Top 16 Best Pressure Washers of 2022

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 has 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.

Another user-friendly detail is the crank you use to roll the hose up. You can press this in to lock the hose reel when the reel is fully wound in, which also keeps the crank out of the way.

You can use the pistol both with and without a lance, and the lance can be extended. You have a maximum of 1.2 m to play with, which is really good. You can also store the attachments you need on the pressure washer for quick access.

The only other thing we'd have liked to see is somewhere to suspend the power cable on the machine itself.

In addition to being well-designed, the pressure washer also comes with a wide range of equally effective accessories. You can easily connect the nozzle of the foam cannon to a PET bottle, allowing you to have a number of different chemicals ready for use without having to buy several separate bottles.

The foam cannon has a very clear marking in the form of a line that gets longer when you rotate it. The more detergent you're adding, the longer the line. There are also symbols to provide further clarification, which are very easy to understand.

Even the chemical bottles are well designed. They are constructed so you can easily stack them on top of each other in your shed or garage.

Gets things really clean

The pressure washer hose is flexible and gives a high quality impression. However, it’s only 8 metres long. For the price class this is OK, but not the best on the market. You can buy a 12 m extension hose with a quick coupling.

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.

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.

The model we tested was the Bosch Fontus gen 2. This model has a slightly higher pressure and lower weight than its predecessor with almost the same name. The two kg weight it has lost do make a big difference if you need to carry the pressure washer any sort of distance, because it will weigh even more when the water tank of 15 litres is filled to the brim.

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.

Multiple power modes and functions

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 battery lasts for 22 minutes in the most powerful mode. In this mode, the jet is quite thin and can even handle dried-on dirt quite well. The intermediate position has a wider jet which is better if you’re going to rinse larger areas. The least powerful mode is more for watering flowers and the like. This mode provides 10 litres of water in just over 3.5 minutes.

There are several practical functions we appreciate with the Bosch Fontus. The water tank holds 15 litres and it takes 6 minutes and 5 seconds to finish the whole tank. But if you want more water, you can connect it to a hose. On the lid for the tank is another small lid, and if you unscrew it you’ll find a connection for a hose. There is also a filter on the lid that ensures the water that passes through the machine is free of dirt. The filter is a little difficult to get out when you clean it because it is quite a tight fit.

When you use this washer with the hose connected, you have a level sensor that ensures you never have too much or too little water in the tank itself. If there’s too much water and there is a risk of overflowing, it closes the opening, then opens it again when the water level has gone down a bit. This gives you nice constant operation.

The pistol has both a childproof catch and cruise control so you can lock it in the active position. Next to the pistol is a brush nozzle, which allows you to scrub at whatever it is you’re washing. The brush is soft enough to get rid of slightly more stubborn dirt.

When you are done, wind the hose up and clamp it to the back of the machine. There’s no hose reel, but the hose is so short that this isn’t much of an issue.

The cover for the battery protects it from moisture. The battery is easy to insert and remove. It belongs to the Bosch green 18V series so you can share batteries with tools from the same manufacturer. The machine also has a battery indicator.

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.

The Husqvarna PW 360 is our best pressure washer of 2020 because it is a substantial yet light pressure washer that gives you the best of two worlds. It looks relatively neat and is easy to move around. But it's a very powerful machine and the long, steel reinforced high-pressure hose is very flexible.

It's long enough to go all around the car, and the hose is easy to reel back in when it's time to move the pressure washer.

The PW 360 has a relatively low water capacity given its high pressure, but this doesn't actually cause problems in practice. However, it's a bit of a shame that it can't cope with a higher water temperature given the price. A higher water temperature would have made it easier to remove tough dirt such as oil.

The manufacturer has chosen an interesting configuration

The accessories included are standard in terms of the competition, and the design is so similar to many other brands that several of them are interchangeable. In fact, the construction of the PW 360 is essentially identical to that in several competitors.

However, the machine is specified slightly differently, and the combination which has been chosen gives a very good result. We can wash lighter coverings of moss from patios etc. without problems. It's also user-friendly in that it's easy to assemble and also to fold up after use.

Thumbs up for the fact that it's possible to suspend the power cable.

Given the power, the construction and the slightly lower price than similar models from other brands, this is a very good buy for anyone seeking a pressure washer that can cope with a wide range of tasks.

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.

Case of accessories

Unfortunately, it doesn’t include a holder for the foam cannon, but it does include a case and holders for the three nozzles. You attach the lance to the top of the handle.

