What guarantee does it have?

Functionality: What accessories are included? What type of nozzles do you get with the pressure washer, and what tasks are they intended for? Does the pressure washer have any unique functions?

All Pressure Washers

AVA Master P60 Pressure Washer

The AVA Master P60 is very well designed and easy to understand. And the end result is also extremely good. It’s obvious that the manufacturer have focused on user-friendliness. For example, there’s a solution that means the pressure washer is very stable regardless of how you pull it around. This solution takes the form of a metal bracket that provides support, and a rotating upper section. But the rotating section can even be locked in place so it doesn’t rotate when you're moving the machine. The pressure washer is also easy to roll around and has a pull-out lifting handle.

The working pressure is good, but it’s not actually the pressure that's the thing with this pressure washer. AVA think you should always foam everything you wash, from your garden trellis or the façade of your house to your car or carpets. This means you don't need high pressure, but instead work with different widths of nozzle. When we tested this for washing a car, we never even needed to lay a hand on the bodywork. First we applied foam degreaser to the entire car, then premium wash and foam, and finally foam wax. The result was sparkling clean without us having to touch the car once. There are pressure washers in this price class that have a higher working pressure with foam that also produce good results, but we've never had results of this quality without having to apply elbow grease as well. The AVA Master P60 is a very good value pressure washer for anyone looking for a very good result using a gentle method. You get an extremely well-designed product that's easy to use, and a system that's easy to expand.

Pros and cons

+ Very user-friendly

+ Clever functions

+ Really good results

+ Extremely good value

- No way of suspending power cable

Bosch Fontus Gen 2

The Bosch Fontus is the manufacturer's series of mobile pressure washers, and what sets them apart from the competition is that they are slightly larger and that they have a water tank. This means you can fill up the tank, then use the washer even in places where there’s no access to water. So you could, for example, take it to the furthest corner of your garden or plot and use it even if there’s no water supply there.

This washer has a strap at the front that is designed as a carrying handle. This makes it easy to lift with a two-handed grip even when the water tank is full. When the machine is on the ground, the built-in stand keeps it stable on the ground even if you jerk the hose. The hose is a bit on the short side at only four metres. So you can’t get it all the way around a car or similar. However, you can roll the machine body with you if you want. The hose is also quite stiff, which is a bit of a shame for an otherwise good mobile washer.

The Bosch Fontus isn’t really suited to washing the car as the pressure is a bit too low for the type of dirt a car normally has. However, it does work well for rinsing grass from the lawnmower, mud from your bike or for rinsing off dirty boots. The Bosch Fontus Gen 2 is a good buy if you need a mobile washer for places where there’s no power outlet or poor access to water. It’s suitable for simpler cleaning jobs such as washing your bike or washing the dirt off a wheelbarrow. But it isn’t suitable for ingrained dirt.

Pros and cons

+ Built-in tank with level sensor

+ Good battery life

+ Lots of refinements & functions

+ Easy to move around

+ Stable & rolls well

- Stiff & short hose

- A little tricky to get the filter out

AVA GO P55 Pressure Washer

The AVA Go P55 is a portable pressure washer that's easy to carry and just as easy to store. In terms of size it fits on a garage shelf without any problems. You roll up the hose and push it in between the handle and the body of the machine, then simply lift the entire thing up. The P55 resembles its smaller sibling, the P40, to a very large extent, but the difference is that it has a hose that's two metres longer and a higher working pressure – and the kit we test includes a façade brush too. The working pressure is just right for the average home owner, particularly because the product uses foam. In fact, all the chemicals are foamed. So you actually don’t need a very high pressure at all to achieve good results. And this pressure washer's performance really leaves nothing to be desired on that level.

A major advantage with the Go P55 is that it can draw water out of watercourses, rainwater butts etc. Because it’s portable and can draw water like this, it’s just as convenient for use at your summer home or the canoe club as it is when you're washing your car at home. To protect the interior of the machine when using this type of water source, you insert a plastic filter into an adapter which prevents dirt from entering machine. We'd have preferred the filter to be made from more durable material, given the price of the P55. Something we think is lacking in AVA's larger models is the spring in the pistol that means you don't have to use much force when you press the handle. This is a bit of a luxury function, but we'd have liked to see even their portable models being equipped with it. It isn’t too difficult to press the handle as it is, but on the larger models they've resolved this well, and once you've got used to the function you miss it when it's not there. But the AVA Go P55 is a very good buy. It’s incredibly portable, can draw water and produces a really good result.

