Best pressure washer 2024: clean everything from patios and decking to cars and mountain bikes

The best pressure washers can save you hours of cleaning time, from blasting patios and driveways to efficiently cleaning your decking, car, bike and more.

A pressure washer is one of those gadgets you never knew you needed, until now. They have loads of power to get cleaning jobs done fast. In fact, you’ll wonder why you didn’t get one sooner. All you need is access to the garden tap and a mains socket, and away you go!

Pressure washers have improved in many important ways. Powerful and efficient, they're considerably quieter than models of old – some of them are also seriously smart with pro-spec technology at home-spec prices. You can also use them on more delicate items with some of the best models being safe to use on bicycles, motorbikes and won't cut through paint if you get too close to your car.

Want to know more? Keep reading to find the best pressures washers you can buy today and how to choose the best model for you. If you need other tools, check out our guides to the best cordless lawnmowers and the best petrol lawnmowers to help keep your garden looking its best.

Best pressure washers you can buy in 2024

The premium K7 reviewed below is clearly the best option for wide-scale blasting on a very regular basis but, given that pressure washers aren’t normally used very often, the smaller, lighter and much cheaper K5 Power Control Home reviewed here is ultimately just as efficient for the vast majority of household tasks such as moss removal, paving stone restoration, cleaning of patios and decking, car washing and, that old favourite of ours, keeping cool in a heatwave.

Make no mistake, this exceedingly robust and thoughtfully designed pressure washer packs serious punch: its optimum pressure of 145 bar and 500 l/hr flow rate make this model easily powerful enough to blast even the most heavily ingrained mould, mildew and algae from any surface if used with the Dirt Blaster lance, which uses a decently wide oscillating motion to completely eradicate the most tenacious stains pretty darn quickly. Just be sure to wear glasses when using this lance because it blows muck everywhere and if you’re working in the vicinity of a wall, chances are it will blow grit back into your face.

That said, for most tasks you’ll likely reach for the Vario Power lance with barrel adjuster for different levels of pressure. This is the lance to go for if washing grubby pathways or restoring decking back to its original clean look. If set to a lower pressure, it’ll happily wash the car though you should make doubly sure that it’s on one of its lowest settings – you can actually see what pressure you’ve chosen by glancing at the gauge on the gun – and stand well back if working around the wheels and delicate paintwork. This lance is also brilliant for cooling off on a hot summer’s day – just point it towards a breeze and you’ll be encased in an ultra-fine mist.

One of the best things about this particular model is that it ships with Kärcher’s excellent T5 surface cleaner, a circular casing that keeps all water and muck contained while its twin jets and circular bristles wash and scrub the patio, leaving it in pristine condition. It also comes with a bottle of Kärcher detergent though we had a little trouble fitting the bottle to its interface. It’s worth noting, by the way, that the T5 accessory is best used on very flat surfaces and not paving or patio stones with too wavy a structure.

The K5 Power Control Home is extremely well designed and comes with a really long 10m hose and onboard storage for the lances. It genuinely impressed us with its amazing power and speed, and it made unbelievably short work of our decking, restoring it to it’s near-white condition in very short shrift. Highly recommended.

If the K5 above is too powerful for your needs, this lower-spec and lower-priced model comes with the same accessories and is a great choice for many standard cleaning tasks.

When tasked with cleaning a filthy, neglected, mould-covered patio, the Kärcher K4 absolutely nailed it, peeling the muck off like a marker being erased from a whiteboard. And the really crackers thing about it was that it was literally zero physical effort.

This model shone most when car cleaning and getting alloys looking all sparkly. With their open face, our test vehicle's alloys tend to lock dirt inside in awkward to reach places (such as between the alloy's spokes). However with the Kärcher K4, the interiors and recesses were cleaned in seconds.

We also tested the patio brush using the plug-in detergent dispenser and it tackled the dirt really efficiently. On one especially hot day, the K4 also served as an awesome mist atomizer; the garden was literally filled with a super fine plume of cool mist. The K4 also accepts a multitude of other accessories, most notably a handy car brush, which you can be sure your neighbours will want to borrow. Read our Kärcher K4 Full Control review.

The 2,000-watt Black & Decker wades into the pressure washer arena with a sterling mini beefcake capable of producing a whopping 150 bar of pressure with a maximum flow rate of 450 litres per hour. At just 9kgs in weight, this new model is easy to carry and pull around while its self-priming allows it to accept water from any source, be it a bucket, swimming pool or a pond – a very handy addition if a tap isn’t within range.

