I have been meaning to get a pressure washer for a while now, mostly for cleaning the driveway, patio, and occasionally the car. I thought it would be simple to pick one, but the more I look the more confusing it gets. Some reviews say electric ones are better for home use, others say gas washers are stronger and worth the investment.
I’ve been checking reviews on sites like Wirecutter, Popular Mechanics, and Consumer Reports, plus scrolling through a bunch of DIY and home improvement forums. Two names that keep coming up again and again are:
Both look solid in their own way, but I don’t want to end up with something that feels like overkill or too weak for real jobs. I’ll mostly be using it for home cleaning, but sometimes the patio gets really bad after rain, and my car could definitely use a proper wash too.
If anyone here has long-term experience with either of these (or any other model you’d recommend), I’d love to hear your honest take. Which one do you think is more practical for everyday home use?
I have a gas P washer I bought in the late 90’s that still works good for me. Back then if you wanted lots of pressure you went gas. But now they have some great electric washers that probably will work for you just fine. And you wouldn’t have to worry about the gas going bad or hard to start problems. Plug it in and you’re good to go. If I was going to replace mine I’d go electric.
When I lived in Georgia I had a problem with the driveway and sidewalk getting very dirty. I had lots of pine trees which shed and also they blocked sunlight which might have bleached the concrete. I ended up buying a pressure washer from a big box home store (probably Home Depot or Lowes). I am pretty sure it was electric because the distance was short from the house to the places I needed to wash.
I also used it on the brick front porch and carefully on some siding.
If you have not used a pressure washer before, let me suggest that you be very careful. It is possible to acutally hit concrete hard enough to remove parts of it and dissolve it (I’m not going to tell you how I know).
I have a Sun Joe that I bought 5 years ago and seems ok. I use it to clean the driveway and patio a couple times a year and to wash my bicycles. It’s nice to have a various selection of tips, maybe 5 different degrees and suds for washing the car. The electric ones that cost less than $200 should be fine.
Pros are convenience, not having to start it up by pulling a cord, not too noisy, choice of tips.
Cons are you have to be relatively near an outlet (or have a good outdoor extension cord), not very powerful, soap dispensers empty out quickly.
I find the pressure is about what you get at a commercial car wash. Not enough to damage the paint on the car or house or furniture. I use it to clean bird droppings off the driveway, dirt off the house vinyl siding, spider webs and debris up high like porch ceiling and over garage door.