Domestic Pressure Washer Buying Guide

How to Choose the Right Domestic Pressure Washer For Sale

Need to clean up the outside of your house, driveway or decking? Maybe you need to prep for a paint job or wash your car/boat? Pressure washer units are one of those tools you don't realise you need until you try it. Once you do, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. Here's what to look for to get the right tool for the job.

Domestic Pressure Washers can be used to clean everything around the home

How do they work?

Essentially they all work the same way; it starts with water entering the machine at low pressure. An electric motor or engine powers a pump, which pushes the water through a hose and a spray tip or nozzle at very high pressure. This process is significantly more effective for cleaning requirements around the home than what your regular garden hose can offer.

What can I use it for?

Domestic Pressure Washers can be used to clean everything around the home, including:

  • outdoor furniture, awnings
  • decking, patios, fencing, stairs
  • driveways, paths, landscaping
  • vehicles; cars, boats, caravans etc.
  • retaining walls, brickwork
  • side of house, roofing, gutters
  • equipment: lawn mowers etc.
  • garage floors, concrete, stains
  • brickwork, paint preparation

The Gerni Domestic Pressure Washer range is great for weekend warriors wanting to clean around their home.

How to use the Gerni Auto Brush - not just for Autos!

What PSI and Water Flow do I need?

Pressure washers are graded according to PSI (pounds per square inch), which is the total water pressure created by the machine. As a point of reference, a typical garden hose dispenses water at about 30-40PSI, and a coin-operated car wash provides about 700PSI. A pressure washer, by contrast, typically dispenses water at several thousand PSI.

PSI is not the whole story though - the other consideration is Water Flow, which is measured in Litres per Minute. The greater the combination of the PSI number and the Water Flow , the more area you can efficiently clean, more quickly.

The pressure washer table below classifies washers based on the size of task and how regularly the unit will be used;

Pressure Washer Buyers Guide

The important takeaway is that the larger the job, then the larger the pressure washer required. For smaller infrequent jobs around the home, an electric pressure washer in the order of 1500 - 2000PSI will be appropriate. For larger domestic tasks and for more regular use, you can opt for either an electric or petrol washer with rated pressure from 2000 to 3000PSI.

Electric or Petrol Powered?

For domestic tasks, the most common type of pressure washer is an electric powered one. They are typically, lighter, require less maintenance and can simply be plugged into your home mains power to start up. There are electric powered pressure washer models for all types of domestic tasks, large and small.

How to use a Pressure Cleaner

Petrol-powered pressure washers, are generally more suited for medium- to heavy-duty tasks around your home or property. They produce pressure and water flow rates at the higher end of the range and obviously can be used when you are not near mains electricity. Like any petrol powered piece of equipment, it requires some light maintenance similar to your lawn mower.

A Generac petrol powered pressure washers can be a good option for larger domestic tasks

Do they come with accessories?

Yes. Good pressure washers will come with come with all the essentials and a bit more as standard:

  • Nozzles that allows the water spray to be adjusted in accordance with the job

  • Hose and hose reel

  • Power gun and lance

  • Wheels for maneuverability on the ground

  • Detergent inclusion capability

Some optional extras include; automobile brushes specifically for car washing, patio cleaners, sandblasting kit for removing rust etc., drain/tube cleaners, stain removing detergents and more.

patio cleaners

Last words of pressure washer advice?

We'd recommend you consider a pressure washer from a quality manufacturer that provides a strong warranty and national support network. Brands such as Gerni, Generac, Crommelins Subaru and AR Blue Clean are international brands that have been market leaders in pressure cleaners for decades. You can purchase one of these recognized brands with the peace of mind that you're getting top quality performance and if anything ever goes wrong they are backed by nationwide service support.

We don't recommend you buy a cheap, no name brand from the likes of eBay. Typically these are mass produced in China and do not have service agent support or dependable warranty backing should anything go wrong (which is often the case with the cheaper products!).

Check out the full range of quality domestic pressure washers online at My Generator.

If you're look for pressure washer advice outside of Australia, then we'd recommend you check this site here: Ideal Pressure Washer.

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DISCLAIMER* Please note, this advice is general in nature and we strongly recommend consulting the product manual and where relevant, a professional installer.


7 thoughts on Domestic Pressure Washer Buying Guide

Paul Sterling says:
9 May 2019
Glancing through commercial pressure washers' catalogues, it can be tough to deduce what your business needs. Should you buy a hot water power washer or a steam power washer? And what about all those cleaning solutions? To help, we group commercial models below and follow up with a list of key questions buyers should ask.

Max Svalina says:
21 November 2017
Hi, I was looking at getting a gift for dad for xmas and was looking at spending upto $750. I found a powerful 4.5hp Typhoon rated at 3000psi continuous power I think with about 9.5L per minute. It will be used for the home with a large front concrete driveway and footpaths from concrete that need cleaning. As well as other cleaning duties. Is this overkill? Can a powerful electric also do the job? Can you provide recommendations? I was looking at electrics until I read reviews about not being durable with parts breaking very early on especially with the karcher range. Max