This is the perfect pressure washer for a myriad of cleaning tasks, whether it’s giving the car a whizz using the supplied detergent bottle and the softer spray setting or removing moss and algae from patios and pathways using the turbo setting. The fact it only comes with one lance with rotating nozzle can be considered a bonus because you will likely forget where you put any extra accessories.

With its durable aluminium pump, on board lance storage and easy transport wheels, the Black & Decker BEPW2000 is just about all you need in a consumer pressure washer – it’s very keenly priced, easy to use and, above all, extremely effective at keeping the home range spick and span.

Our number four slot goes to a cordless model with a surprisingly high pressure rating of 56 Bar. We should add that 56 bar is still nowhere near the pressure of, say, the Kärcher K4 Power Control above which sports 130 bar, let alone the K7 below which hits a whopping 180 bar. But in our test using the finest 0˚ nozzle setting, it performed almost as well at removing all signs of deterioration from a paving stone. However, the fine, narrow jet we chose took much longer to complete the task than a mains-powered version and there’s no way the battery would last much past a few stones.

Nevertheless, this is not what the new WORX Hydroshot WG633.E was designed for. This is a model that’s best suited to users who only need to give the patio a quick whizz, the car a clean or the village sign a blast. The real beauty of the Worx is that it isn’t tethered by a mains cable and you don’t even have to use it with a hosepipe attached, though you can of course. And that means it is eminently portable, meaning you could use it to clean areas well away from both a water source and a mains outlet simply by placing the supplied 6m hose into a bucket of water or large 20-litre screw-cap container. Rather cleverly, this model’s hose adaptor will also fit some brands of plastic drinking bottle for very short remote jobs. However, it wouldn’t quite fit a 1.5-litre bottle of Highland Spring. Perhaps it only likes Evian? The WORX Hydroshot WG633.E has five settings, from a wide shower to various degrees of output – 0°, 15°, 25° and 40°.

I found this model was easiest of all to use simply because it didn’t require an electricity outlet and hence an extra cable. Although its pressure rating is quite a lot lower than an electric model, it still performed many of the cleaning tasks I threw at it with aplomb, including giving the car and its wheels a good blasting and removing moss from some patio stones. I reckon I got about 20 minutes of use out of the supplied 20V 4Ah PowerShare Pro battery and that’s plenty enough time in my book.

If you want freedom of movement or require a pressure washer than can be used absolutely anywhere, you might not find a more powerful model on the market.

If you want the best pressure washer out there, you’ll struggle to do better than the Kärcher K7 Premium Smart Control. It’s powerful, capable of cleaning a large range of items with multiple pressure layers, and the fastest we tested, too. Also, the LED display on the handle makes it easy to keep an eye on how high the pressure is.

This is a sizeable pressure washer and that means you get plenty of on-board storage for its accessories, which include a telescopic handle, full control lances and patio cleaner.

The 3-in-1 multi-jet lance is the star of the show – simply twist it to select the perfect mode for any cleaning application. When used along with the K7's Plus 'n' Clean system, this lance will also allow delicate items like cycles to be cleaned without ruining the paintwork of purging grease from the hubs.

In terms of price, this model is at the premium end of the market, but if you want a pressure washer that will last for years and perform better than most others in all disciplines, then this is the model to grab.

To see how this pressure washer stacks up against our number one choice for most people, then check out T3's Kärcher K4 vs Kärcher K7 comparison feature.

• Read our Kärcher K7 Premium Smart Control review

If you’re looking for a small, budget pressure washer, this model is very easy to recommend. Crucially, the Kärcher K2 Compact Car & Home is a well-made unit and the lightweight design makes it a perfect model for lugging around the garden or the car when cleaning – the portability helps make up for the rather short four-metre hose. Although this model is lower powered than some of its stablemates, it still performs exceptionally well. It just takes a little longer to perform the same task.

Despite it being the baby of the Kärcher family, the K2 does comes with support for all Kärcher pressure washer accessories, and included in the box is a detergent bottle and Car Kit with car brush, which is ideal for keeping the pride and joy looking brand new.

