8 Best Pressure Washers For Your Outdoor Cleaning Projects

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A pressure washer is one of the most important outdoor cleaning equipment you can get for your home. You can use it to wash away tough stains, dirt and grime from your house siding, patio, walkway, driveway, your car and even outdoor equipment like lawn mowers.

If the water pressure is strong enough and if you use the right nozzle, you can even use it to strip paint from furniture or can even cut through materials as strong as bricks. That’s why you must be careful and make sure to read through the instructions from the manufacturer before using one.

Choosing your first pressure washer can be very challenging, because there are many options out there from hundreds of manufacturers. That’s why we’ve done the works, the research and testing to compile this list.

This is our review of the 8 best pressure washers you can use for your outdoor cleaning projects.

The Best Pressure Washers

1. BEST FOR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS: SIMPSON Cleaning PS60843
2. BEST FOR RESIDENTIAL OR PERSONAL USE: Westinghouse WPX3400
3. BEST CORDED ELECTRIC: Greenworks Pro
4. BEST BATTERY-POWERED: EGO Power+ HPW3204-2
5. MOST PORTABLE: Karcher K1900PS

Comparison Table of The Best Pressure Washers

Our Top Picks

There are several things to consider when choosing a pressure washer. You have to consider how often you’ll use it, the amount of power you need, which is calculated based on the amount of pressure and flow rate of the machine.

You also consider the type of pressure washer you need based on it’s mode of power, whether it’s gas powered, cored-electric or even battery powered.

We considered all of this, and chose the following 8 pressure washers as the best for both commercial and residential use.

Simpson PS60843 Gas Pressure Washer

Gas-powered pressure washers can be very noisy, but they’re very powerful. If you are not worried about the noise, one of the best ones I’ll recommend for you is the SIMPSON Cleaning PS60843 shown above.

It’s capable of pumping and spraying water at a max pressure of 3400 PSI at a flow rate of 2.5 GPM. For the average homeowner, that’s very powerful. Even if you have a second floor, you can use this to wash the siding right from the ground level.

If you’re thinking about starting a pressure washing business, you can also go for something like this. It’s powerful and can help you get the job done, quick and easy.

Although it’s quite heavy, it’s comes with 2 rugged pneumatic wheels which makes it portable and easy to roll around. It comes with 5 quick connect nozzles. A 0 degree, 15, 25, 40 degree nozzle and a black soap nozzle.

Everything about this SIMPSON Cleaning PS60843 looks and feels well-made, including the wand. The whole machine is well-built and I think it’s something that will last for a long time if you maintain it properly. Gas-powered machines require routine maintenance. You need to check the oil level regularly and make sure to change it from time to time.

I’ll recommend this SIMPSON Cleaning PS60843 for you if you’re looking for a very powerful machine that will be able to clean sidings on the second floor without any issues. You can use it to wash your car, your driveway, patio and any other area or thing you want to wash outdoors.

Westinghouse WPX3400 Gas Pressure Washer

With up to 3400 PSI of water pressure flowing through the nozzle at a flow rate of 2.6 gallons per minute, the Westinghouse WPX3400 generates a cleaning unit of 8,840.

This is more than enough for any homeowner looking for a powerful machine to clean months or even years of dirt from the driveway, patio, swimming pool and other outdoor equipment.

If you’re a homeowner looking for a very solid and powerful gas pressure washer to get your cleaning tasks done as easily as possible, this Westinghouse WPX3400 is more than ideal.

Running this machine is a 4 cycle OHV horizontal shaft engine with a 3.3 liter fuel tank. The engine is powerful and reliable. With good maintenance, it will definitely serve you for years.

When you get this unit, you don’t have to apply soap separately. It comes with a 1.6 L soap tank that allows you to apply soap on the surface you’re cleaning. Just attach the soap nozzle to the spray wand and you’re good to go.

To switch from spraying soap to clean water, just remove the soap nozzle, and attach any of the other 4 nozzles that come with it, and it will start spraying clean water.

A maintenance free axial cam pump ensures you can focus on using the machine instead of spending time on pump maintenance.

Mobility is not an issue with this unit. You don’t have to carry it or worry about weight because it comes equipped with two 12 inch no flat tires to enable you roll it along with you.

The 25 inch abrasion-resistant hose coupled with an EndraGrasp spray gun proved very useful because the hose is long enough, so you don’t have to move the unit all the time. You can just leave the machine in one place and move around with the spray gun and lengthy hose.

Rating this Westinghouse pressure washer, I’ll give it a 9.6 out of 10. It’s got good pressure and flow rate, more than average cleaning unit, it’s gas powered, and thus a very good option any home owner can use for cleaning different types of dirty surfaces like concrete, brick, stone, aluminum, wood and even iron.

Craftsman CMEPW1900 Electric Pressure Washer

If you need a small portable electric pressure washer for washing your car, driveway, patio and other areas around the home, this Craftsman CMEPW1900 is a very good option I’d recommend.

It’s an electric pressure washer which is not as powerful as a gas-powered unit. However, it’s a very good option if you’re not looking for a noisy gas-powered machine. It will wash your car and driveway thoroughly.

