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An electric pressure washer provides one of the most effective (and kinda fun) methods of blasting gunk and grime off just about any outdoor surface. Manually maintaining and restoring parts of your house routinely pelted by rain and snow can be time-consuming, if not impossible. A pressure washer can restore these tricky spots to their original luster in an afternoon or two. The best electric pressure washers make quick work of everything from siding slime to driveway sludge and everything in between.
Best overall: DeWalt Electric Pressure Washer
Best for cars: Westinghouse ePX3500 Electric Pressure Washer
Best small: Craftsman Electric Pressure Washer
Best for home use: Sun Joe SPX3000 14.5-Amp Electric High-Pressure Washer
Best value: Greenworks 1600 PSI Electric Pressure Washer
How we chose the best electric pressure washers
Our recommendations for the best electric pressure washers are based on research that covers the widest variety of feature sets, power levels (measured in PSI, or pounds per square inch), and price points. We also considered size, where and how to use a pressure washer, durability, and overall value. Our guide was designed to accommodate anyone looking to begin using an electric pressure washer for home use. Heavy-duty and commercial users would likely have better luck with a gas-powered model from our list of the best pressure washers.
The best electric pressure washers: Reviews & Recommendations
Some caked-on dirt and grime can seem impossible to strip away, but the best electric pressure washer can unseal years of layered filth in seconds flat. All you have to do is simply hook them up to a garden hose and blast away, making one of these electric pressure washers invaluable to keep in the storage shed.
Best overall: DeWalt Electric Pressure Washer
Specs
Size: 23.1 x 11 x 15.5 inches
Weight: 24 pounds
PSI: 2,100
Price: $297.88
Pros
Sufficient power to strip paint
Telescoping handle and wheels for easy movement
Built-in soap tank
Cons
Expensive
If you’d like an electric pressure washer that balances power and portability, DeWalt’s checks those boxes with aplomb. The rectangular unit comes in a protective cage, making it easier to grab and transport between uses. Helpful extras like a removable soap tank and a telescoping handle that can raise and lower to your preferred height significantly improve its ergonomics and usability.
This pressure washer comes with a 25-foot hose, which can coil inside the body’s protective frame to keep it from getting nicked or scratched during storage or transport. Its power cord can be similarly stored on the other side. At 2,100 PSI, this is among the most powerful electric pressure washers we recommend, but its smart design helps it stand above the rest. However, you will pay for it as the electric pressure washer is up to three times more expensive than some of our other recommendations. Ultimately, it’s worth paying a little extra up-front to have access to the extra power when you need it down the road.
Best for cars: Westinghouse ePX3500 Electric Pressure Washer
Specs
Size: 13.5 x 14 x 16.5 inches
Weight: 19 pounds
PSI: 2,500
Price: $179
Pros
Powerful for its size
Comes in a family of even more powerful pressure washers
Sufficient for more than just car washing
Cons
Smaller size means as smaller water tank
If you want to make your car look like it just drove off the lot, Westinghouse’s ePX3500 is an excellent choice. Many of the features we liked in our best overall pick are present here, including a built-in soap tank, and convenient areas to keep its power cord and hose from harm’s way. Westinghouse offers five models of electric pressure washers, and while we’re recommending the model in the middle of the range, you can easily jump to a more powerful (and costly) one if you feel like the jobs you’re doing demand it. It’s smaller than our best overall pick but not quite as easy to transport in real-world situations. The wheels make it easy to pull around the driveway, however, since you don’t want the hose dragging across the painted surfaces of your car as you wash it.
Best small: Craftsman Electric Pressure Washer
Specs
Size: 17.5 x 9.25 x 10.44 inches
Weight: 17.6 pounds
PSI: 1,700
Price: $109
Pros
Easier to carry
Comes with multiple nozzles
Removable soap bottle
Cons
Smaller pressure washers are less powerful
If you need to take a powerful cleaning tool wherever you go, Craftsman’s Electric Pressure Washer is the one we recommend. It has a built-in handle and is designed to be larger horizontally rather than vertically, making it easier to take to and from a car or carry around in general. It’s not quite as powerful as our other recommendations, but that’s the price you pay with a device that’s only about the size of a toaster.
Obviously, a device this small doesn’t offer built-in cord storage, but it does employ a pair of flanges on the handle, so it’s easy to wrap up the 20-foot hose and keep it out of the way during transport. You must store the pressure washer’s 35-foot cord and soap bottle separately. Beyond its smaller size—a feature, not a bug—this grab-and-go electric pressure washer is inviting and can be incredibly helpful depending on your needs.
