Pressure Washers - Do You Own One? Are They Worth It?

ConsumerMatt

I have one.

I can't remember the model (or be bothered to go to the shed) but it is a Karcher and cost around £300 from Costco a few years back.

As for whether they are worth it: It hasn't changed my life and it probably won't change yours either but it does make washing the car a joy. It is also good at cleaning patios and pretty much anything in your garden.

The only piece of advice I need to give is:
- Don't leave the washer outside in the cold after using it. I washed my car on a cold day and then dumped it in the shed. An overnight frost caused a small pipe to freeze and split in the washer which caused a huge leak and no pressure. Fortunately as I purchased from Costco I could get a replacement with no quibbles. It was outside of guarantee though so Karcher wouldn't have helped and no doubt most other retailers would have turned me away.

If you know it is going to be frosty you should store it indoors until the inner pipes have dried, unless you have an attached garage to store it in that is safe from sub-zero temps.

anotherbaldrick

Richard53 wrote: »

I have been cleaning the sidewalls of the tyres of my car for probably 15 years, using full jet power from about an inch away. It cleans them nicely.

No ill effects so far. Can you post any evidence that this might be harmful, as I would be interested?

Just Google pressure washer, car tyres it you will get a screenfull of warnings.

bigjl

GJ_WRX wrote: »

Just bought a Karcher K4 from B&Q 4 hours ago!

I was debating which one to get for a while and decided on the higher pressure one. Bit more than I wanted to spend at £200 but seems good. I'v already cleaned a patio that had 5 years worth or grime, the window plinths which were going green and 2 cars!

Previously I had to fill a bucket up out the back, walk round the house to clean the cars meaning it would take almost an hour to do them both with average results. Or pay about £10 for each of them a month.

I'd say go for it!

Pity you never posted up before buying!

They have the Karcher K4 on the various shopping channels including loads of extra bit, the extension to the lance and the bit for doing patios and decking for well under £200.

Last time I seen it when channel surfing it was £169:99.

Though I have been putting some money to one side to buy the K4 Karcher.

It seems a good deal and very powerful, and the price is good on the shopping channel.

I have never heard anything bad about Karcher!

Maybe I will be paying over the odds for the name.

But I think they are likely to be better, I believe they are still made in Europe rather than China, though I could be wrong.

nickcc

I have never heard anything bad about Karcher!


I would respectfully suggest you do a search as the cheaper range of Karcher washers with the plastic pump suffer from pump failure on a regular basis.

bigjl

Richard53 wrote: »

I have been cleaning the sidewalls of the tyres of my car for probably 15 years, using full jet power from about an inch away. It cleans them nicely.

No ill effects so far. Can you post any evidence that this might be harmful, as I would be interested?

I have never seen any proof of this, though the Daily Mail and some online tyre retailers have posted up such warnings.

They also mention to use 110bar or less.

But since most domestic pressure washers are around or under this level there is no real issue.

This is more a generalised warning to stop idiots from holding the pressure washer aimed at one spot for a sustained amount of time due to having no common sense the wanting somebody else to take responsibly when their own stupidity causes damage.

People of similar mentality are why the modern world is full of small print and disclaimers.

"Using this Pressure Washer instead of a Bidet may cause damage"

mttylad

I got a B&D one, it cleans the decking extremely well.

I wish I'd got the Nilfisk one though, they do a drain cleaning/snake attachment and that can save you the whole setups worth when your drains get blocked.

Richard53

anotherbaldrick wrote: »

Just Google pressure washer, car tyres it you will get a screenfull of warnings.

Well, the first hit was the Daily Mail, so I am suspecting scaremongering before I even click the link

Serious point, and bigjl has already picked it up, is that the warnings are about big industrial washers used by professional car wash places. This thread is about the domestic type. My current washer is 120 bar, which puts it on the limit of the washers deemed to be 'safe', but seriously I have been doing this for year and years, and I have never had a problem with a tyre burst or even loss of pressure. All my tyres get replaced due to being worn out.

When the Daily Mail and a trade body get together to put out a scare story, I usually take it with an entire truckful of coarse-grade winter road salt, never mind a pinch.

GJ_WRX

bigjl wrote: »

Pity you never posted up before buying!

They have the Karcher K4 on the various shopping channels including loads of extra bit, the extension to the lance and the bit for doing patios and decking for well under £200.

Last time I seen it when channel surfing it was £169:99.

Though I have been putting some money to one side to buy the K4 Karcher.

It seems a good deal and very powerful, and the price is good on the shopping channel.

I have never heard anything bad about Karcher!

Maybe I will be paying over the odds for the name.

But I think they are likely to be better, I believe they are still made in Europe rather than China, though I could be wrong.

I was going for the standard K4 which they had run out of at £179 so ended up getting the Eco model with patio brush thing for £200. I was pretty pleased with the price as had writen them off previously as normally go for arounf £279. Plus the eco model comes with a 5 year warranty rather than the 3 or 4 on other models.

Very happy with the power although looks like I may have been a bit too enthusiastic with it yesterday and taken some of the colour out of the patio slabs!

anotherbaldrick

Richard53 wrote: »

Well, the first hit was the Daily Mail, so I am suspecting scaremongering before I even click the link

Serious point, and bigjl has already picked it up, is that the warnings are about big industrial washers used by professional car wash places. This thread is about the domestic type. My current washer is 120 bar, which puts it on the limit of the washers deemed to be 'safe', but seriously I have been doing this for year and years, and I have never had a problem with a tyre burst or even loss of pressure. All my tyres get replaced due to being worn out.

When the Daily Mail and a trade body get together to put out a scare story, I usually take it with an entire truckful of coarse-grade winter road salt, never mind a pinch.

Forget the Daily Wail (everybody else does) take the serious ones like http://motoring-news.com/tyres/take-care-pressure-washing-your-car/ They suggest 110 bar max, most better washers are at least that or more. My little Bosch Aquatak is 120 bar and I only paid £85 for it

savemoney

There is a deal on hotukdeals for a nilfisk. £52 ish for 110bar

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/nilfisk-alto-c110-4-5-x-tra-pressure-wsher-110bar-delivered-for-52-78-cpc-cashback-1538806

I use this nozzel on mine. I got a car kit from The Range for £20 odd last year came with under the rim nozzle too

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nilfisk-6411134-Auto-Kit/dp/B0001P0BQM



http://www.cleanstore.co.uk/products/Product.asp?ID=3563