You can even wash your house siding with it, but I think it will not be very effective for the second floor.

It’s capable of spraying water at a maximum pressure of 1900 PSI with a flow rate of 1.2 GPM. It comes with 3 nozzles which include a turbo nozzle, one yellow high pressure nozzle and one black soup nozzle.

There’s an integrated soup tank which comes very handy when washing a car. You can add liquid soup and spray directly with the machine when you attach the black spray nozzle.

The power cord is 35 ft long which is very good, because it allows you to cover a wide area without even using an extension cord.

I’ll recommend it for you if you’re looking for a small, portable and easy to maintain pressure washer to deal with small cleaning jobs around the home.

Bilt Hard Gas Powered Pressure Washer

Another gas powered pressure washer I strongly recommend is this one from Bilt Hard. Most gas powered washers are noisy but this one’s got a 4 cycle 7.5 hp engine in it which is not as noisy as the rest.

It sprays water at a pressure of 3500 PSI and at a flow rate of 2.5 GPM. That’s enough power to tackle any kind of project you throw at it. You can even use it for commercial projects if you want.

I like the design. It’s not too big, and it’s not too small in size. And it’s got tires to help roll it easily as you work.

It comes with a 25 ft hose, 5 quick connect nozzles and a spray wand, all of which can be stored conveniently onboard the machine.

Overall, it’s one of the best gas powered pressure washers out there, especially if you’re looking for an average sized unit. Something not too big and difficult to pull or roll around.

WEN PW3200 Gas-Powered Pressure Washer

When talking about power tools and outdoor equipment, WEN is a very familiar name to many. Whether or not you’ve used any of their power products or not, I think the WEN PW3200 pressure washer will surely impress you.

It comes with 5 quick connect nozzles you can use to vary the pressure and spray pattern of the water coming from the wand.

Power is not something that’s lacking in this unit. The 4 stroke OHV engine really delivers, spraying water at a pressure of 3100 PSI and at a flow rate of 2.5 GPM. Although gas engines are noisy, this one is not as bad as some I’ve operated.

The spray wand that comes with it is 42 inches in size and it’s very strong and sturdy, which is very necessary for it to withstand the volume of water going through it at high pressures.

Though it not the longest of hoses, the 30 foot reinforced hose that comes with it ensures that you can cover a wide area while cleaning.

There’s also an onboard soap tank that you can conveniently use to apply soap to whatever you’re washing with the machine.

Greenworks Pro Electric Pressure Washer

This Greenworks Pro is another fantastic electric pressure washer you can use for your outdoor cleaning projects.

The thing I really like about electric pressure washers like this is how quiet the work. This unit is no different. And it’s not just quiet, it’s got the power to go with it.

It sprays water at a maximum pressure of 2700 PSI and with a flow rate of 2.3 GPM, which is a lot of cleaning units for a small washer like this.

I really like the design. It looks very portable. The handle is foldable, which makes it very easy to store away after use. And it’s got tires to roll it around.

It comes with a 35 ft hose, and the power cord is 35 ft in length. So even if your power outlet is far away, it will still get to it, and you’ll be able to cover a wide area with it.

All in all, I’d say this Greenworks pro pressure has everything the average homeowner needs to tackle any outdoor cleaning project they want to tackle.

It’s got the power, and it’s got the range even for a large property.

EGO Power+ HPW3204-2 Pressure Washer

Battery powered pressure washers are quite rare, because most people don’t see the need for them. They argue pressure washers are always used at home, you don’t need to take them on the road. So you can always plug them to a power outlet.

But even though they’re kind of right, I still believe battery powered pressure washers have a place in the home. If the power outlet is far away from where you want to clean, this thing will come in very handy, and it’s very portable.

EGO Power+ makes some of my favorite tools, so I didn’t really have any doubts in my mind that this one would be good. Plus, I’ve already seen the blistering reviews its got online. So, I decided to check it out, and it didn’t disappoint.

The EGO Power+ HPW3204-2 comes with 2 large 6.0 Ah Lithium batteries. And both of them offers you about 60 minutes plus of run time. That’s enough for you to do a lot of work.

You can wash your car, your driveway or walkway within that time, depending on how large the space you’re washing is.

The unit sprays water at a maximum pressure of 3200 PSI and at a flow rate of 1.2 GPM. It comes with 4 nozzles. A 15 degree, 25, 40 degree, and a turbo nozzle to help you break down dirt and grime as quickly as possible.

All in all, I say this EGO Power+ HPW3204-2 is a very good pressure washer for small projects at home. It’s very portable. You don’t need a power outlet to get it working.

So, if you need a battery-powered washer for personal projects at home to tackle outdoor cleaning projects, this is it.

Karcher K1900PS Pressure Washer

The Karcher K1900PS is one of the most portable pressure washers you can get for your projects.

It’s designed so you can pick it up and take it with you easily when you need to use it, and also to be able fold it and store it away easily when you’re done. The handle simply folds down out of the way so that it occupies as small a storage space as possible.