The fact that the hose is a bit longer than the one on the P40 makes a big difference to ease of use. You can easily get all the way round the car, boat or whatever else it is that you're washing. And you often don’t even have to move the machine body when you’re washing the façade, because the hose reaches all the way along your house (unless you live in a palace!)

The hose is very soft and flexible, while simultaneously being strong and sturdy. Even in cold weather, it’s easy to get it to follow along nicely when you move with it.

Can draw water

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.

The Nilfisk C-PG 130.2-8 PCDI X-TRA is a handy, compact pressure washer. It's not the most powerful model on the market, but given its neat size and weight it outperforms our expectations.

It's undoubtedly capable of basic tasks such as keeping the car clean, washing the façade of your house or cleaning the patio. You can also easily set the pressure using buttons on the handle.

Long range cleaning

The ample hose length means that you can easily clean the whole car without having to move the machine. The hose is semi-rigid, but still follows the user's movements well even in colder weather. This is important because the machine doesn't weigh very much, which means that it easily tips over if you jerk the hose when it's fully extended. Fortunately, the hose length and flexibility means that this doesn't happen very often.

The C-PG 130.2 includes a number of accessories. In addition to the spray and rotary nozzle, you also get a patio accessory and a dosing nozzle. The latter can be used for things like car shampoo, degreaser and soft soap. The pressure washer also includes a drain hose for flushing out blockages and a hose for collecting water from a water butt.

Changing the nozzles and connecting other accessories is very quick and easy. It's also possible to store the majority of accessories on the machine, and it has a hose reel on the top.

Highly portable

Its comfortable handle, minimal vibrations and moderate noise level makes the C-PG 130.2 pleasant to use. It may initially feel a little plasticky, but you soon forget this given all the included accessories and ease-of-use. The neat size of the C-PG 130.2 also makes it easy to pack up and store out of the way when not in use.

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.

Affordable premium washer

This pressure washer has an unusually long and at the same time flexible hose, which can be wound up on a hose reel. Two nozzles are included, and these are stored loose in cavities on the machine body – fair enough as a solution but not quite as good as some others where you store them in a closed compartment.

This machine is easy to move over different types of surfaces. You can also fold the handle up or down, and thus get a good grip when moving it or make it more compact when storing it.

At the back is a fairly hefty cleaning tank, instead of the small bottle that normally comes with pressure washers.

The power cable is wound up around two pegs on the machine body. The cable is a bit stiff, but that’s not much of an issue. You can quickly undo slacken it by turning one of the pegs, and then the entire length of the cable can then be removed at once.

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.

The Bosch Advanced Aquatak 140 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.

In purely design terms, we like the idea that Bosch have made all the parts that interact red so you can see where you should attach the nozzles, press buttons and so on.

Rather standard

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.

You even get a separate bottle to use when mixing detergent. This solution works very well, including for thicker chemicals.

The pressure washer hose is quite flexible, but not as good as the best we’ve tested. It becomes a bit stiffer at low temperatures, and tends to be difficult to stretch out completely. But it’s far from bad. The hose is made from high quality material, and we’ve tested many models with significantly less flexible hoses.

The Aquatak 140 comes with a plastic tube with a filter you can connect to ensure that no dirt emerges from the nozzle when you're using it. This is really practical, and it’s easy to remove and clean the plastic tube.

There’s plenty of pressure in the jet, and it works fine for cleaning most things in a domestic environment – everything from rinsing off decking to washing the car. Of course it doesn’t make any impression on tougher dirt such as oil where you’d need hotter water – and nor can it remove moss with cold water. But neither of these are the intended application for this machine.

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.

The AVA Go P40 is a highly mobile pressure washer with two obvious advantages. One is that it can draw water, which means for example, that you can take it to your summer home and draw water out of a stream to get water to wash your patio, façade, roof etc. There’s a filter at the hose connection that ensures you don’t suck up debris that clogs the system. The other major advantage is how small, light and compact machine is.

This combination of a highly mobile pressure washer with the possibility of drawing up water from other sources means the entire product feels very well-designed for a clear target group. Unfortunately the filter is made of plastic instead of a more long-lasting material, but it still does the job.

Doesn’t have to run at high pressure

Because the Go P40 foams everything, you don’t need particularly high pressure to wash things. The pressure washer has a working pressure of 120 bar, but the results are what you'd expect from a machine with a higher pressure. If you use the system correctly, you rarely even need to use a sponge. Unfortunately, there’s no holder for the foam cannon, but you do get a case with the pressure washer.

