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The Best Pressure Washers for a Deeper Clean
We blasted away dirt, grime, and mildew to find gas and electric models worth considering.
When it comes to heavy-duty cleaning projects, nothing beats the efficiency and productivity of a pressure washer. These powerful machines transform the water from your garden hose into a high-pressure stream, capable of blasting away dirt, grime, and mold from practically any surface. On-board soap dispensers and a variety of nozzle tips add even more cleaning functionality, so you can tackle a wide variety of light- and heavy-duty tasks.
We tested more than a dozen models—gas-powered and electric—with a goal of finding the best pressure washer for the average homeowner. So whether you’re washing your car or blasting decades-old grime off the driveway, our recommendations have you covered. If you’re new to pressure washing, scroll to the end of this buying guide for a primer on how pressure washers work and pressure washer safety tips.
Best Pressure Washers
- Best Overall: Simpson Cleaning PS3228 PowerShot
- Best Mobility: Craftsman CMEPW2100 Pressure Washer
- Best Value: Sun Joe SPX 3000XTI Xtream Pressure Washer
- Most Powerful Electric: DeWalt DWPW3000 3000-PSI Compact Pressure Washer
What to Consider
Gas Engine vs. Electric Motor
The pump that provides the high-velocity jet of water out of a pressure washer is driven by a gas engine or an electric motor. One is not necessarily better than the other, but it’s important to understand their differences in regards to your cleaning needs, budget, and the type of maintenance you’re comfortable with.
Electric
Best suited for lighter-duty cleaning sessions, electric pressure washers run off your home’s power supply, and their convenient “plug-and-play” design starts up at the push of a button.
Although they’re slightly underpowered compared to beefier gas-powered options, electric models have enough power to handle the majority of surfaces including wood and synthetic decks that need only gentle cleaning, outdoor furniture, and all types of exterior siding. As long as you use the correct nozzle tip, they’re also safe for washing cars.
Electric pressure washers are also quieter than gas-engine pressure washers, and they need hardly any maintenance. As a bonus, they’re easy to store indoors during the winter.
Gas
Gas-powered models are almost always more expensive, but are better suited to heavy-duty cleaning than electric versions. The power afforded by a gas engine can drive a large and powerful pump, enabling these machines to shoot water to higher surfaces, clean heavier deposits of mold and dirt, and even slice thick deposits of mud from equipment such as farm machinery, trucks, and off-road vehicles.
A gas engine is louder than an electric motor, plus requires maintenance in the form of oil changes, replacement air filters, and a yearly check or change of the spark plug. Not to mention you have to be careful about fuel degradation. Today’s ethanol-containing gasoline quickly degrades and can damage fuel-system parts like carburetors and gas lines. Also, gas engine pressure washers are best stored over the winter in the garage or an outbuilding.
Output
In order to select the best pressure washer for your needs, it’s important to understand their capabilities regarding pressure and water output.
PSI
The force that the water exits the nozzle is measured in PSI (pounds per square inch). Machines capable of generating fewer than 2000 PSI are suitable for light-duty tasks like cleaning vehicles, muddy driveways, and smaller items like grills and trash cans. Those with output of 2000 to 2700 PSI can cover most medium-duty residential cleaning projects like home siding, decks, and grimy patio furniture, and anything higher is powerful enough to tackle heavy-duty jobs like heavy mildew, tree sap, or grease stains.
GPM
The volume of water that comes out of the pressure washer is measured in GPM (gallons per minute). The higher the max GPM–which ranges from ½ to 3 for non-commercial models–the more effective the pressure washer is at rinsing away loose debris, grime, and soap.
The combination of both PSI and GPM indicate the overall effectiveness of any pressure washer. When considering more than one unit, make sure to take both of these numbers into consideration.
How We Tested
Testing pressure washers is the proverbial dirty job. We washed concrete and brick pavements, vinyl and cement board siding, aluminum trim and gutters, faux stone, vertical brick, and wood trim. Vinyl fences and outdoor furniture, too. We even very carefully washed some cars (using the white nozzle). One of the toughest tests was blasting clean three large commercial trash cans with bottoms awash in a nauseating soup of summer stink. They looked and smelled like new cans when we were done with them.
Aside from cleaning ability, we looked at ease of use. Would the washer tip over if you tugged on its hose? How easy is it to get the thing up a set of ramps and into the back of a pickup truck? Was the hose easy to tighten onto the pump fitting? And how stiff is the hose that takes the water from the pump to the gun? Read on for our evaluations.
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Alex Rennie is a freelance writer who specializes in the Home Improvement, DIY, and Tool space. As a former residential and commercial carpenter, Alex uses his hands-on experience to write practical buying guides, how-to articles, and product reviews. His work has also appeared in Business Insider's Insider Picks, and before his writing career, he was a full-time carpenter living in New York City. There, he worked as part of a team designing, building, and installing large furniture pieces, as well as performing a variety of home repair and maintenance projects. Alex currently lives in Los Angeles, CA, and spends his free time exploring the beaches and mountains with his fiancé and their dog Louie.
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Roy Berendsohn has worked for more than 25 years at Popular Mechanics, where he has written on carpentry, masonry, painting, plumbing, electrical, woodworking, blacksmithing, welding, lawn care, chainsaw use, and outdoor power equipment. When he’s not working on his own house, he volunteers with Sovereign Grace Church doing home repair for families in rural, suburban and urban locations throughout central and southern New Jersey.
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