With the K1900PS, you have a machine that sprays water at a maximum pressure rating of 2375 PSI, and has a flow rate of 1.46 GPM. Not the highest you’ll find out there, but it surely gets the job done. Trust me, this thing works efficiently.

It’s got 3 nozzles. A 15 degree spray nozzle, a turbo nozzle and a soap nozzle for spraying soap.

How Pressure Washers Work

A pressure washer is made up of 3 major components. A gas engine or an electric motor, a pump and a spray wand with a nozzle attachment.

The pressure of the water flowing through a garden hose is not enough to wash or clean dirty surfaces like your pavement, your swimming pool and decking. That is why a pressure washer is used to increase that pressure which is usually betwee 40 to 60 PSI (pounds per square inch) to over a thousand PSI, so that the pressure of the water alone dislodges all the dirt from the surface you’re trying to clean.

To achieve this, the engine or electric motor powers a pump which pushes the water at very high pressures through a small nozzle or orifice.

The more water the pump pushes through the nozzle, the more the cleaning power of the machine. The smaller the nozzle, the higher the pressure generated if the same volume of water is pushed through it per minute.

How To Choose The Right Pressure Washer

Here’s what you should consider:

Frequency of Use

One of the main factors that should determine the type of pressure washer you choose or buy is the frequency of use. That is, how often will you be using it in a year?

As a home owner trying to maintain a single property, it’s expected that you’ll not use it more than twice a year, maybe once every 10 months or so. You might clock say 50 to 60 hours out of it in one year.

For this type of use, you should go for a unit not too big, like 2000 PSI and above, depending on what you can afford. But I don’t really advice going below 2000 PSI, unless you just want to wash cars with it.

On the other hand, if you’ll be using it for commercial washing projects, then you’ll be using it on a more regular basis, like weekly or even daily.

A big powerful gas unit producing over 3500 PSI and above will do the job, but go for as big a gas unit as you can afford. Electrical models will not be ideal for this type of use.

Pressure

Talking about pressure washers, there’re two technical specs you should watch out for when making your choice. The first is pressure measured in PSI short for Pounds Per Square Inch.

This is like the amount of water pressure or the amount of force at which the water hits your pavement or how many times the machine multiplies the pressure of the water coming from your garden hose.

You should always check for the amount of pressure produced by the machine you choose. This will determine how fast you’ll be able to wash that grime off your concrete pavement or how long it will take you to wash that dirty grill.

More pressure means less time spent, while less pressure means more time spent.

Water Flow Rate

This is another important technical spec you should look out for when shopping for a pressure washer. The water flow rate is measured in GPM short for gallons per minute.

It’s the amount of water or volume of water that passes through the nozzle in one minute. The water flow rate also determines how fast a pressure washer washes a surface.

More GPM means more water flowing through the nozzle, and with more water being pumped through, a larger surface gets washed.

If two power washers, A and B pump water at the same pressure, but B has twice the GPM of A, then it will clean twice as much surface as A.

So, when making your choice, make sure to check the GPM or volume of water the machine is able to pump per minute.

Cleaning Units

The cleaning units of a pressure washer is the product of its pressure and water flow rate. Cleaning units = Pressure x Flow Rate (CU = PSI x GPM).

Before choosing a pressure washer, it’s very important that you calculate its cleaning unit. This will tell you how powerful that washer is compared to similar washers.

For instance, if you’re presented with 2 washers A and B that have same GPM 3.5 respectively but different pressures, then calculating their cleaning units will tell you the one that’s most powerful among the two.

So, if washer A has a pressure of 2000 PSI and B has a pressure of 3000 PSI, then A’s cleaning unit will be 2000 times 3.5, which will give you 7000.

B’s cleaning unit will be 3000 times 3.5 which gives 10500.

This means B is more powerful than A and will help you clean away dirt and stains more than A, because A have a cleaning unit of 7000 and B have a cleaning unit of 10,500, even though both have the same GPM of 3.5.

Knowing this will help you make a good choice if you’re looking for a more powerful machine for your cleaning projects.

Power Source

Pressure washers can either be gas powered or powered with electricity from your outlets at home. Gas powered units are usually bigger in size and produce more PSI and more GPM, allowing you to clean faster than corded or electric units.

They’re also easier to use, because you don’t have to worry about finding an outlet or getting limited by the length of your wire cord. It’s gas powered, which means you can take it with you wherever you want to clean, and it will still operate.

Even though though they’re more powerful and allow you more freedom to work or more portable, gas powered units can be noisy and require more maintenance. Their engines make use of oil and fuel, that means maintenance is needed.

On the other hand, electric units work rather quietly and require very little maintenance, because they make use of electric motors.

So, the difference is clear and the choice is yours. Electric units are good and advancing tech has increase their performance in recent times that they’re even producing larger PSIs and GPMs now just like Gas units. But gas powered units are still the most powerful and portable.

That’s why if you ask me, I’d say go for a gas powered unit. It will make your work faster due to the added power, and you don’t have to look for electric outlets or drag around messy cords along with already difficult-to-handle water hoses.