Pressure Washers
Every machine decision on one page: which one to buy, how to run it, and what to do when it stops.
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Pressure washers · selection, use and repair guide
A pressure washer is chosen by flow rate and duty cycle before it is chosen by brand: litres per minute decide how fast a surface comes clean, and duty cycle decides whether the machine survives a full day of it. This page is the map — each section answers one decision and links to the guide that goes deeper.
- 28 in-depth guides
- 239 machines & parts in stock
- 6 brands covered
Which machine fits the job
Match the machine to the hours it will run, not to the dirtiest job it might ever meet.
Occasional driveway work and a machine running six hours a day are different purchases even when the PSI figures look similar. Start with how often it will run and who will run it, then let flow rate set the model, then choose the drive type.
Start here
How to Choose a Pressure Washer for Commercial Cleaning
The selection order for a machine that works for a living.
Choose
Choosing the Best High-Pressure Cleaner for Your Needs
A shorter version if you already know the job.
Buy
How to Choose the Best Pressure Washer for Your Needs in Australia (Buying Guide + Maintenance & Safety Tips)
What to check before you compare two quotes.
Detailing
How to Choose a Pressure Washer for Car Detailing in Australia
Lower flow, softer tips, and why PSI is the wrong headline.
Brand
Karcher Pressure Washers in Australia: Which Range Actually Fits the Job?
Which Karcher range maps to which workload.
Electric, petrol, diesel or hot water
The site usually decides this for you: no power point means petrol, indoor use rules out exhaust, and baked-on grease rules out cold water.
Where a machine will be used in food production, transport or plant maintenance, hot water is not a luxury — it is the difference between lifting oil and spreading it. Wall-mounted units trade portability for a fixed footprint, which is the right trade if the machine never leaves one bay.
Compare
Electric vs Petrol Pressure Washers for Commercial Cleaning in Australia
Duty cycle matters more than the fuel type.
Compare
Diesel vs Petrol Pressure Washers: Which Suits Commercial Work?
Where diesel pays for itself, and where it does not.
Compare
Hot Water vs Cold Water Pressure Washers for Commercial Cleaning
The only reliable way to shift grease and oil.
Compare
Cold vs. Hot Water Pressure Cleaners: Which Is Right for Industrial Use?
A second look at the same decision, with costs.
Fixed vs mobile
Wall-Mounted vs Portable Pressure Washers for Commercial Cleaning
Fixed footprint or a machine that travels.
What pressure and flow you actually need
Pressure breaks the bond; flow carries the dirt away. Between two machines, the higher litres-per-minute usually cleans faster.
This is the most common buying mistake. A 3,000 PSI unit at 8 L/min will outrun a 4,000 PSI unit at 6 L/min on flat surfaces, and pressure also has a ceiling that matters more than the number on the box: past the point the surface tolerates, extra pressure only adds damage and injury risk.
Nozzles, hoses and accessories
The accessory decides whether the machine's rating reaches the surface at all.
A machine that feels underpowered is often a machine wearing the wrong nozzle, a worn tip or an undersized hose. Read the compatibility notes before ordering, because a fitting that looks right and is one size out will fail under pressure rather than at the bench.
Nozzles
Pressure Washer Nozzle Guide: Choosing the Right Spray Tip and Orifice
Tip angle and orifice size, and what each one is for.
Hoses
Pressure Washer Hose and Fitting Compatibility Guide for Australian Buyers
Match the fitting before you match the length.
Tools
Surface Cleaner vs Pressure Washer Nozzle: Which Tool Suits the Job?
When a surface cleaner beats a bare lance.
When it stops working
Four faults cover most of it: it will not start, it loses pressure, it cuts out, or it surges. Each has a safe check order.
Work from the cheapest cause outward, and stop at anything involving the pump or the electrical supply if you are not qualified to open it. Most of these symptoms come back to water supply, air in the line, a clogged inlet or a worn seal, roughly in that order.
Fault
Pressure Washer Won’t Start? A Safe Troubleshooting Guide
Will not start — electrical and fuel checks first.
Fault
Why Does a Pressure Washer Lose Pressure? A Step-by-Step Diagnosis
Losing pressure — diagnose in a fixed order.
Fault
Why Does a Pressure Washer Keep Cutting Out? Electric and Petrol Causes
Cutting out mid-job, on both drive types.
Fault
Why Does a Pressure Washer Pulse or Surge? Causes and Safe Checks
Pulsing and surging — usually air or supply.
Maintenance
Pressure Washer Pump Maintenance Checklist for Reliable Commercial Use
The checklist that stops the pump failing early.
Storage
How to Winterise and Store a Pressure Washer in Australian Conditions
Frost, storage and the seals that pay for neglect.
Working safely
High-pressure water jetting is a regulated workplace hazard, and the injuries it causes are injection injuries rather than cuts.
For commercial work the controls are documented rather than optional: PPE, a safe operating procedure, keeping bystanders out of the jet path, and never using a finger to test for a leak.
Cleaning specific surfaces
Every surface has a pressure it tolerates and a technique that stops it being marked.
Concrete takes far more than timber or rendered masonry, and the damage usually appears after the job rather than during it — joint sand washed out of pavers, a deck fuzzed at the grain, a wall streaked where the nozzle was held too close. Read the surface before choosing the tip.
Concrete
How to Pressure Wash a Driveway Without Damaging the Concrete
Driveways, and the marks that never come out.
Pavers
How to Clean Pavers with a Pressure Washer Without Removing Joint Sand
Keeping the joint sand where it belongs.
Timber
How to Pressure Wash a Timber Deck Safely Without Damaging the Wood
The surface most often ruined by pressure.
Exteriors
How to Pressure Wash Building Exteriors Safely: A Commercial Cleaning Guide
Walls, render and cladding on a commercial job.
Technique
How to Prevent Streaks When Pressure Washing Concrete and Paved Surfaces
Why streaks appear, and how to stop them.
Timing
Seasonal Pressure Washing in Australia: Roofs, Houses & Outdoor Areas
What to clean, and when, through the year.
More in this cluster
Everything else filed under this topic.
Shorter and older pieces that fill in the corners of the topic above.
Shop the range
Electric, petrol, diesel and hot-water machines, plus the nozzles, hoses and lances that go with them. The Karcher collection and the B.A.R pressure washer range are the two largest brand groupings.
Browse pressure washersAccessories & sparesFrequently asked questions
Is a higher PSI always better?
No. Flow rate cleans faster than pressure, and past the limit a surface tolerates, extra pressure adds damage and injury risk rather than results. Match the tip and the flow to the surface first.
Electric or petrol for commercial work?
Electric where there is power and the work is indoors or noise-sensitive; petrol or diesel where there is no power or the machine has to move between sites. Duty cycle decides more than the fuel type.
Do I need hot water?
For grease, oil and food-production soils, yes. Cold water at high pressure spreads oil rather than lifting it. For mud, dirt and general grime, cold water is sufficient.
Can I use a pressure washer on a deck or painted surface?
Only with the right tip and distance. Both are damage-prone, and the technique for each is covered in the surface guides above rather than by turning the pressure down and hoping.