Best Pressure Washers for 2017 Reviewed

Choosing the best pressure washer doesn’t have to be difficult – just think about what purpose should it serve and take a look at our most recommended units currently for sale:

For home use     For cars     For concrete and driveways

Heavy-duty     Portable     Cheap

The best pressure washers for home use:

Sun Joe SPX3000

Sun Joe SPX3000

 Our rating: 4.5 stars Very good  

 Customer rating: 0 reviews

Price: $199.00

Most popular: Very easy to use, offers a solid power and good versatility thanks to the five different spray nozzles.

Read our review     Buy now

Most of the people are looking for a universal pressure sprayer for a variety of cleaning tasks around their home and garden – for example washing a car, siding, decks or walkways. Such a tool should be easy to use, with enough power and not too expensive – so medium-duty electric units are the most suitable. But there are also several light-duty or gas powered models that might interest you, just take a look at the comparison chart below:

Model Type Price Our rating   PSI GPM Weight For Hose length Amp
Sun Joe SPX3000 Electric, Medium-duty $199.00 4.5 stars 2,030 1.76 31 lbs 20 ft 14.5 Amp
AR Blue Clean AR390SS Electric, Medium-duty $281.44 4.5 stars 2,000 1.4 33.6 lbs 30 ft 14 Amp
The Force 1800 Electric, Medium-duty 4.5 stars 1,800 1.6 17 lbs 20 ft N/A
Sun Joe SPX1000 Electric, Light-duty 4.5 stars 1,450 1.45 11.7 lbs 20 ft 11.5 Amp
AR Blue Clean AR118 Electric, Light-duty 4.5 stars 1,500 1.5 11.7 lbs 20 ft 11 Amp
Generac 6596 Gas powered Check here 4 stars 2,800 2.5 61.5 lbs 25 ft

Best pressure washers for cars:

cleaning a car with a Karcher pressure washer

You can use practically any power sprayer to wash your car, truck or another vehicle because only a little pressure is required for this task – you should be rather careful not to damage the paint so using a wider spray setting is recommended.

Also think about if you’re going to use the tool for another cleaning jobs that require more power – or if a cheaper light-duty unit is all you need.

Model Type Price Our rating   PSI GPM Weight For Hose length Amp
Sun Joe SPX3000 Electric, Medium-duty $199.00 4.5 stars 2,030 1.76 31 lbs 20 ft 14.5 Amp
AR Blue Clean AR390SS Electric, Medium-duty $281.44 4.5 stars 2,000 1.4 33.6 lbs 30 ft 14 Amp
The Force 1800 Electric, Medium-duty 4.5 stars 1,800 1.6 17 lbs 20 ft N/A
Sun Joe SPX1000 Electric, Light-duty 4.5 stars 1,450 1.45 11.7 lbs 20 ft 11.5 Amp
AR Blue Clean AR118 Electric, Light-duty 4.5 stars 1,500 1.5 11.7 lbs 20 ft 11 Amp

Best pressure washers for concrete or driveway:

Removing tough dirt, mud and grime from concrete requires a lot more power that washing a car for example. For smaller areas electric units are pretty adequate (and with some effort even for medium-sized) – but if you need to clean a larger spot or even an entire driveway, getting a powerful gas machine would be a much better option – you probably don’t want to spend an entire day on one cleaning job.

Simpson MSH3125-S

Simpson MSH3125-S

 Our rating: 4 stars Good  

 Customer rating: 0 reviews

Price:

Quality gas powered pressure washer for a consumer use – starts easily, offers plenty of power and its construction is solid and durable.

Read our review     Buy now

Also recommended:

Model Type Price Our rating   PSI GPM Weight For Hose length Amp
Simpson MSH3125-S Gas powered 4 stars 3,100 2.5 65 lbs 25 ft
Generac 6602 OneWash Gas powered 4 stars 3,100 2.8 68.5 lbs 30 ft
Generac 6596 Gas powered Check here 4 stars 2,800 2.5 61.5 lbs 25 ft
Sun Joe SPX3000 Electric, Medium-duty $199.00 4.5 stars 2,030 1.76 31 lbs 20 ft 14.5 Amp
AR Blue Clean AR390SS Electric, Medium-duty $281.44 4.5 stars 2,000 1.4 33.6 lbs 30 ft 14 Amp

How to buy the right pressure washer?

Start with thinking about what do you intend to use it for – do you need a cheaper tool just to wash your car? Or a powerful machine that can handle stubborn dirt and clean large areas effectively? There are three types of pressure cleaners:

Light-duty electric – they are cheaper, compact and easy to carry around. Perfect if you need to do only light cleaning jobs – but lack power for tough grime, also washing a larger area takes ages with them.

Medium-duty electric – the most popular ones – they are not overly expensive but offer enough power for most cleaning jobs around your house and garden.

Gas powered – if you need to use the washer frequently or clean larger areas, these would be your best bet. They are quite expensive but also offer the most power.

Pressure Washer Buying Guide

Light-duty Electric

Medium-d. Electric

Gas Powered

Positives:

  • Cheap
  • Lightweight

Negatives:

  • Limited by cord
  • Less powerful

Positives:

  • Decent power and price

Negatives:

  • Limited by cord

Positives:

  • Very powerful
  • Not limited by cord

Negatives:

  • More expensive
  • Heavier, louder

Prefer a certain brand?

And if you have a favorite brand, we have specific sections for you 😉

AR Blue Clean    Karcher    Generac    Sun Joe

What is a pressure washer and do I actually need one?

Cleaning siding with power washer

A power sprayer is a tool used for removing all kinds of dirt, grime, mold or grease from cars, buildings or wooden, concrete and other surfaces. It takes water from a garden hose and engages the pump to push it out of the wand with a lot more pressure – also, several different nozzle types are used to shape the water fan and adjust the power of the stream.

To rate different models two variables are used – PSI (pressure per square inch) and GPM (gallons per minute) – and while the small electric units have about 1500 PSI, gas powered machines can offer even 3200.

Compared to a traditional garden hose, it has several advantages:

  • The difference in power is just huge – a garden with 40-70 PSI is simply not able to remove that kind of dirt that a 1400-3200 PSI washer eliminates without any problems.
  • It uses up to 80% less water
  • Most of them feature a detergent injector as well

Take a look at this video to see a pressure sprayer in action:

Pressure Washing my Concrete Driveway & Stone Sidewalks

 

Disclaimer: HiveFly.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.