Best pressure washers
Blast away dirt with our pick of the best pressure washers
Cycling is an ongoing battle with dirt, road grime and mud, especially during the winter. After a muddy ride, it’s important to make sure you get the muck off your frame before it solidifies.
When it comes to electric power washers, there are a lot of options that will turn your water tap into a concentrated stream. You need to be sensible when pressure washing bikes. As long as you don’t point a stream of high-velocity water directly into bearings seals at point-blank range, they can be a beneficial tool to simplify your post-ride clean up.
Sun Joe SPX3000
One tool to do many jobs
The Sun Joe SPX3000 is super popular thanks to its maximum 2030 psi. This powerful pressure washer is excellent for all-round use, which means it’ll not only get your bike glistening like new, but also your car, patio, grill, and more.
It includes two built-in 0.9 liter detergent tanks, so you can multitask as you go, easily switching between two different detergents. If you want one tool to do many jobs, this is the pressure washer for you.
Yard Force 1600 PSI All-in-1
Excellent washing for a reasonable price
This all-in-one pressure washer from Yard Force may be designed with homes and gardens in mind, but it delivers excellent bike washing for a very reasonable price. It’s quieter than many of its competitors, and the unit is incredibly compact, while still containing a 32-ounce soap tank, a 19-foot hose, and storage for additional accessories.
It comes with two quick-connect nozzles, plus a Turbo nozzle for the most stubborn caked-on mud. There’s also a trigger handle and wand, which are compatible with all pressure washer accessories that have a quarter-inch connection.
Karcher K2
Vary the pressure to stay in control
We like the Karcher K2 for bike cleaning and general domestic use.
It's fairly powerful with 1600psi on tap, and it includes the Vario Power Spray Wand which allows you to adjust the water pressure with a twist.
A snow foam nozzle can be purchased separately, which allows you to attach a bottle of bike wash and cover your bike in a layer of foam.
Westinghouse ePX2000
Comes with a foam cannon
At 15 pounds and 14 inches high, the Westinghouse ePX2000 is the most compact and lightweight pressure washer on this list. With a maximum 1500 psi it puts out enough power to get the worst mud and grime off your bike.
It comes complete with a foam cannon, 10 oz detachable detergent bottle, 15-foot hose and adjustable spray wand for super deep cleaning. Best of all, with its four 360-degree rotating wheels and low center of gravity, the unit is easy to move around, very stable, and can be stored away conveniently.
WORX Hydroshot Cordless Portable Power Cleaner
Pressure on tap
With the pump located inside the lance, the Hydroshot delivers pressure on tap, while the multi-spray nozzle allows you to customise the stream. You'll just need to find a water source. It comes with a hose, a collapsible bucket and works with fittings from a standard garden hose — you can even screw a bottle into the bottom.
Worx makes an extensive range of power tools, and the Hydroshot uses the same battery as the drills, saws, grinders, and leaf blowers in the range; so if you’ve already bought into the ecosystem, all your gadgets will be compatible.
Greenworks GPW1602
Accessories are easily interchangeable
Weighing a mere 17.5 pounds, the Greenworks GPW1602 is a great portable pressure washer. With 1600 PSI, it’s powerful enough to get the worst of the grime off your bike, without doing any damage to the paint. This makes it perfect for washing bikes and for using around the home.
The 35-foot power cord means you don’t need an extension lead. It also includes a soap applicator, two nozzle tips which are easily interchangeable, and an attachable detergent bottle to get your bike looking shiny and new.
How much power?
If you're looking at a pressure washer for your bike, you only need enough power to unstick stubborn mud.
When it comes to flow rate, the lower end of the spectrum will be more than enough to clean your ride; look for a jet washer with a max pressure of around 1600 psi - even then you won’t need the full power - and a low flow rate to minimise water usage.
Stand back
Even with a light-duty pressure washer, at point-blank range, you can still strip the paint off your frame, not to mention grease from the inside of bearings. Take a step back and start at the distance where the stream begins to transition to mist, and only move closer for really tough mud.
Spray nozzle and lance
Look for a nozzle that fans the water out into a sheet as this will help to get rid of the stickiest mud while also spreading the water pressure out over a wider area.
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Mildred joined as Reviews Writer for Cyclingnews and BikePerfect in December 2020. She loves all forms of cycling from long-distance audax to daily errand-running by bike, and does almost everything on two wheels, including moving house, and started out her cycling career working in a bike shop. For the past five years she's volunteered at The Bristol Bike Project as a mechanic and session coordinator, and now sits on its board of directors.
Since then she's gone on to write for a multitude of cycling publications, including Bikeradar, Cycling Plus, Singletrack, Red Bull, Cycling UK and Total Women's Cycling. She's dedicated to providing more coverage of women's specific cycling tech, elevating under-represented voices in the sport, and making cycling more accessible overall.
Height: 156cm (5'2")
Weight: 75kg
Rides: Stayer Groadinger UG, Triban RC520 Women's Disc, Genesis Flyer, Marin Larkspur, Cotic BFe 26, Clandestine custom bike