For smaller homes and car-owners who like to keep their wheels in tip-top condition, this model is a great choice. To compare this model to our number one choice, check out T3's Kärcher K4 vs. Kärcher K2 comparison feature. And, for information on this pressure washer’s stablemate, the standard-sized K2 Power Control Home, consult our detailed Kärcher K2 guide. Or, for the full picture, check out our Kärcher K2 review.

The Nilfisk Core 140 is a solid performer for not very much money, so if you're looking for a cheap, lightweight pressure washer it is well worth checking out.

It has three different power levels, which are selected via the control knob on the front of the machine. These are 100%, 80% and 60% respectively, and it makes it easy to alter the power depending on what you're cleaning. For example, when cleaning a cycle with delicate parts, you can opt for the 60% power option, and when blasting dirty patios you can crank things up to 100%.

The Core 140 also features an internal hose reel that is 6 metres in length, as well as a plug and play sprayer detergent system. The spray gun can also be attached with two heads, one for "gentle" application and one for “rough".

Portability is easy thanks to the Core 140's light weight (only 8.6kg) and the fact that it has a raised grab bar handle and built-in wheels. In the pantheon of pressure washers, it’s actually rather attractive looking, too. Read our full review of the Nilfisk Core 140.

For most people who are buying a pressure we would always recommend a mains powered model. However, if you need a pressure washer that can be used for both home and commercial applications, then a petrol pressure washer is a good shout.

Wilks-USA is a petrol pressure washer master and, of the company’s range, we think the TX750i is the best choice. It is powered by an 8HP 210cc four-stroke engine, which is advertised as having "stubborn reliability" as well as good fuel efficiency.

The TX750i has a peak power output of 3,950psi, which is serious levels of cleaning gumption, and thanks to five different nozzles supplied in the box, every sort of cleaning job can be tackled with ease.

Despite its imposing looks, this model is actually quite portable and boot friendly. Moreover, its wheels are really sturdy and its grab bar makes positioning and navigation straight forward. The obvious downside to all this power and portability is that you need to feed this pressure washer unleaded fuel or, better still, Aspen 4 alkylate petrol which is better for smaller engines. But for those without access to an electricity supply, the TX750i is a solid choice.

You have to hand it to Muc-Off for creating a pressure washer that actually looks cool. Its rowdy pink and black paint job makes it stand out from a crowd of dull yellow and green lumps, while a neat bag (sold separately) helps to keep things orderly.

But the real coup for bicycle and motorcycle owners is the inclusion of specific lances that have been designed and tested against water ingress on bearings and the prevention of surface damage on frames, forks and components.

Other rival products may offer a multitude of lances or varying power settings, but very few have been tested by those with a passion for two wheels. When coupled with an optional snow foam lance and Muc-Off's amazing bike cleaning products, this model makes for a quick and efficient way to rid a mountain bike of caked-on filth. 

Although plenty powerful enough for cleaning cars and patios, it lacks some of the specific lances and connections for tackling such grimy jobs. But it will still give it a ruddy good shot. The only problem with this pressure washer is that it's been such a success that it's often sold out.

How to choose the best pressure washer for you

The vast majority of pressure washers are mains powered so they require either an outdoor power outlet or a 13amp extension cable. They also require a hose to be attached to provide a constant volume of water. Granted, this combination does create a bit of a jumble to carry around but luckily all pressure washers come with a decent length pressure hose that runs from the machine to the lance so it’s possible to work over quite a large area before having to relocate the main unit.

Mains-powered pressure washers generally have a pressure output of between 110 and 180 Bar and the pressure level at the nozzle tip can easily be adjusted from a wide fan-shaped blast that’s great for cleaning  cars and performing other light cleaning duties to a narrow oscillating tip that removes all traces of dirt from paving stones.

However, there are also a few cordless pressure washers on the market at the moment and while these are nowhere near as powerful – usually 22 to 56 Bar, as in the case of the latest Worx model we review above – they are in many ways more practical to use. The beauty of a cordless model is that it isn’t attached by a mains cable.

While they can still be used with a hosepipe like any pressure washer, most cordless models also come with a suction hose that you can pop into a bucket of water so the unit can be used well away from both electricity and water supplies. A cordless model isn’t designed to clean an entire patio or driveway – the battery will run out after 15 to 20 minutes – but it’s a great option for clearing moss away, performing lighter cleaning duties like cars and bikes, and truly brilliant for cleaning areas well away from any power or water source.

