PRISTINE paintwork, gleaming alloys and clean clothes—jet wash your car in minutes for well-earned pride while out on the road.
With concerns of scratched paintwork and damaged wing mirrors, automatic car washes certainly don’t have the best reputation. So, we’ve decided it’s time to get your pressure washer on.
As hand-finished car wash locations, with teams of people armed with microfibre cloths, pop up all over, it’s more than tempting to chuck £15 a week to get the car cleaned.
However, by our calculations, if done weekly that’s a whopping £750 a year – allowing for two weeks non-wash – per car.
So perhaps it’s time to invest in your own jet wash – round up the kids and put the fun back into washing the family motor.
And for a fraction of £750, you can have something that reaches to the roof, lifts off all the grime and preps the bodywork adequately for a good polish – without risking any scratches.
You could be forgiven for believing Karcher is the overlord when it comes to blasting off with a pressure washer, but there are some other top brands out there fighting grime just as well.
Here are our recommendations for 2019.
1. Karcher K4 Full Control
- £165, from Halfords – buy here
The Karcher K4 Full Control always gets outstanding reviews across the industry.
If you have plenty of patio and other cleaning tasks involving the jet wash, you’re not just saving on car washing by investing in a K4.
With Karcher’s 3-year guarantee, this highly durable pressure washer comes with two lances and advises medium setting for cars—that’s some power washer, right there.
The ‘Plug and Clean’ system allows detergents to be put through the unit, enabling you to use your favourite car shampoo.
What’s more, a six-metre high pressure hose lenght ensures all cars can be cleaned thoroughly.
2. Makita HW111
- £132, from Amazon – buy here
The Makita HW111 is lighter and easier to use than previous designs.
Though the flow rate isn’t one of the highest, the Makita has scored well in tests.
With a 3-year Makita guarantee, this pressure cleaner features an armed hose, built in accessories holder and wind-in hose reel, so storage is neat and tidy and the hose is less likely to kink and frustrate the task at hand.
The instruction manual is diagrammatical, showing how you can connect detergent to get a great shine on your motor.
3. GMC GPW165
- £179.83, from Amazon – buy here
The winner of last year’s Auto Express pressure washer tests, the GMC GPW165 is one of the pricey options on our list.
It’s hefty at 20kg, but this makes it sturdy when the eight-metre hose is at full length.
Good flow rate and pressure, at 165 bar, the soap bottle, rotary brush, fix brush lance and turbo nozzle will help get your motor sparkling without too much elbow grease.
There’s brass nozzles for fixing the hose to the tap, which are more robust than the usual plastic offered and the ten-metre electric cord is more than generous.
4. Karcher K2 Full Control Car Pressure Washer
- £99, from Halfords – buy here
Costing only 13% of the yearly price of outsourcing the weekly car wash, the K2 features an extendable handle to access the roof and keep your distance from the water spray, a trigger gun and Full Control and Dirt Blaster lances.
The unit has wheels for easy movement around the car.
What’s more, there’s a car kit, including a wash brush, foam nozzle and car shampoo – offering maximum value-for-money by helping you to get into those tough places around the wheels.
The durable plastic casing and high quality components are guaranteed for two years.
5. Spear & Jackson S2011PW Pressure Washer – 2000W
- £150, from Argos – buy here
Prefer to hand soap the bodywork and rims?
Coming with a three-year warranty, this Spear & Jackson is a favourite with consumers.
For a reasonable price, this washer comes with a range of attachments, making it versatile for other jobs too.
The 2000W features an adjustable lance that allows you to alter the level of water pressure to suit the task, so you can be tougher on wheels and tyres and more gentle on car panels.
It doesn’t however, have an attachable sno-foam lance, so a little bit more effort is needed before you get spraying.
6. Bosch AQT 42-13
- £177.77, from Amazon – buy here
This 13kg pressure washer from Bosch is best if you are struggling with storage space. The AQT 42-13 is “plug’n’play”.
With its advanced 1,900W Bosch motor pump, this pressure washer has decent flow rate and can be connected to outdoor taps and water butts.
The seven-metre hose and various accessories store neatly on the washer unit itself.
There’s a detergent attachment which enables you to fill the chamber with shampoo and connect to the telescopic hose.
Swift, easy and extraordinarily satisfying, pressure washing is definitely the future for fuss-free car cleaning.
6. Wolf Blaster Max2
- £99.99, from Amazon – buy here
The Wolf Blaster Max2 is the cheapest on our list but it’s by no means the most basic.
With a 2200W motor pushing out a respectable flow rate, the ‘click and connect’ attachments are easy-to-use and include a turbo nozzle, angled nozzle and car brush, to get into those really hard to reach places, like the wheels.
The high-pressure hose will dispense detergent via the integrated tank and then blast everything back to clean.
The wind-in reel is helpful and Wolf Blaster Max2 has been praised for its portability.
What is the best pressure washer to buy for home use?
The best pressure washer to buy for home use will depend on your individual needs.
For someone who is at entry level on heavy duty jobs, we recommend looking at Karcher K4 Full Control.
If you are looking to get a power washer for light duty cleaning jobs, take a look at this Karcher model instead.
Whether you want to upgrade your wardrobe, find some new gym kit or get some gift-buying inspiration, Sun Selects is here to help you out. Click the link to find more of our recommendations.
Enjoyed reading our guide to the best pressure washer? Check out more of our motoring recommendations here.
With the summer being just around the corner, discover our range of the best car shampoos to give your car the ultimate shine.
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