Used prior to waxing or polishing, it It will leave your paint feeling smoother and ready for a fresh coat of wax. To achieve a better result there’s a little extra legwork to be done, but don’t worry, you’ll still be home and, er, hosed in less than an hour. What items you need Our expert advice will help you find one that has the right power and features for your cleaning jobs. Light duty

Best for: Cleaning extensive areas of paving, grimy 4-wheel drive vehicles, commercial vehicles and caravans Pressure washer pump fails - Store the pressure washer in a frost-free place, such as a cupboard in the house, and make sure that the water is turned on and at adequate pressure before running the pump. Takes steps to remedy a pulsing pressure washer. A clay bar is a flexible putty-like substance designed to will strip any contaminates from the top of the paint, the likes of which a regular car wash won’t remove. Patio cleaner attachment: circular plastic hoods with a brush around the bottom edge. Stops you having to stoop and helps ensure dirty water doesn't spray everywhere.Scottish Islands - HS1-9, IV40-51, IV55-56, KA27-28, KW15-17, PA20, PA41-49, PA60-78, PH42-44, ZE1-3

With the driver’s side complete, move on to the passenger side, before working on the rear seats and carpet. Although you have to be near a power outlet to use an electric washer, they are typically lighter, better for the environment, less noisy and will be powerful enough for the usual home and garden cleaning jobs. Nilfisk's entry level models tend to have more powerful motors and come with an aluminium pump head rather than a plastic one for durability. Pressure gauge: some more expensive models have a pressure gauge on the lance handle but, as the pump pressure doesn't vary, they're of little practical use.Ideally, you should arm yourself with a pressure-washer, but at the very least a garden hose with a spray gun extension. Variable fan-jet: also called variable pressure lances, these allow you to vary the force of the jet from a focused point to a broad fan. In terms of brand loyalty and how many people bought the same brand of pressure washer again, an impressive 73% of Karcher owners (sample size: 329) said they had versus 10% of Nilfisk owners (sample size: 52). While the initial wash should have done an adequate job, a specialist wheel cleaner will be able to remove stubborn brake dust and salt.

To choose the best pressure washer for you it is worth taking time to think about what you'll be cleaning, how dirty it will be and how often you'll use it. Fewer owners of Karcher pressure washers experienced faults within the first seven years of owning it - 8% said they had (sample size: 2,271) versus 16% of Nilfisk owners (sample size: 185). Toolstation has electric and petrol pressure washers, some of which are bundled with a patio cleaner.We’ll explain later how you can achieve a showroom shine, for which you will require a few extra items. If you have access to compressed air, use it to clean those hard to reach and awkward areas, such as beneath the handbrake, inside the seat rails and the seat seams. Nilfisk models are typically more lightweight compared to Karcher models. They are constructed with light materials to make them easier to move around.

Detergent tank: we found built-in but removable detergent tanks more convenient than bottle attachments in our tests. Next, spray the lubricant onto the surface, remove the clay bar from the water and place it on the paint.Dip the mitt or brush in the water and agitate the dirt, cleaning the face of the wheel, between the spokes and the rear surface of the wheel. Hoses lengths vary from three metres, which is too short to wash a car; to five metres, which is an adequate length for car cleaning. Some of the cheaper pressure washers come with fixed nozzles that don't allow you to vary the water pressure. Additional handles: some machines have a variety of handles that will make carrying it around while cleaning much easier. Fortunately, you’ll already have access to some of the items required for this stage, but a few will need to be acquired.