Best for home use: Sun Joe SPX3000 14.5-Amp Electric High-Pressure Washer
Specs
Size: 19.5 x 15 x 22 Inches
Weight: 20 pounds
PSI: 2,030
Price: $149
Pros
Ample storage for hose and cable
Automatic shutoff
Comes with multiple spray tips
Cons
Large
If you don’t mind a slightly bulkier electric pressure washer, there’s much to recommend about Sun Joe’s SPX3000. Sun Joe says its 2,030 PSI power level is sufficient for cleaning homes, buildings, RVs, cars, boats, decks, driveways, and lawn equipment, which covers most projects you’d tackle with a pressure washer. It has a pair of removable soap tanks, so you can keep a lot in reserve during longer cleaning sessions. Dedicated storage compartments hold coiled hoses and cables and five tips so that you can direct water at multiple radii. There’s even an adapter that allows you to use a standard garden hose rather than the built-in one. It’s this immediate flexibility that helps this pressure washer stand out amongst models with similar power levels. Whether you’re trying to strip paint from your house, free moss from between bricks leading up to your home, or get grime from the underside of your car, this electric pressure washer is up to the task.
Best budget: Greenworks 1600 PSI Electric Pressure Washer
Specs
Size: 18.5 x 10.28 x 8.74
Weight: 18.3 pounds
PSI: 1,600
Price: $90
Pros
Designed for use on many materials
Portability
Price
Cons
Not as powerful as many of our other recommendations
If you don’t have much money to spend, Greenworks’ pressure washer is almost as powerful as many of our other recommendations but costs well under $100. While you obviously sacrifice some power, this electric pressure washer is still sufficient for cleaning cars and getting plenty of dirt off outdoor surfaces. It can’t strip paint, but again, that’s a task typically better left to a much bigger model. Its power cord and hose are roughly the same size as the ones that come with our other recommendations, and there’s an area on its back side for storing them. The vertically oriented electric pressure washer has a top handle, so you can grab it and go, but no wheels to roll it around. At under 20 pounds, it should be relatively easy to hold and carry but may cause fatigue over a full day of work. Still, this electric pressure washer’s drawbacks are far outweighed by its price, which is remarkable given its relative feature parity with models that cost twice as much.
The factors we considered most highly when determining which electric pressure washers to recommend were identical to the ones we determined were important when recommending any type of pressure washer—regardless of fuel source.
Power level
The first tech spec you should look at when comparing electric pressure washers is their power level, which can be broken down three ways: PSI (pounds per square inch), GPM (gallons per minute), and CU (cleaning units), which is PSI multiplied by GPM. Gas pressure washers typically have a higher PSI and GPM than electric models, but they can sometimes be too powerful for some general-purpose tasks like cleaning a car. Generally, you want to ensure you’re buying something powerful enough to do the job, but don’t go overboard. If you don’t take care with a powerful pressure washer, you can get a painful injection wound that’s very hard to heal.
Cold vs. hot water pressure
All of the electric pressure washers we recommend use cold water, best suited for cleaning cars and dirt or mildew from your porch or stoop. Hot water pressure washers are more powerful but significantly more expensive due to the necessary equipment to heat the water.
Size
Portability is critically important when choosing the right electric pressure washer for you because it determines the best-suited type. Smaller models can be carried around, while larger ones come with a set of wheels that make it a little easier to move.
Budget
As always, we wanted to cover the widest budgets possible, so our guide covers entry-level models to more professional ones suited for demanding tasks.
Hose and power cord length
It may sound like a small detail, but hoses and power cords can be a real pain if you don’t get the right specs. Hoses typically run between 20 and 30 feet. Power cords typically fall between 20 and 35 feet. If you don’t want to spend time hunting for an outlet or wrangling an unwieldy extension cord, make sure to check hose length.
FAQs
Q: Will 2,000 PSI clean concrete?
Yes. That level of power is more than sufficient for cleaning concrete. Of course, every case is different, and some grim is harder to obliterate than others. 2,000 PSI will give you a very fighting chance against even the toughest dirt.
Q: Are electric power washers powerful enough?
Electric pressure washers are powerful enough to clean dirt from your car and outdoor areas of your home. Consider a gas-powered model if you’re looking for something to strip paint or blast grime over long sessions.
Q: What psi will remove paint?
A pressure washer with 2,000 PSI or higher can remove paint, although experts recommend getting a model in the 3,000 PSI range. The type of nozzle you use will also affect paint-removing abilities. A more powerful unit will typically clear a larger area in the same amount of time it would take a smaller one.
Q: How much does an electric pressure washer cost?
This will depend on its strength and size. Our recommendations range in price from under $100 to roughly $300.
Final thoughts on the best electric pressure washers
Best overall: DeWalt Electric Pressure Washer
Best for cars: Westinghouse ePX3500 Electric Pressure Washer
Best small: Craftsman Electric Pressure Washer
Best for home use: Sun Joe SPX3000 14.5-Amp Electric High-Pressure Washer
Best value: Greenworks 1600 PSI Electric Pressure Washer
If you’ve been curious about picking up an electric pressure washer, there’s never been a better time to check one out. They’ve gotten less expensive, easier to use, and are powerful enough for any task you throw their way. As we mentioned earlier, this may not be the first tool you pick up, but it’ll become a go-to if you’re beginning to take home maintenance more seriously. You’ll be able to tackle projects that would be impossible otherwise using a tool that can be stored neatly in your garage when it’s not in use. While you’re in the mood to clean up, go check out our list of the best spin scrubbers for attacking other grimy areas around your home.
Why trust us
Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.
Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.
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