This all depends on how much you can afford and how powerful and durable you want your pressure washer to be.

Best for: Cleaning extensive areas of paving, grimy 4-wheel drive vehicles, commercial vehicles and caravans While the initial wash should have done an adequate job, a specialist wheel cleaner will be able to remove stubborn brake dust and salt. Used prior to waxing or polishing, it It will leave your paint feeling smoother and ready for a fresh coat of wax. Fortunately, you’ll already have access to some of the items required for this stage, but a few will need to be acquired. Although you have to be near a power outlet to use an electric washer, they are typically lighter, better for the environment, less noisy and will be powerful enough for the usual home and garden cleaning jobs.If your MOT is due or if you would like to book your vehicle in for a full car service, you can book online with your local RAC Approved Garage today. If you just need a pressure washer for light cleaning, then most no-frills machines come with just one lance, which is a long tube with a nozzle on the end. The nozzle will usually provide variable pressure – when you twist the nozzle, you can adjust the spray from a powerful narrow jet to a more broad gentle fan. Detergent tank: we found built-in but removable detergent tanks more convenient than bottle attachments in our tests. Karcher were the first to introduce smart technology to pressure washers so you can connect them to your smartphone via an app.

The paintwork as such is not that delicate but it really depends on how you view your car. For Santa it is a tool to get from A to B. For others like Loony and me, it is more of a passion and pride. I dont go fishing, play football, spend hours in the pub so my car is not just a vehicle, it is my hobby too. So to that end I will wash and wax and polish it regularly and after spending a day cleaning it top to bottom, there is - for me at any rate - a sense of job satisfaction when it is done. Faulty products will be replaced as soon as we are able to verify the fault and ship another to you. Motor noise is typically less intrusive with these machines but they can be a little overpowered for many domestic cleaning jobs. Make sure you know how to use them properly to avoid damaging your surfaces. Nilfisk pressure washers tend to be quieter than Karcher models as they're designed with a noise-reduction system.

You’ll spend more time doing this, but each subsequent wash will be easier as a result. What items you need Pressure gauge: some more expensive models have a pressure gauge on the lance handle but, as the pump pressure doesn't vary, they're of little practical use. In terms of brand loyalty and how many people bought the same brand of pressure washer again, an impressive 73% of Karcher owners (sample size: 329) said they had versus 10% of Nilfisk owners (sample size: 52). Best for: Cleaning small areas of lightly soiled paving, bicycles, small cars and garden furniture. Pressure washer pump fails - Store the pressure washer in a frost-free place, such as a cupboard in the house, and make sure that the water is turned on and at adequate pressure before running the pump. Takes steps to remedy a pulsing pressure washer.

Our expert advice will help you find one that has the right power and features for your cleaning jobs. Light duty Hoses lengths vary from three metres, which is too short to wash a car; to five metres, which is an adequate length for car cleaning. Some of the cheaper pressure washers come with fixed nozzles that don't allow you to vary the water pressure. Scottish Highlands - AB36-38, AB55-56, FK17-21, IV1-39, IV52-54, IV63, KW1-14, PA21-40, PH19-26, PH30-41, PH49-50

Summary

Start by spraying the surface with the wheel cleaner, covering the outer and inner sections of the wheel. Ideally, you should arm yourself with a pressure-washer, but at the very least a garden hose with a spray gun extension. When you’re finished, rinse the body using a pressure-washer or hose, before applying a paint sealant or wax. See the next section for details.

Next, spray the lubricant onto the surface, remove the clay bar from the water and place it on the paint. Our guide to washing your car twice as well in half the time is designed to provide a simple overview of what can be achieved from the comfort of your own driveway. It should become easier to move over time, at which point you know the paint is free of contaminants. Electric pressure washers are more suited to domestic cleaning, while petrol pressure washers are designed for professional, large-scale jobs.Nilfisk's entry level models tend to have more powerful motors and come with an aluminium pump head rather than a plastic one for durability. Toolstation has electric and petrol pressure washers, some of which are bundled with a patio cleaner.