Can anyone tell me about power-washers?

[janmoomoo]

Want to get one for cleaning green slime off patio and paths. There seems to be a big range in price. Does anyone know if the cheap ones are any good - DH reckons you might as well put thumb over end of hosepipe! But some are soooo expensive - are they worth it? Any ideas?

the more expensive the better - DH uses them at work and the cheap ones are a waste.

what about hiring? try a tool hire company.

Deffo hire a posh one

It's not exactly a job you need to do very often

They do an excellent job though.

We id our patio last year, and it looke dlike new.

May depend on the area you have to clean, but DH borrowed SIL's cheapy (£30 from homebase) one and did the entire back courtyard and patio.

Didn't take long and did a great job, hard to see how it could be improved on apart from maybe a longer hose for the lance.

so what is the difference between the cheap ones and the expensive ones?

I need to get one as have just had work done in garden which includes new concrete dog run so will be cleaned regularly, and we decided to get a powerwasher rather than faffing about with cans full of water like we did with the last one.

we bought a cheap (£69.99) power devil one,we have had it for 3 years now,its great and had no problems at all with it.it has 2 different nozzles, a power lance and a dirt blaster(which is GREAT for doing the paths,but too powerful for washing the car)

TBH you aren't going to need an industrial type one if its just to keep the paths clean/wash the dog run/wash the car, thats what ours has been used for and its great.
ebay sometimes has good ones which are graded which means they might have no box, or they are catalogue returns which have been fixed/the missing part replaced,they are much cheaper and still come with a full guarantee.

Thanks everyone. Might try a cheapish one. My policy generally is buy the next one up from the cheapest one!

lol same as mine lol,just have a look and compare a few different ones,they should tell you how much water they pass through per minute,and the pressure of it,so you want the highest one,

this one looks pretty good compared to the others in argos
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/catalogId/1500001001/partNumber/7402027.htm
its better than some of the dearer ones.

Ooo, thats a good price! Wonder if the brand is any good, havent heard of it.

Do I have to take any notice of how many Watts or Bar it is?

Dh got a very good one from Costco a month or so ago. Will try and find out what make it was.

Karcher - about £80 from Costco, but worth a whole lot more if you bought it elsewhere (according to DH)

Costco good idea, my mate has a card, thanks for tip.

I have just become a 'power washer owner' and love it

Bought a Karcher one from B&Q for £40 (was reduced from 50) and it's fab.

Did my patio and can't stop telling everyone how good my patio looks
have the driveway to do next, hoping to do today but weather is rubbish.

differences i think are the amount of water you will use and the 'oomph' of the machine.
mine is 80 bar and 330 litres/hour.

have fun