After posting a similar question I bought a Nilfisk from cleanstore.

http://www.cleanstor...ressure-Washers

Its been great - Much better than the screwfix wolf it replaced.

Cleanstore were the cheapest I could fine and as they are a specialist retailer they should be able to sort any problems and get spares.

Edited 22 December, 201213 yr by Web Ferret

I bought my first pressure washer from KarcherDirect the other week, went for a refurbished model which was £44 delivered- ordered on the Friday and delivered on the Monday.

Whilst I can't comment on longevity having only used it a couple of times, it works very well and I got great results using it and the Karcher snow foam lance with Ultimate Snow Foam, so I've no complaints so far.

If it goes wrong outside of the 6 month Karcher warranty (as its refurbished), I won't be too upset and I'll look at the other brand mentioned on here.

Karcher’s are great whilst they work, but as others have said their weak link is the plastic head / pump.

I toyed with the idea of a Nilfisk, but I wanted a bit more than the cheaper ones offered, by the time I had specced up my requirements the price was getting into the regions of ‘proper’ pressure washers, so I said ‘sod it’ and bought the daddy - a Kranzle which is fantastic (and so it should be for the price)

SPONGE??!!! :peek:

I actually have a microfibre sponge but to be honest I can't really tell the difference between that and a conventional sponge. Like I say if you jet wash most the crap off you minimise the risk of scratching anyway.

The one thing that annoys me on here though is how the self claimed detailing experts look down on anyone that suggests they use or do something that they don't agree with, i.e use of a conventional sponge.

Here's one for them to really frown upon, my 3 year old and 5 year old sometimes help me clean the cars and they use those little coloured kitchen sponges. They are supervised and if they drop the sponge it goes in the bin and yes, there's a risk they might introduce the odd hairline scratch but so what, as long as they are happy that's the main thing.

Don't get me wrong, I like my car looking clean and shiny so I wash it a minimum of every fortnight and usually jet wash it in between to get the worst off but it's not a hobby to me like it is with many others; it's just another of those need to do jobs.

Don't use a pressure washer anywhere near wheel bearings, unless you want them to to fail prematurely from water ingress.

karchers getting a bad name recently. If you do want one try their website as they sell refurbs at knockdown prices.

Nilfisk have good rep.

I am currently using a Ryobi which cost me £38 +vat and am happy with it.

Previous one was cheapy from Netto which I had for 5 / 6 years stood outside all year round, no probs. now used by my son and still goin..

^^^ true enough, that's why not having some sort of covering for the hub grease cup is not a good idea. Or is that a Yeti only thing? Plus wheel bolts can corrode up pdq.

Don't use a pressure washer anywhere near wheel bearings, unless you want them to to fail prematurely from water ingress.

Ha ha....What rubbish!!!!

I wash my wheels with a pressure washer as much as 3 times a week sometimes

No problem whatsover for many years

You appear to have been given incorrect information

+1 for Nilfisk. I've got an Alto dynamic (formally Nilfisk) which I've had for years and it's gone wrong once (pressure relief switch went)and was easy to fix - the spares cost £40. For cleaning the car don't use the brush IMO- you'll just end up scratching your car to f**k. I've got a couple of nozzels with mine- a general purpose 1 and 1 specially fo car paint- it gives a wider, softer spray whick is ideal IMO. They recommend you don't use the turbo rotating one that you might get with it on any part of the car depending which model you get

I also have a 90 degree nozzel which is great for doing the wheel arches and underneath. A foam applicator is also a must IMO, but for general cleaning use a snow foam as TFR strips all your polish off.

The valet team leader at my dealers recommended NOT to use a sponge as they tend to trap fine grit on its surface so you end up scratching your paint. He does it every day so I took his advoice, plus the wifes black magic altea has swirl marks on it, I'm the only one who's cleaned it (with a sponge previously) which sort of makes the point I guess.

1 final thing is I disconnect the hose then run mine to get rid of all the water after I've finished so it doesn't freeze up, something my brother in law found out the hard way with his cheap plastic engined jet wash.

Ha ha....What rubbish!!!!

I wash my wheels with a pressure washer as much as 3 times a week sometimes

No problem whatsover for many years

You appear to have been given incorrect information

Calm down.

He never said wheels, he said wheel bearings.

Spraying the outer face of an alloy wheel is one thing, spraying directly onto a bearing is another.

Edited 22 December, 201213 yr by silver1011

1 final thing is I disconnect the hose then run mine to get rid of all the water after I've finished so it doesn't freeze up,

Don't run the pump dry for too long.

Don't run the pump dry for too long.

Cheers for the advice- it pumps it out in 1 continuous small stream at low pressure after I've removed the hose then the flow normally stops quickly and I switch it off as soon as this happens... assume that's ok?

Yeah, that'll be fine, some pumps use the water passing through them to keep them cool.

Yeah, that'll be fine, some pumps use the water passing through them to keep them cool.

Yeah i burnt out the motor on a draper pressure washer doing the patio once think it was a result of a kink in

the hose overheated and that was that. Shame it was the inlaws Pressure washer :think:

Its quite apt that i have stumbled across this thread as im thinking of getting a pressure washer but purely for

the snow foam application. Can anyone confirm which is the best for foaming up a car? Is it just a case of

getting a lance with a bottle attachement?

There seems to be alot of people who dont like the karcher power washers and for good reason. I have sold well over 50 karchers in my last job, if your going to buy a karcher stay away from the ones you find in places like B&Q, home base, argos and the like. They are not built that great and as people say they have plastic bodys on the housings. The one to go for are the ones with (HD) in the model number and have the (brass) Housings not metal. With the brass you can run most chemicals through them unlike the metal that get eating away inside. But the down side is they do cost alot of money, but you do get what you pay for. I have two of the large washers at my current work, one a hot water and the other is the steam model. the only problem i've had is the steamer burst a heater coil due to -10/15 temp, so it was my fault and not the machines.

My Karcher just died. karcher k294MD deluxe ( B ) pressure washer. Bought from Homebase for £99 with a huge lot of accessories which I still have.

Damn thing only lasted 7 years! Hopeless...

For me, if I could get another one that lasts as long, I'd be happy. Plus it would fit all my accessories.

Edited 27 December, 201213 yr by Fellwalker

The one I use is this: http://www.tesco.com/direct/aa-pressure-washer-hpw110-deluxe/213-4193.prd but was a heck of a lot cheaper when I got it!

I only use it when the car is caked with muck

My Karcher just died. karcher k294MD deluxe ( B ) pressure washer. Bought from Homebase for £99 with a huge lot of accessories which I still have.

Damn thing only lasted 7 years! Hopeless...

For me, if I could get another one that lasts as long, I'd be happy. Plus it would fit all my accessories.

Think if you can get another Karcher that lasts that long you'll be lucky as well as happy! it's the old addage you get what you pay for I guess. If you only want to spend 99 quid that's fine, but it's unlikely to last as long as a better made alternative (especially if you use it for extended periods for things like cleaning the patio too), thopugh to get a better quality one you obviously have to pay more initially. The choice of which to go for rests totally with the buyer of course as it's their money/their call

cheers

Ade