The best pressure washer will take the elbow grease out of many cleaning jobs around the garden. Reach for this handy tool whenever your broom or garden hose just won't cut it, whether it's a mucky driveway with a buildup of leaves, a patio that's growing moss, or garden furniture that's covered in dirt.
Pressure washers also use less water than garden hoses and achieve a pristine result much quicker than scrubbing outdoor surfaces by hand. They really are a must-have in any substantial outdoor area.
Whether you are looking for something on a budget, or need a cordless pressure washer for maximum flexibility, you’ll find the right machine on our list. Need to get your lawn looking just as good as your patios and pathways too? Head over to our best lawn mowers to find your perfect buy.
The best pressure washer 2020
This Ryobi model offers 120-bar cleaning pressure to suit any task. Its compact and upright design make it particularly easy to store – you can store the attachments on the main body, too – and, with the integrated handle, it is easy to manoeuvre. It comes with a five-metre steel-armed, kink-resistant hose and an on-demand detergent function.
The kit includes a trigger gun, vario lance, turbo lance and a 5m steel-armed hose.
One of the best pressure washers if you're looking for something lightweight and compact, this Bosch model features 110-bar cleaning pressure making light work of your cleaning tasks. The main body has a low centre of gravity, which means it remains particularly stable when in use. It’s easily stored and comes with multiple attachments to suit a variety of different tasks.
It comes with a high-pressure gun, three-metre high-pressure hose, a variable fan jet nozzle, a rotary nozzle, and a high pressure detergent nozzle.
It wouldn’t be a list of the best pressure washers without a Kärcher. The K2 model is quick and easy to assemble and comes with multiple attachments, including a Vario lance, a dirt blaster lance (to quickly remove build up from hard surfaces such as brick or stone) and a T150 patio cleaner, which claims to clean patios five times faster than a normal lance (result!)
The Vario lance allows you to choose between four cleaning settings to suit a range of applications from soft and delicate surfaces such as decking or cars, through to hard surfaces such as patios.
This is the best pressure washer for heavy duty tasks. With a powerful maximum cleaning pressure of 262 bar, this pressure washer will help you to zip through your cleaning tasks in no time. It comes with a range of accessories as standard, including a patio cleaner and fixed brush attachment. It also has an extra-long hose (26 metres) and a five-metre power cable giving you impressive reach.
And while this is the most powerful pressure washer on this list, it's still compact enough to allow for easy storage.
If you’re after a handheld pressure washer, then this battery-powered Karcher model is great. Best for smaller tasks, the KHB works well on delicate surfaces such as wooden furniture, bikes or tools thanks to its medium cleaning pressure.
Lightweight and convenient to use, the KHB comes with a multi-jet and dirt blaster lance, as well as featuring a real time, integrated, LCD battery display.
For easy cleaning on the go, this compact and lightweight cordless model offers up to 10x the pressure of a normal hose. The battery offers 30 minutes' run time which is plenty if you want to clean something relatively small.
If you have other WORX tools that are a part of the brand’s powershare battery platform, this Hydroshot model could be a sensible choice as you can use a WORX 20V battery you already own.
This is one of the best pressure washers in terms of cleaning pressure – at 125 bar – which makes it powerful enough to tackle any task. As well as a high pressure lance and a choice of nozzles, this model also comes with a patio cleaner attachment and a fixed brush. A great all-rounder for any surface.
This compact yet powerful pressure washer from Bosch has been designed with ease of use and storage in mind and delivers on both those counts. It just makes every job easier with its handy nozzle attachments. The pencil nozzle is especially useful for getting into hard-to reach areas and corners. This model is also more powerful than the previous UniversalAquatak pressure washers, with nice 135-bar pressure that will tackle even serious grime. We do wish there was a cordless version, though: the long cord adds to the bulk and is a little awkward to put away for storage.
How to buy the best pressure washer
Choosing the best pressure washer for you come down to more than just price. Consider what surfaces you want to use it on, how manoeuvrable you need it to be and how easy it is to use.
Check the pressure
Take a look at the pressure to see if it will tackle the tasks you need it to. About 100-bar pressure should be fine for cleaning mud off bikes or bits of moss and dirt off furniture and decking. For patios, drives and guttering, or anything with ground-in dirt, go for about the 120-bar pressure mark.
Cable size
Check how long the lead is, as well as the length of the attachments to check you'll be able to use it where you want to. Will it reach to the end of the drive or up to your guttering? Cordless options are available but they don't tend to have as good pressure.
Attachments
All pressure washers come with an adjustable nozzle but see what else is included. A dedicated patio cleaning head will make speedy work of patios, while brushes can be great for gutters and furniture.
What is the best pressure washer?
In our opinion, you can't go wrong with the . It's compact, easy to store and has great pressure. It also comes with a host of attachments to make cleaning a breeze.
Check out these related articles:
- How to clean decking
- Get your patio looking its best with our guide to the best patio cleaners
- Make sure your BBQ is all scrubbed up with our guide to cleaning a BBQ
