Pressure Washers Test

July 2008

There's nothing like a pressure washer to take the strain out of keeping your car’s bodywork sparkling. These high-powered machines can blast away brake dust, mud and dead insects in seconds.

You will still need to run a sponge or mitt over the paint afterwards, but even that is easier when the worst has been hosed away and the soap sprayed on.

A pressure washer can set you back anything from less than £40 to several hundred pounds – so which one gets our vote? We put 10 through their paces.

WE tested each cleaner by working our way along a line of filthy cars. And top of our list of priorities was grime-shifting – so the power of the motor and the litres per hour (lh) output were critical.

Practicality is important, too - a long hose and power cable make life easier, as they prevent you having to move the pump to clean the whole car. We also looked for the washers to be a sensible weight, and wanted wheels on the base to make shifting to and from the garage easy. Hooks and slots for the hose, lance, lead and accessories scored points, as did brushes and detergent tanks. Price was our final consideration.

Verdict

High street giant Halfords’ new HP2000 takes our Best Buy award. It delivers a combination of excellent performance and impressive specification for a price that puts some rivals to shame.

Nudged into second place is our previous champion, the Lavor Tiger Steam – although it was a very close call. There’s no arguing with the power it delivers, and we love the steam cleaner, but the Lavor can’t quite match the Halfords product on price.

In a respectable third position here is the new-for-2008 Nilfisk. It impressed with an excellent performance, which justified its £200 price tag.

Contacts

Argos (RAC, Challenge)  0845 640 2020  www.argos.co.uk
Clarke (Machine Mart)  0871 410 1250 www.machinemart.co.uk
Draper  023 8049 4333  www.draper.co.uk
Halfords  0845 762 6625  www.halfords.com
Karcher  01295 752200  www.karcher.co.uk
Lavor  01925 631100  www.lavorpro.co.uk
Nilfisk  01768 868995  www.nilfisk-alto.co.uk

Top 3

1. Halfords HP2000
2. Lavor Tiger Steam
3. Nilfisk E140.2-9 S X-TRA

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