When it comes to choosing a new pressure washer, you need to decide what you want it to do. If it’s just clean a small pathway once a year, then you’ll likely be OK with a simple, low-cost model for as little as £110. However, if you want a wide variety of pressures, enabling you to clean everything from trainers to a multi-car driveway, you’ll need to invest a few hundred pounds to make sure you’re getting the right accessories and power options on offer.

It can be tricky to work out what the specs actually mean, but in our testing, we found only two different things really matter: the power of the motor (and therefore pressure), which is measured in bars, and the length of the hose. Of course, you will also need an outdoor tap and preferably an outdoor power supply, too, or it just won’t work.

Most pressure washers will do the job of cleaning up brickwork, patios, driveways and pathways, which is the traditional use for these units – it’s just that the more expensive models will cover more ground in less time, so it’s your back that you’re saving.

We should add that, in some instances, a pressure washer can actually make things look too new. For instance, we tested one on a well-trodden but cheap, fake York stone garden path that was covered in green algae and it immediately restored it to its original like-new appearance which was never that great in the first place. Some folk may want their pathway to look like the day they installed it but there are just as many that prefer the weathered, well-worn look. So, just remember that once you start pressure washing something like a pathway or a patio (especially one using cheap stone slabs), there’s no turning back.

Finally, a pressure washer is also brilliant at something it was never designed for – cooling off in a heatwave. Simply choose a fine mist setting and blast it – from a safe distance of a few metres – at anyone who wants to be cooled off instantaneously. Believe us, on a scorchingly hot day, the cloud-like effect is amazing. Just be sure to never, ever squirt anyone from close range or it may end in a visit to A&E.

Should you consider a petrol-powered pressure washer?

Petrol pressure washers do exist (see the excellent Wilks-USA TX750i Petrol Power Pressure Washer above), and they deliver buckets of power and portability for serious pressure washing tasks. They're also not really much more expensive than quality electric pressure washers, too.

However, they do need a supply of petrol to operate, which adds in an extra stage in getting one up and running, and truth be told the performance they deliver is likely overkill for most people who just want to clean their car every month or two.

What are pressure washers best for?

It doesn't matter what time of year it is, anytime is a great time to buy a pressure washer and clean that horrible grime off your stuff. And this is especially true in the spring, summer and autumn months, as there are simply so many tasks that are made easier with one.

For example, after the grim winter months cleaning the accumulated grime off a patio or driveway is a doddle with a pressure washer. You simply point and shoot, then stand back and enjoy a pristine, new-looking surface.

Equally, if you need to clean outdoor furniture, cycles, cars, motorbikes, gutters, windows, brickwork, garage doors and much more than doing so with a pressure washer is quicker and far easier than even attempting the same with a hose. For truly immaculate results you need to invest in the correct equipment.

And that is what T3's buying guide here is designed to help with. It has been crafted like our best barbecue and best cordless lawnmowers guides to help people find the perfect product for them.

How we test pressure washers

The applications of pressure washers are wide-ranging, and at T3 we try to use each pressure washer we review in multiple applications before bestowing a score on it. However, from our extensive testing of pressure washers over the years we've learned that the two primary uses of a pressure washer are cleaning patios and decking, as well as cleaning vehicles such as cars and motorbikes.

As such, we always use a pressure washer for both of these things, as they are what the vast majority of buyers will use the kit for. It helps us give the prospective buyer the most accurate take on a pressure washer that is possible.

In terms of each piece of hardware, we first evaluate how easy it is to setup the pressure washer, which includes the clarity of instructions. Once the pressure washer is setup we take a look at design and build quality. Here we're looking to see what the fit and finish is like on the main body, as well as how well-made any spray lance or included accessories are.

From there we move on to performance, which involves using and moving the system in a cleaning scenario. We're looking at effectiveness of cleaning, reach and power of the spray gun, what different spray modes are on offer, and how the washer handles any detergent or cleaning agent.

Some sample cleaning scenarios we undertake include: patio cleaning, decking cleaning, masonry cleaning, window cleaning, automobile cleaning, push bike cleaning and gutter cleaning, among others.

Next, we have look at any included accessories included in the pressure washer package, such as dedicated patio cleaners or spray gun extenders. We also test out any companion app at this stage to see what it offers in terms of unit control and customisation.

Finally, we compare the pressure washers to others on the market at a similar price point, or those that offer the same sort of functionality. With all this considered we then bestow a star score on the pressure washer and, if it is high, consider it for our best pressure washers buying guide.