Yes, they are all giving you some form of nonsense.

A hose has your water pressure. It is typically 50psi after a regulator. If the hose bib is before the regulator, it will have whatever the city supplies, which could be as much as 120psi. If you have more than that, hoses will fail when a hose end shutoff is used. You can concentrate 50-120 psi in a narrow stream and blast some things clean.

A very low end pressure washer has about 1000 psi so guess how the two compare.

Any good pressure washer has adjustable or replaceable nozzles so you tune the power of the stream according to the job. A high power washer with a narrow stream certainly can etch concrete.

I have a number of different pressure washers in several business, ranging from $80-$3000. I bought AR Blue Clean AR390SS 2000 psi for my own use at home from Amazon for $163. They have a covered driveway option for about $20 if you prefer that. I would never consider the additional hassle of a gas powered unit for your use as gas ones don't like to sit. The one above has a 30' pressure hose and a 35' power cord so works well for my 26'x60' driveway and 7'x80' long front walkway.

https://www.amazon.com/Clean-AR390SS-Electric-Pressure-Washer/dp/B00N6XBM64/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1472757802&sr=1-1&keywords=ar+blue+clean&refinements=p_n_srvg_3007398011%3A492227011

https://www.amazon.com/Cleaner-cleaning-project-accessory-driveways/dp/B004M7MTIS/ref=sr_1_4?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1472757707&sr=1-4&keywords=ar+blue+clean

It works as well for occaisional use as the AR 767 we have at work, which was $800 and is designed to hold up under daily commercial use.

Thanks so much! I don't know why I didn't think to check Amazon on this. But what do you mean about a covered driveway option? Oh wait--that's the circular cleaner? Interesting.

I really appreciate this. Think my husband will okay this purchase immediately.

BTW, do you use cleaner or just water?

I have a Simpson 3,000 psi pressure washer (with a Honda engine). Got it at Costco several years ago.

Simpson Pressure Washer

I would not buy an electric pressure washer - they really don't last. For the winter, I pour a little Sea Foam in the tank.

Pressure washers come with 4 or 5 nozzles. The larger the nozzle orifice - the less pressure - I usually use the white nozzle - which is low pressure.

Once you have one, you can find many uses: Garage floor, driveway, blast weeds out of sidewalk, cleans car wheels, clean siding, blast charcoal grill, car floor mats, etc.

I found that the original hose (25 ft) became frayed after 2 years (abraded by pulling it across the concrete). I bought a better quality new hose (50 ft is really nice, don't have to move the washer as much) and quick connects (between the outlet of the pump and the wand) make life a lot easier.

There is nothing about electric vs. gas that makes a PW "last". There are short and long lasting ones of each. There are various materials for the pump and various ways to make electric motors or gas engines. For example we have the industrial version of the one I recommended above at one business. The specs are about the same but it costs about $800. It is worth that if you are using it 20-30 hours a week like we do. We have another electric that is used almost every day for more than 15 years in a commercial wash rack for trucks hauling food. A decent universal electric motor will last as long as a decent gas engine. An induction electric motor will last about forever but will only be in electrics starting around $500.

The advantage of gas is portability and the possibility of higher power. If you want to match the power of a 5hp gas engine unit, you can't quite get there on 120v power. The big disadvantage of gas is reliability and maintenance. Modern gas does not sit well at all. This means you have to buy better gas for about $20 per gallon or deal with draining or using stabilizers. There is still other maintenance that is required.

It isn't that one is better than the other. It depends on your use.

"The big disadvantage of gas is reliability and maintenance. Modern gas does not sit well at all. This means you have to buy better gas for about $20 per gallon or deal with draining or using stabilizers. There is still other maintenance that is required."

We are all entitled to our opinions - but the gas statement is completely a wives tale.

gregbradley, can I ask your opinion once more? I was about to order the PW you recommended, but then saw this one that has more buyers and is $20 less (AND it looks like a Minion!): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CPGMUXW?psc=1

But it appears to be made in China and it might be a little stronger than what we want.

What do you think? Would you still stick with your AR?

I get overwhelmed when presented with too many choices. Now we're trying to buy a new gas range and it's nearly impossible to decide...

A lot of people focus the pressure put out by the washer but there's another number to consider as well - water flow. While pressure gets the dirt off a surface, a larger water flow rate makes it easier to wash that dirt away, especially on large surfaces like driveways. Unfortunately most homeowner grade electric pressure washers don't move that much water, which means you'll spend a more time cleaning the driveway.

With any pressure washer you'll want to investigate what happens if you need service or parts. A no-name pressure washer might save some money up front but what happens if you need service? Shipping something that weighs 30+ pounds isn't going to be cheap, so who is picking up the cost of shipping? How about if you need a new pressure hose? Can you find one at the local home center or will it be something you have to order?

I have sent an email to the AR company in Minnesota or wherever they are to ask them about their customer service. The guy who wrote the most positive review on Amazon says their customer service is awesome, so I just wanted to check it out. This being a holiday weekend, I'll have to wait a few days. But I will ask them your questions. I THINK Amazon may have offered a warranty plan that I was going to ignore...

There are thousands of forums where people, even me gathering information about pressure washers. let me give you a tip to find forums related to you interest and topic, Just google this query >> "your topic" inurl:"forum"
Thanks me later.
And yes 1 more thing if you finalize any best pressure washer under 200$ let me know too.

Cheers!

Sorry, nataliaroger I haven't been on Houzz in awhile. We ended up purchasing this one last year:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N6XBM64/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also purchased the "flat surface cleaner" attachment which does a much quicker job on a big driveway. But you have to be careful with the direction you move it in or you'll take a bath. I wish the pole were longer so I didn't have to stoop so much.

I had a problem where it started vibrating so much in my hand that it actually hurt--almost felt like I was being electrocuted. I don't think I was--it was just vibrating so violently. Don't know what I did. Wrote to the company about it and didn't get a reply. I've been a little afraid of it since then, but my husband has used it without incidence.

Planning to use it again this week (for the first time this year) so I can post again to tell you if it still works or works better.

Since you may not use the pressure washer very often consider purchasing a used one from facebook market place

You need to understand what tasks your car wash should solve. Any professional equipment differs from household equipment, first of all, by the resource of work. If a high-pressure household sink is designed to work for an hour or two a day, then professional models can be used, albeit intermittently, but throughout the working day. Accordingly, the capacities of the devices and the quality of the materials used in their production differ. When I need to do work with large objects, I use professionals from sparklewash.com .

I think you can learn more about the mechanics directly from a pressure washer website. I recently purchased a batch of petrol pressure washers from BISON and I have to admit it was one of the most satisfying purchases I've had in years.