Having spent time looking for a great power washer for home use, I’ve stumbled across a huge number of manufacturers and brand names to consider.
There’s not a huge amount of reliable information on the web to help the uneducated consumer (like me) to really understand the nuts and bolts of how these machines differ, and what makes it worth spending more on the higher priced units.
The problem seems to be a lack of objective detail – some of the biggest manufacturers have vast amounts of technical data about their products, but to me it’s like reading a foreign language. On the other hand, I’ve seen some cheap jet washers in the middle aisle of Lidl, and couldn’t even find a website belonging to the brand on the box.
I’m sure it’s straightforward for people that know what they’re doing, but we’re not all truckers with huge lorries that have owned pressure washers for decades. All I want is something to make cleaning the car easier (and a bit more fun so it’s less of a chore).
Eventually I found the solution in a few reviews websites, like petrolpressurewashers.com, and soon noticed that almost every one of these sites rated the Wolf 200 bar petrol pressure washer as one of the best on the market, especially in terms of value for money. There’s a lot of detail too about why you’d want to buy each product, and even a good explanation on how a lot is down to the motor driving the pressure of the water.
That was a really refreshing change compared to Wolf’s own website, which took some finding, hidden under an entirely different brand. That’s a location that’s useless to anyone who is not a pressure washing veteran – most of the information seemed to be written by a jet washing expert for other jet washing experts, hardly a good way to sell something to the average homeowner.
Admittedly there’s lots of electric pressure washers on the market, but one thing I do know if that they don’t pack the same punch as petrol operated versions. There’s also the added benefit when you avoid electric models that you’re not limited to using them near somewhere to plug in.
Admittedly, if you are just looking for an occasional use jet washer, an electric one is probably going to be fine, but for regular use you’ll almost certainly find them frustrating. Some people worry about damaging vehicles with a washer that’s too powerful, but you should have the ability to adjust the pressure according to the job you’re doing. As a final point, don’t forget to buy the correct hoses to fit your machine when you buy it. Some come with a standard fitting in the box, but others will need either compatible hoses and you may want to consider different nozzle styles if you’re likely to need to create different spray styles. For example a concentrated spray to a single spot will be a lot more powerful that a wide angled spray, so different jobs may need different attachments.