Another thing we’d have liked to see is the springs that you get on the pistols in AVA’s stationary pressure washers. These mean you can pretty much keep the handle pressed in using your little finger! But the Go P40 is like other manufacturers’ models – there’s no spring and you have to press the handle with your whole hand. It isn’t too hard, but nor does it give a feeling of refinement in the construction.

Efficient construction

The construction is generally very efficient. There's a holder for the pistol nozzle on the machine body, and for the three other nozzles. You place the lance in the carrying handle. When you’ve finished using the pressure washer, you roll up the hose and push it in between the carrying handle and the machine body, which works really well.

Unfortunately the Go P40 has quite a short hose, so this isn't the model to buy if you need a longer working radius. Or alternatively you’ll need to buy an extension hose. But the hose is very soft and flexible, while still being robust.

The price of the AVA Go P40 seems rather high if you only check the working pressure. But given the great results you get from this pressure washer, this is actually a no-brainer. With this machine it's more about whether or not the hose is long enough for what you intend to wash with it. If you’re looking for a highly portable and easily stored pressure washer for washing your boat, summer home patio or similar things, this is an excellent choice.

The Stihl RE 130 Plus is the successor to the popular RE 129. It’s a high-pressure washer with reasonable working pressure according to the specifications, but which in practice feels stronger than it’s claimed to be. Especially when we tested it with the rotary nozzle, it gave a really good impression, for example, when we washed a paved patio. Overall, this washer gives a good result on most surfaces, but we had to use a sponge and hand power when we washed a very dirty car.

Something we did appreciate with the RE 130 Plus is that you can set the amount of chemical to be mixed directly on the jug. We tested different chemicals with reasonable results.

Long hose

The hose is both long and easy to work with. It bends and twists without being damaged. The hose reel moves smoothly when you pull out the hose, and the machine remains stable on a slope as long as you don’t pull too hard on the hose. Unfortunately, the hose reel isn’t lockable. However, you can fold down the handle so the washer takes up less space during storage.

The Stihl RE 130 Plus is pretty heavy and not very portable. But if you only use it in your garden, and you have a good surface on any paths, it’s easy to pull it between different places. However, this isn’t the sort of machine you’ll want to lift up far or take to your summer home.

Clever hatch

There’s a hatch on the machine body which allows you to store cable and nozzles. There’s also a needle for cleaning the gun if it gets blocked.

The Stihl RE 130 Plus is a pressure washer that gives a good result, is stable and has a handy space for storage of nozzles and things you aren’t currently using. It may be a bit expensive in terms of performance, but you also get a long hose and quality material on the pump and handle.

The Nilfisk E145.3-10H X-TRA is a substantial pressure washer with a good hose. The thickness and textile-like material of the hose - together with the pressure washer's carefully considered design - make the entire construction feel substantial.

You can store nozzles which aren't in use and they're easy to change.

User-friendly design

The hose is on a hose reel on the top of the pressure washer and easily goes all the way around a car. The positioning is advantageous as it means the hose unrolls smoothly when you pull on it. At the same time, the high weight of the machine means that the E145.3-10H X-TRA remains solidly on the ground during use.

Despite this weight, the pressure washer is easy to manoeuvre. As long as you aren't after a pressure washer that you can carry up onto the roof, the weight isn't a problem.

Nilfisk have been clever in their placement of the dosing container. This is located on the nozzle, which means that you can constantly keep track of how much detergent you have left. And it's also easy to regulate the quantity. The fact that the container is an accessory included with the pressure washer is another clear plus.

Quite a lot of vibration

The E145.3-10H X-TRA has only one flaw, and this becomes apparent when you're using it at full power. It produces extremely powerful vibrations and a very loud noise. Even if you aren't normally sensitive to this, after just a few minutes the pistol can hurt your hand from the vibrations caused by the high pressure. At the same time, the washing result isn't any better than comparable models in the same price class, which makes these disadvantages even more evident.

Apart from this, however, the Nilfisk E145.3-10H X-TRA is a high performance and affordable pressure washer.

The Husqvarna PW 350 is a well-built high-pressure washer with a metal pump and a long, flexible hose. The hose is easy to roll up and it isn’t heavy so you can easily lift it into your car if you want to take it elsewhere.

Although the PW 350 should be a fairly powerful high-pressure washer, we didn’t really feel we got the best out of it. When we used the rotary nozzle, the result wasn’t as good a competitor's model with the same performance. But that’s a bit strange, because both machines have very similar construction, almost the same specifications and the nozzles can be swapped between them. We couldn’t figure out why the performance was less good, but we certainly didn’t feel that there was enough power from the PW 350.