My Generator Response
Hi Max, the specifications you have outlined would be suitable for concrete driveway cleaning. With 2500-3000PSI and 8-10 litres per minute, this will remove tough stains and any caked on dirt/grime on the concrete. To compliment a petrol pressure washer of this size, I would suggest you also get a turbo nozzle as an optional accessory: A rotary turbo nozzle automatically spins a zero degree spray in ah circle at 3000rpm. The rotating water jet hits the surface area from multiple angles, quickly breaking down tough dirt and grime. Turbo rotary nozzles can significantly cut cleaning time and are popular for cleaning concrete areas or particularly tough to remove stains. Most electric models will have less power and whilst you could still use a domestic electric washer for your desired application, it would take you a longer time. Therefore I would suggest you stick with a petrol model with the outlined specifications. Electric models are best for smaller tasks and smaller areas, i.e. vehicle cleaning, outdoor furniture wash down, small decks etc. When it comes to larger outdoor areas (like you have mentioned) including driveways etc, petrol models can save you cleaning time. In terms of the name 'Typhoon' you have mentioned, I am not familiar with that brand. I would strongly suggest opting for a reputable brand with a comprehensive warranty and nationwide service agent and spare parts support network. Opting for a cheap 'no-name' brand (often sold on places like eBay) is very risky as you are often left in the dark if something goes wrong with the product (which can be common for cheap brands). You will pay a bit more for a quality brand, but in our experience, it is worth it in the long run. The models I would recommend you consider are: - Powershot PS3395, Petrol Kohler Pressure Washer, 3300PSI - Gerni MC 3C 165/810PE, Petrol Honda Pressure Washer, 2400PSI - Jetwave Raptor Petrol GP Honda Pressure Washer, 3000PSI

Rod Blizard says:
25 September 2017
Hi. Thanks for the above advice, it was quite helpful. I do however have one enquiry relating to water used. Is there a pressure cleaner more suited to tank and/or bore water. Which do you feel is more suited, metal or plastic motors. I believe Gerni have a metal motor and Kacher a plastic one. Would love some advice on this before deciding which one to purchase. Thank you

My Generator Response
Hi Rod, , All the Gerni range can be connected to a Non Mains supply like a rainwater tank. The best way is to run it gravity fed from a tap at the bottom of the tank using a normal hose with the machine lower than the tank. The Gerni suction hose kit accessory is required and the air needs to be bled from the line. You can purchase the Suction Hose Kit in the accessories list for the all models. Gerni domestic models have an aluminium valve pump head with stainless steel pistons. For your described domestic application, I would recommend you consider the following popular models: Gerni Super 130.3 Pressure Washer, 1885PSI Gerni Super 140.3 Pressure Washer, 2030PSI

John smith says:
20 September 2017
There are various type of pressure washers available in the market and some of them are original and some of them are duplicate. For better work performance, a user should use the original pressure washer. Selecting the right pressure washer is a very difficult task, but reading this article it will be very easy as this article describes the common points to look for while buying the new pressure washer. This is a must-read article for the users who are looking to buy a new pressure washer. For best pressure washer, click on the given link- best pressure washer

Ory says:
28 March 2017
What would be a recommendation for a cheap but reliable washer mainly for the car (4x4) and perhaps occasionally around the house? If spending some money will make it easy and quick to wash the car I'd definitely be considering it!

My Generator Response
Hi Ory, great question; the most popular model for your described application would be the Gerni Super 140.3 Plus Pressure Washer, 2030PSI because not only does it provide enough water pressure and flow rate for your cleaning, it comes with an Auto-brush and Auto-nozzle designed for vehicle cleaning, as well as a Patio cleaner for your patios, decks and other outdoor areas. Its the complete domestic pressure washer unit and comes backed with a 5 year warranty! Cheers :)

Az says:
3 October 2016
Nice article and I'm in the market again was looking for some good advice. Thing is my last one was from eBay, I think I paid around 400 for it. It's called a tomahawk USA I think and it's rated at 4300psi with water usage about 10 or so litres per minute. It was a really great and impressive machine it lasted me about 4 or 5years and because I own a small tour company it was being used every day to wash a 20 seater truck, not to mention other jobs around the house. So after reading this article warning off eBay purchases I'm wondering if the one I bought last time was just a good buy or did I just get lucky? Is 5 years of usage every day not a good life span for a $400 pressure washer? works out to be around 80 bucks a year which is remarkably cheaper then having to pay at least 10 bucks per day at one of those commercial self wash car washers.

My Generator Response
Hi Az, thanks for your inquiry. I'd suggest that you did you get a bit lucky with your previous model...especially since your application is more frequent than domestic use. The other thing to keep in mind about cheaper 'no name' brands on eBay is that they often overstate their capability with their specifications...this is true across many types of power products including generators, lawn mowers, pressure washers etc. So, with a premium brand like Gerni or Karcher their stated specs come from global standard stringent testing and can be relied upon. Based on your described use, in the premium range I would recommend either a Gerni MC 4M Electric Pressure Washer or a Gerni Honda Petrol Poseidon 2-32 - both are commercial grade pressure washers with brass head pumps and ceramic pistons built to handle regular, intensive use. In the cheaper range, there is a professional model from Generac, which is made in China however comes with a 3 year warranty and comes backed with national service agent support. Thanks

maya says:
28 September 2016
Good article. I know one of the best suppliers of pressure washers is Nilfisk. All Nilfisk domestic pressure washer are really practical and easy to use.

My Generator Response
Thanks Maya - yes, we agree, Nilfisk are one of the global leaders in manufacturing premium quality cleaning products. In Australia, they are best known for their range of Gerni Pressure Washers for all domestic and commercial cleaning applications.

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