The 5 best pressure washers, according to experts

They provide a variety of spray patterns suitable for varied cleaning needs. Cleaning nozzles convert the water delivered by the pump into a spray pattern for various purposes. A soap injection nozzle has a wide angle spray that mixes soap and water, and spreads soapy water on the surface you intend to clean at a lower pressure. A cleaning nozzle has a narrow spray to power the dirt off and rinse the soap away. To start the pressure washer, first connect the garden hose to the inlet valve.

Blubery’s gas pressure washer is powered by a heavy-duty 212CC 4-stroke OHV horizontal shaft 7 HP engine with a recoil start. It offers a power of 3500 PSI and a water flow of 2.6 GPM to have strong cleaning power, which is quite adequate to clean stubborn dirt. In recent years, a couple of companies have released cordless pressure washers. These units come with portable water supplies and offer completely untethered pressure washing . We cleaned concrete floors, wood decks, both wood and resin furniture, and outdoor tables. This gave us a chance to see how their advertised power rating translated to actual cleaning effectiveness.

For residential purposes, 2000 to 3500 PSI range is adequate enough. The WP2300 and WP2500have axial cam pumps powered by 160cc, Westinghouse OHV engines. The WP2700 and WP3000 use Kohler OHV 173cc and 196cc engines to power Axial piston pumps made by Annovi Reverberri.

westinghouse pressure washers

We bought this with the surface cleaner to do our back patio and it worked great. But machine is fairly rugged in construction and that’s a plus. Longer lengths allow further reach without the need to move the main unit. The Westinghouse WPX3200 is part of the Pressure Washers test program at Consumer Reports.

Going through multiple cleaning sessions let us repeatedly set up, break down and test portability of these units. Many pressure washers had unique features like a hose reel, little baskets, spray wand rests, multiple spray tips, and other little features we tried out on-site. We didn’t lug all six washers to each location, but testing out each unit multiple times was sufficient to put it through its paces and get a real feel for cleaning with it.

When assembled, it has a sturdy metal roll-bar design, which is much more solid than the plastic bodies of most other electric models. One of the cars was covered in blobs of sun joe spx 3000 pine sap, which is tenacious in its stickiness and potentially damaging to the paint. Some of the patio furniture was ancient and hadn’t been cleaned in at least a decade.

With this power and flow rate, you can effortlessly remove dirt on yoru cars, garage doors, tables, and other furniture. You get an increased 50% cleaning efficiency compared to other pressure washers. In addition, induction motors are quieter than universal motors, as they tend to hum rather than whine. The motor in the RY makes a fairly inoffensive sound as far as washer motors go. The benefit here is that the RY always has its full pressure ready and waiting, whereas the other electric models need an instant or two to ramp up to full pressure.

This Ryobi model also has a padded handle, which adds to the ease of rolling it around. If you’re short on storage and you don’t mind carrying a pressure washer around, we also like the Ryobi RY1419MTVNM 1900 PSI Electric Pressure Washer. It’s much smaller than the other models we tested and has less oomph, but it can still handle most jobs . Weighing a little over 20 pounds and sporting a top handle, it’s compact enough for you to carry it as you would a duffel bag. It has wheels and an extending handle, like a piece of luggage, but the wheels are small and have trouble managing an uneven lawn . This pressure washer has the same long hose as our main pick, too, but it lacks that model’s high-end induction motor and some of the other, finer details.