Standard washer

That issue aside, this is a fairly standard high-pressure washer. You have holders for two nozzles on the machine body, a fold-down aluminium handle and a jug that comes with it so you can mix chemicals. The washer also comes with a needle you can use to clean the nozzle if you get dirt in it.

The winder for the power cable works very well. You roll up the cable as usual, but when you want to use the machine again, you fold down the holder and remove the whole cable, so you don’t have to unreel it. This is very convenient and allows you to get started quickly.

The PW 350 has no filter for incoming water, nor any other particular refinements other than those we’ve mentioned above. It’s fine for the average homeowner who wants to wash the outside of the house or the car from time to time. But if you want to shift serious dirt there are probably better models out there.

Having said that, the price is very reasonable. We’d recommend the Husqvarna PW 350 to anyone who wants a high-pressure washer for simpler tasks around the house.

The Kärcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus 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.

Very few accessories

The Kärcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus comes without accessories. This is partly because the different nozzles are integrated into the spray gun from the start. But another difference from its competitors is that it doesn't include a foam sprayer. Instead you have to buy a container of detergent that you connect directly to the machine body. The liquid then runs through the machine. This is useful in that you can control the quantity of detergent that comes out at the other end. But it's a pain that you have to then clean out the machine before you can use it for jobs where you don't want to use detergent.

You're also locked into Kärcher's range of detergents, as the bottle is a specific shape.

Another disadvantage is the hose. This works fine as long as it's warm out. Even though it gets a bit tangled, it extends without overturning the machine. But when the outdoor temperature is cooler, it becomes quite difficult to handle. In this respect, it's reminiscent of cheaper pressure washers. The hose could also have been longer.

However we liked the handle on the top of the machine body. This is easy to pull up and push down, and has an intelligent lock so that you can carry the pressure washer, although the machine is rather heavy.

The Kärcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus is best for somebody who needs a pressure washer during the warmer months, for example to keep the decking and car clean.

The Kärcher K5 Full Control is a powerful machine that easily removes dirt from both wood and metal. It's just as easy to clean your patio as it is your dirty alloy wheels. Everything from stickers to old paint residues quickly disappears.

The K5 is an upmarket version of its smaller sibling, the K4. It has slightly higher water pressure, which produces a better effect. The hose is a couple of metres longer, which definitely improves user-friendliness and means you have to move the machine much less often, for example when washing the car.

At the same time the hose is quite stiff, especially in cold conditions, which makes it fiddly to handle. Situations often occur where it's easier to move the pressure washer than it is to roll out more hose.

A bit short on accessories

Given the price class, the number of included accessories feels rather stingy. There are only two nozzles in the standard packet and no special accessories for car washing, attaching cleaning products or patio cleaning.

However, the machine is well equipped to deal with such accessories. There are places to store nozzles which are not currently in use, and changing between them is a quick process. The included rotary nozzle is very effective, but creates vibrations which can be unpleasant if you use it for a long time. This problem doesn't occur with the fan jet nozzle.

Otherwise the machine is both attractive and well designed. The telescopic handle makes the Kärcher K5 easy to move while also being easy to store. On the nozzle there's an LED display that shows the pressure, although this is somewhat unnecessary as you can feel what the pressure is as you use it.

Given Kärcher's strong brand and the price tag, we expected more of the K5 Premium Full Control pressure washer.

The Bosch GHP 5-55 Professional is a pressure washer in Bosch’s blue range, which means it’s classified as a professional machine. This meant we had high expectations of the product, which it unfortunately failed to live up to.

Above all, it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of user-friendliness. You have to wind the hose up yourself manually, as the GHP 5-55 Professional has no reel, unlike many other models.

The pressure washer also has no quick couplings (click connectors, for example). Instead you have to screw the hose on, and you need to have adjustable pliers handy for this to make sure it’s properly attached.

But there are a few good things about the GHP 5-55 Professional. For example, it performs well and is easily good enough for domestic use. It has good pressure, and one nozzle is slightly angled so you can easily access things like the underside of your car chassis or under the wheel arches. You can set the flow. But if you're going to change to another nozzle, you have to undo a nut and unscrew the entire front 50 cm of the pistol.

The hose is 8 m long, robust and sufficiently flexible – although it’s stiffer than the best hoses in our test.

One major advantage of the GHP 5-55 is that it has self-suction, which means it can draw water from unpressurised sources.

