Article Summary
Pressure washers are handy tools that connect to your hose pipe and blast water at any cleaning problem. They can lift stubborn and unpleasant stains from hard-wearing surfaces in seconds. With the right attachments, you can also use them to clean cars, bikes, and boats.
What This Means for You
- You can save time and effort in keeping your outdoor spaces clean and well-maintained.
- Pressure washers can be used for various cleaning tasks, making them a versatile addition to your cleaning tools.
- By investing in a pressure washer, you can ensure a more efficient and thorough cleaning process for your outdoor surfaces.
- With proper care and maintenance, a pressure washer can last for several years, providing you with long-term value.
Original Post
The trouble with the great outdoors is that it gets a bit untidy. Your lawnmower might do a good job of keeping your garden in check, but keeping your patio, decking and outdoor furniture spick and span can take hours, especially if you rely on a bucket of soapy water and a scrubbing brush.
That’s where the pressure washer comes in. These handy tools connect to your hose pipe and squirt water at any cleaning problem. Stubborn and unpleasant stains, from bird dirt to years of neglect, can be lifted from your garden’s hard-wearing surfaces in seconds. With the right attachments, you can also use your pressure washer to hose down cars, bikes and boats.
At a glance
Why you should trust me
I’ve been testing all sorts of cleaning gadgets for years. I’ve tested vacuum cleaners, mops, hard-floor cleaners, carpet cleaners, window vacs and various robots designed to do jobs automatically, from internal cleaning to lawn mowing. I’ve got a keen nose for a labour-saving device, and I live in a busy household that never seems short of a dirty surface to test things on, including an extensive patio area and a filthy car.
How I tested
‘I found a neighbour with a deck that hadn’t had a deep clean for a few years.’
I gathered eight pressure washers of various types and prices from a range of manufacturers, and put each through the same tests. First, I used each washer to clean one of the dirty paving slabs at the side of my house. This is where the dog gets washed after walks and it’s a well-trodden thoroughfare, making it a dark and grimy corridor.
Next, I wanted to test the washers on decking. Unfortunately, I don’t have a deck of my own, so I had to find someone else’s to clean. Fortunately, a shoutout on our neighbourhood WhatsApp group found a neighbour with a deck that hadn’t had a deep clean for a few years, so it was primed and ready to challenge the washers. This was by far the wettest job of the lot – but my neighbour was delighted with the extreme hose down I gave it.
I then washed the wheels of my car. As with most cars, it has only four, so I washed half of each wheel with each washer, so I could compare their work.
Where appropriate, I tried the various attachments and settings that I hadn’t used previously on other jobs. It included cleaning out empty water butts, clearing a few years of built-up algae off my whirligig and testing the supplied foam cannon on the rest of my car.
All of the pressure washers were supplied by their manufacturers, most of whom will pick them up when I’ve finished. Any that don’t get collected will be given to Workaid, a Chesham-based charity that refurbishes tools of all kinds. It donates them to training centres and self-help organisations in Africa and the UK, to help young people develop new skills or start their own businesses.
The best pressure washers in 2025
Photograph: Andy Shaw
Best pressure washer overall:
Ava Go P40
Photograph: Andy Shaw
£149.90 at Ava
£149.90 at Amazon
Ava may not be a household name in the UK but the Norwegian pressure washer manufacturer has entered the market with affordable products that are designed to last. The P40 is a great entry-level device that should last for years, with a 10-year warranty to back it up.
Why we love it
It’s clear that the design focused on how the product would be used. It feels better built than similarly priced rivals, from the kink-free steel-lined pressure hose to robust but easy-to-release clips that hold all the parts together.
My favourite feature is the extendable lance. At the push of a button, the lance can extend from 84cm to 116cm. If you’re working on cleaning a floor, there’s no question this will reduce the amount of bending you have to do.
The kit I reviewed came with two nozzles (one variable for adjusting the width and pressure of the cleaning area, and another turbo nozzle for particularly tough jobs) and a foam cannon. Matching this with Ava’s detergents made car cleaning a breeze, and it performed well in all my tests.
It’s a shame that …
it’s not as powerful as the most powerful products we’ve tested here, so it can be bettered for stubborn dirt on the hardest surfaces.
Suitable for: patio, decking/fences, garden tools, garden furniture, drains/guttering, vehicles
Pressure hose length: 6m
Weight: 4.5kg
Corded or cordless: corded
Cleaning power: 11,313 cleaning units (6.5 litres a minute x 1,740PSI)
Attachments included: zoom lance, turbo nozzle, vario nozzle, foam cannon
Warranty: 10 years
Best budget pressure washer:
Kärcher K 2 Classic
Photograph: Andy Shaw
Kärcher sells more pressure washers than any other manufacturer, with the low price of the K 2 indicating why. None of the other washers we tested were as affordable as this compact unit.
Why we love it
Its affordability makes it ideal if you want something quick for occasional use. Considering the low price, you’re still getting a surprisingly effective cleaner. It doesn’t have the clever design and high build quality of corded rivals from Ava and Bosch, but there’s been no skimping on raw cleaning power.
It’s a lesser specification but still comes with two nozzles, which are pre-attached to their own lances. One produces a lighter spray at a fixed angle, while the other is a turbo nozzle that sends out a powerful rotating jet. The turbo nozzle was good at cleaning paving slabs and the lighter nozzle did good work on my car wheels.
It’s a shame that… you get what you pay for in build quality: the pressure hose wants to stay curled up, no matter what you do with it, and the unit is so light that it’s prone to falling over.
Suitable for: patio, decking/fences, garden tools, garden furniture, drains/guttering, vehicles
Pressure hose length: 3m
Weight: 3.2kg
Corded or cordless: corded
Cleaning power: 9,573 cleaning units (6 litres a minute x 1,595PSI)
Attachments included: single spray lance, dirt blaster lance
Warranty: five years
Key terms
- Pressure washer
- Outdoor cleaning
- Patio cleaning
- Decking cleaning
- Car cleaning
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