Recommend a pressure washer?

[BrandonFYIA]

Looking for a detailing washer. I wash in my driveway near a hose and power so electric is fine. I do have a foam cannon with a standard fitting I'd like to keep using. I'm not familiar with this product category, but I normally like to get things in the bottom of the high quality price tier or upper side of bang for your buck.

What are your recommendations?

 

[ChaneRZ]

I have the Ryobi and it is great for my needs. I don’t want the gas one because of the noise.

 

[Jayphil]

Do you plan just to wash you car with or do any other stuff with it at your house? Electric is fine for the most basic stuff but it can not flow enough water (GPM) for most househould duties if you ask me.

 

[BrandonFYIA]

Do you plan just to wash you car with or do any other stuff with it at your house? Electric is fine for the most basic stuff but it can not flow enough water (GPM) for most househould duties if you ask me.

Just for the car.

 

[Jayphil]

Just for the car.

Take something with warranty and known brand otherwise there will be cheap plastic pieces that will break and you will not find parts to fix it.
I have had two electric units in the past that broke within a year or two and now have a gas one since 8 years and still work great even if I use it a lot!

 

[BUZER]

I also have a Ryobi, 1600. If you go with that one or maybe any pressure washer you should get a 45 degree tip cause the 1600 only came with a 15 degree and I believe a soap tip.
I didn't go gas powered cause you really don't need that much power.

 

[Knet182]

Ryobi for me, too. Not the top of the line, but it works.

 

[Aarvix]

I had the Ryobi and it died the second time I used it. Returned it to Home Depot and bought a Simpson gas-powered washer from Sam's club (has a Honda engine). Runs like a top and has twice the GPM of an electric unit. I can understand folks not wanting to deal the with noise/gas though.

 

[Blanco_k8]

Probably unpopular opinion but if you are patient obsessed garage will be releasing an affordable washer soon and although I hate his 45 min wheel cleaning videos, I appreciate the passion, he says it's in the low $200s

 

[Rynil2000]

I bought a new electric pressure washer back in January. I went with the Sun Joe SPX3000 purchased on amazon. Also bought a foam cannon. Got it all for under $200.

I was a little hesitant because everyone complains that electrics don't have enough pressure or flow. But this little guy has kept up with everything I've asked it to do. It has cleaned my patio, front porch, driveway, car, furniture and some odds and ends. It's super quiet, only comes on when you pull the trigger, and has plenty of PSI to accomplish the job.

I'm not starting my own pressure washing business, nor do I want to store, up-keep, or use a loud, large, and cumbersome gas pressure washer. This thing rolls and stores perfectly in my garage. No need for anything more if you're just washing the car IMO.

The one upgrade I would suggest is to get a longer hose. It comes with a 20 footer, but one more click on amazon gets you the 50 footer and makes walking around the car a whole lot easier.

 

[Ric 'Ochet]

Ryobi was on sale at Home Depot yesterday for $129 down from $279.

I bought a Sunjoe last year on clearance for $29

 

[celwin]

I'm in the minority here. IMO a power washer for soley washing a car is not worth it. I had one and it was not any better than using the two bucket method. It definately did not save me any time or provided any better results in terms of how clean the car looked. In fact it was the pollar opposite. It took longer to wash the car with a power washer. It provided no better results than doing it entirely by hand.

 

[Rynil2000]

I'm in the minority here. IMO a power washer for soley washing a car is not worth it. I had one and it was not any better than using the two bucket method. It definately did not save me any time or provided any better results in terms of how clean the car looked. In fact it was the pollar opposite. It took longer to wash the car with a power washer. It provided no better results than doing it entirely by hand.

To be fair, I am still on the fence about the quality of wash with a pressure washer, also.

On one hand, spraying snow foam all over the car to have it "soak" looks cool, but it's annoying because I feel like I'm working against the clock while the soap dries. There's no way to use the foam cannon on the entire car, then use the two-bucket method to cover everything before the soap dries. Going panel by panel is difficult because once you rinse off a panel and try to foam cannon another panel, the pressure causes it to splatter soap on the areas just rinsed.

In the end it seems that the pressure wash is it's own method. Just yesterday I sprayed everything down with foam, mitt washed some heavy spots (grill, tailgate, rockers), and then power rinsed the rest. It was definitely not the most spotless or thorough wash like my two-bucket method washes tend to be, but pretty solid for an "after work, remove the pollen and bug crust" wash in under an hour.

Two-bucket method is still the best method when you have the time.

 

[Blanco_k8]

Here is my most common use case for pressure washing and why I own one, I have a concrete driveway, a paver patio and a house with vinyl siding, maintenance of the house is #1 and secondly is washing cars

 

[Jayphil]

My two car related use cases for Foam Cannon / Pressure washer

Very dirty car (Post winter cleaning or dirt road on/rain )

1. Foam the entire car and let the foam lubricate the bigger particules
2. Rince off (without to much pressure) to remove most of the big dirt particules
3. Wash the car with two buckets method
4. Dry the car with Microfiber

Light dust / pollen not stuck on the car (when there was no rain / water involved)

• Foam the entire car
• Pressure rinse / clean
• Dry the car with Microfiber

As said above my main use for the pressure washer is cleaning driveway, concrete around the inground pool, bricks on the house etc.

 

[ChaneRZ]

Also don’t wash the car under the sun.

 

[westcoastGT]

I bought a new electric pressure washer back in January. I went with the Sun Joe SPX3000 purchased on amazon. Also bought a foam cannon. Got it all for under $200.

I was a little hesitant because everyone complains that electrics don't have enough pressure or flow. But this little guy has kept up with everything I've asked it to do. It has cleaned my patio, front porch, driveway, car, furniture and some odds and ends. It's super quiet, only comes on when you pull the trigger, and has plenty of PSI to accomplish the job.

I'm not starting my own pressure washing business, nor do I want to store, up-keep, or use a loud, large, and cumbersome gas pressure washer. This thing rolls and stores perfectly in my garage. No need for anything more if you're just washing the car IMO.

The one upgrade I would suggest is to get a longer hose. It comes with a 20 footer, but one more click on amazon gets you the 50 footer and makes walking around the car a whole lot easier.

My son got an RS5 and it has the OEM pads which throw dust like crazy , he bought the same SunJoe you have and it worked like a charm on his wheels with the 40 degree tip , the soap dispenser with Foaming solution was ideal for washing the body as well ...............I'm sold on this ! I'm going to wash my Stinger with it tomorrow