6 Best Pressure Washers

Pressure washer safety:

Before buying a pressure washer, you should be aware that they can cause serious injuries if used improperly. For this reason, you shouldn’t use the machine until you read the manual and are using proper safety equipment. Anderson says that Mi-T-M asks users to “follow all safety instructions on decals located on the washer and always wear safety goggles and closed toe shoes to protect yourself from the possibility of direct spray.” Regardless of safety equipment, keep the spray away from people and animals.

With electric pressure washers, check that your power cord has a working ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) by hitting the “test” button before every use. While a GFCI can help prevent electrocution, you should keep water away from electrical cords and outlets as much as possible. Lastly, always turn the machine off and pull the trigger a few times to release any remaining pressure when you’re not actively using it, when switching nozzles or performing maintenance.

Pressure and flow rate of pressure washers:

When buying a pressure washer, pay attention to the pressure rating, measured in pounds per square inch (PSI,) and the water flow rate, measured in gallons per minute (GPM.) In fact, you can get a quick idea of the cleaning power by multiplying PSI and GPM together to get what pressure washer manufacturers call cleaning units (CU.) While higher pressure and flow rate lead to more cleaning power, Anderson says “in most cases, a 2,000 PSI pressure washer will be sufficient for most homeowner cleaning tasks.”

Likewise, our testing revealed that pressure washers with ratings as low as 1,500 PSI are good for most homeowners, though they can take longer to match the results of more powerful units. As such, you can expect to use most electric pressure washers for cleaning cars, wood decks, plastic patio furniture and concrete.