The pressure washer sits firmly on the ground and is easy to move, even though it is quite heavy. But that’s about it for this machine’s main advantages.

High maximum temperature

The design of the GHP 5-55 Professional is similar to other models on the market, except for the lack of quick couplings or a hose reel. For example, you can raise and lower the handle.

It includes a small bottle that you can fill with chemicals and attach to the nozzle. The chemicals are then automatically mixed into the flow. Some cleaning products must be diluted first as they're a little bit too thick to mix effectively.

Unfortunately there aren’t many accessories with this machine given the price. But we do like the fact that it can cope with water temperatures of up to 50 degrees.

The Bosch GHP 5-55 Professional is ideal for anyone who wants to easily wash beneath low level objects without having to bend too much. The angled nozzle – and the fact that it has self-suction – are its primary advantages. The major disadvantage is the price, given what you get for your money. There are many products with similar specifications and power that are significantly cheaper and are more user-friendly.

The Ryobi RY18PW22A is essentially an advanced, battery-powered water pistol. It has three strengths, of which one is turbo mode with rotating jet, a 15-degree position and a shower jet.

Unfortunately, the shower jet gives too high a pressure for watering flowers with. It blasts soil out of the pot, so you have to stand well back. Turbo mode does give you more power. When we measured how long it took to fill a bucket with ten litres of water, it took 3 minutes and 43 seconds. What does it mean? In practice, you get enough power to wash things as long as the dirt hasn’t yet dried on. So you can rinse the mud off your bike after a ride, or rinse grass clippings from the lawnmower before they have dried.

However, the RY18PW22A is not suitable for washing your car or the equivalent. The hose is too short and far too stiff, so it’s difficult to use for a car. Likewise, unless it’s a hot, sunny day and the hose has heated up and become more flexible, it tends to jump out of the water barrel (or equivalent water source) – even if you use the plastic clip that comes with it. With the clip on, it does pop out a little less often, but still so often that it’s very frustrating. If the hose had been more flexible, this wouldn’t have happened as much.

Another major disadvantage is that the filter on the hose clogs very easily compared to competitors. If we use water from a barrel that has been outdoors, where the water isn’t completely clean, it soon clogs up and the machine stops. So you have to make sure the water you use is clean.

Looks like a water pistol

The construction consists of a pistol part with a battery that’s protected from water splashes, a lance attached to the pistol and a hose that you immerse in the nearest water source.

The handle is rubberised and gives a good grip. In terms of design, it is reminiscent of the grip you find on some other Ryobi products – in other words, it is a fairly large handle that fits a large hand. It also has a child lock.

Then you reach the lance. We measure the lance to be 67 cm, which is fine if you’re standing outside and spraying something, but a lot less practical in a greenhouse. You can split the lance in the middle and spray water, but the pressure then becomes really poor.

The battery life, on the other hand, is good. We tested it with a battery of 4 Ah and could pump water for 45 minutes. Which is more than enough to water flowers or rinse off a dirty lawn mower. You can also use the battery from tools from the same manufacturer.

The Ryobi RY18PW22A is ideal for anyone who needs a battery-powered pressure washer to rinse gadgets where the dirt hasn’t yet dried on and who also has access to clean water.

On paper, Greenworks G40 appears to be an excellent low-cost high-pressure washer. You’ll find a lot that you normally don't get when you buy a budget washer.

Despite its low price, it has e.g. a proper hose reel, placed in a similar position as on e.g. Kärcher’s machines. We were happy to see that it has a hose reel as this system is more flexible than bundling up the hose oneself, but unfortunately it did not work well in practice. Firstly, the hose is stiff and difficult to handle, and secondly, the hose reel is sluggish. This makes it difficult and heavy to roll up the relatively short high-pressure hose after use.

It's a good construction on paper that fails to impress

The hose construction is also quite weak. When we unpacked it, it folded up and immediately white lines showed up. Below the hose reel there is a small shelf where you can fit a foam bottle. However, it has a semi-poor fit and the roller is so close that you have to fold it in. It is also difficult to replace the nozzles. It has a so-called click-in system, where you click and turn, but unfortunately with quite high resistance.

It comes with two nozzles: one for rinsing things, such as the car, and a rotary nozzle to remove stubborn dirt. The power cord has a holder on the side that one can roll up. The handle is a telescopic version that runs smoothly both down and up.

The performance is sufficient for simple tasks, such as washing your bike and rinsing a facade. The rigid and short hose, on the other hand, makes Greenworks G40 far too difficult to handle in practice.