Pros and cons

+ Very good result

+ Highly portable

+ Doesn’t take up much space when stored

+ Includes façade brush

- Plastic filter

Husqvarna PW 480

The Husqvarna PW 480 is a very powerful pressure washer for those who prioritise performance, a really long hose and the option to wash with hot water. The washer has adjustable pressure. Unfortunately, it lacks a pressure gauge so you’ve got no idea what you’ve set it to. Instead, you just have to see how it goes. Despite that, the pressure on the PW 480 is really good. The maximum working pressure is stated as 140 bar, but it can handle the same tasks as machines that are slightly more powerful. It manages to both loosen ingrained dirt, and rinse it off in an efficient manner. In addition, you can use it with hot water, which is better for stuff such as oil stains and the like.

The Husqvarna PW 480 is excellent for washing a car, rinsing a façade, washing the patio free of moss and other such things. You should buy a surface cleaner to go with the machine if you’re going to wash the patio. If you want a really high-performance pressure washer, where pressure, water flow and water temperature are important, the PW480 is a good value choice. Especially since you can adjust the pressure for different tasks. If the temperature isn’t really important, however, the smaller PW360 is an even more affordable alternative.

Pros and cons

+ Really long & soft hose

+ Great performance

+ Large cleaning tank

- No pressure indicator

Bosch Advanced Aquatak 140

The Bosch Advanced Aquatak 140 pressure washer is a traditional pressure washer with a standard construction and quick couplings for removable parts, a hose reel and space on the machine to attach nozzles that aren’t in use.Two advantages of the construction are that the hose reel can be locked and that the machine body has a plate you can put your foot on so the machine doesn’t move when you pull on the hose. The weight of just over 17 kg means that it’s fairly stable anyway. The pressure washer comes with a standard accessory kit. One nozzle gives a hard jet, and you can rotate the nozzle to make the jet broader. The other nozzle is a rotor nozzle which makes the water behave like a rotating ball – ideal for removing tough dirt.

The Bosch Advanced Aquatak 140 is definitely a good pressure washer. But it’s a little expensive compared to the competitors’ models, which means higher expectations. For example it could have included more accessories, intelligent extra functions or provided better pressure. The Aquatak 140 is ideal for anyone who wants a well designed, user-friendly pressure washer for all-round use that provides good performance.

Pros and cons

+ User-friendly construction

+ Good detergent mixing

+ Hose filter

- High price

Kärcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus

The Kärcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus Pressure Washer is a medium strong pressure washer with an interesting pressure control solution. The pressure washer has an intelligent spray gun solution where you rotate the nozzle to get different types of strength and water movement. This makes bigger jobs easier as you'd otherwise have had to change nozzle often. Now you simply have to rotate it to get a completely different effect. For example, if you're washing the car you can quickly change between mix mode where you mix in detergent, to lance mode where you rinse off the car with lighter jets. However, we found that lance mode was weak and ineffective and more in line with the pressure from a normal hose. But dirt blaster mode gives full pressure, which is ideal for washing patio furniture, the patio itself or removing lighter coverings of moss. Given the price, however, we would have liked a little more power and even a higher maximum water temperature.

The Karcher pressure washer is in general a super popular pressure washer brand with some popular favourites being: the karcher k4 pressure washer, the karcher k2 pressure washer, karcher k3 pressure washer and karcher k7 pressure washer. The karcher k5 pressure washer, however, remains the favourite.

Pros and cons

+ Wonderfully user-friendly lance

+ Can control the quantity of detergent

- Short hose that's affected by the cold

- Locked into Kärcher detergent

More Pressure Washers

• Karcher pressure washer
• Nilfisk pressure washer
• Ryobi pressure washer
• Bosch pressure washer
• Kranzle pressure washer

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