Choosing a pressure washer: bar, litres per hour and accessories

Bar and litres per hour

Pressure in bar says how hard the water leaves the lance. Flow in litres per hour (l/h) says how much water goes through, and so how much dirt you rinse away at once. A machine with plenty of pressure but little water loosens dirt but rinses it away more slowly.

Kärcher also puts an area per hour on the box for its K classes. The product names give, for example:

Other brands give only bar and l/h. Einhell lists 170 bar and 420 l/h for the TC-HP 170, Nilfisk 145 bar and 500 l/h for the Excellent Power X-tra.

Which size suits your job?

Makers list the power and pressure of each machine. Bosch lists 1,500 W and 125 bar for the UniversalAquatak 125, and 1,900 W and 135 bar for the UniversalAquatak 135.

Kärcher puts what a class is for in the product names: the K2 at 110 bar for, among other things, small cars, bikes and garden chairs, the K4 and K5 at 130 and 145 bar for the patio as well. For larger areas such as patios and driveways, choose a machine with more pressure and more litres per hour. Check the length of the high-pressure hose too: Einhell gives 10 metres for the TC-HP 170.

Cordless or mains

Most pressure washers run on 230 V. There are cordless models for places without a socket, such as the Einhell Hypresso 36/105, which Einhell lists at 105 bar and 270 l/h, the Bosch UniversalAquatak 36V-100 at 100 bar and the Kärcher K 2 Battery Set at 110 bar and 340 l/h.

There are also low-pressure cordless cleaners, such as the Gardena AquaClean 24/18V P4A at 24 bar, made for light work like bikes and garden furniture. Whether a cordless model can draw water from a bucket or water butt is in the specifications.

Lances and patio cleaners

A pressure washer usually comes with a lance with a flat jet and a rotating dirt blaster for stubborn dirt. For patios, a patio cleaner helps: a hood with a spinning nozzle, so less water and dirt splashes around. Some sets include one, such as the Nilfisk E145.4-9 PAD Xtra with patio cleaner and hose reel, or the Powerplus POWXG90411.

Accessories usually fit only machines of the same brand, and sometimes only one class. Kärcher puts this in the name: the eco!Booster 130 is for the K4, the eco!Booster 145 for the K5. With a separate lance or brush, always check which models it is for.

Water, hose and careful spraying

You connect a pressure washer to the tap with an ordinary garden hose. The manual gives the maximum temperature of the incoming water and the minimum flow the tap must supply.

Makers write in their manuals never to aim the jet at people, animals, electrical equipment or the machine itself. Start at a distance and only move closer once the surface copes: wood, joints and car paint can be damaged by too much pressure up close. The distance to keep from car paint is in the manual.

Compare every model under pressure washers, with prices from several shops. Many machines come in several sets, with or without a patio cleaner; ToolRango compares each version separately.