Woot : One Day, One Deal (SM)

Electric power washers are useless. I have a stronger urine stream.

The name Karcher won't always get you a bad product - I've had my Karcher pressure washer for over 3yrs no problems(bought it refurb'd from Big Lots)...however it is powered by an awesome Honda gas engine. I watched my older neighbor make a futile attempt to use his electric Karcher to clean his vinyl siding and it took forever and didn't do a complete cleaning. Electric pressure washers and mowers should not be manufactured.

. . . I have this idea to repurpose the Karcher pressure washer as a high-powered, industrial-strength, superhygienic bidet.

pressure washers are really useful, but as a physician, this woot writeup was especially wince-provoking.

this link

bt.cdc.gov/disasters/pressurewasherinjury.asp

is worth reading, especially if the thought of incorporating a pressure washer into next halloween's "zap the trick-or-treaters" display crossed your mind.

a pressure washer hitting skin is really very, very dangerous. a 1750 psi spray in the area usually cleaned by a bidet could very easily be fatal. the phrase "don't try this at home" comes to mind.

to see some really, really ugly results of pressure washer injuries (and please DON'T click if you've got a weak stomach) you can click here.

Soapie0 wrote:See? I didn't even know you were supposed to put oil in it. Would some guy take pity on me and tell me what the heck I'm supposed to get to pressure wash my brick house and white columns and have it kick butt and last us?

I have one similar to this. I use it to clean my deck each year. If you put bleach in the dispenser it might do the job for your columns and brick. Might.

If I were you I would purchase one from costco, home depot, sam's, walmart, ect. someplace local with a good return policy. Try it and if it works, keep it. If not, return it.

You won't be saving enough money here to risk it not working. Spend the extra $50 for a good return policy.

It's only $85. Everyone needs one.

Soapie0 wrote:Okay, I trust you guys. But, at that price we could get both the china cabinet and the pressure washer. We've never bought one and my DH told me to research it and find the one we need. What do we need? I'm just looking for a pressure washer that kicks butt and blasts the "mildew" look off the house. I like that this one had soap. Do they all have soap? Do they all have attachments?

Any reccommendations for a clueless wife whose husband assumes she can find anything on the Internet. I can! I found you guys who are going to tell me what to look for and what to do - right, guys?

You might want something like this

It has nozzles, soap injector, it's gas, Honda engine, bells, whistles, and it's relatively inexpensive for a Honda gas-powered pressure washer.

used one of these in a screen print shop daily for my entire 9 month stint there. (ended three months ago) it was there and pretty well used when i started. it ran easily 3+ hours per workday, and never missed a beat until i left the job and is still running today i'd imagine. i will say there was a broken identical one sitting around that this one was replacing. but it did the job washing ink from screens, also at shooting out images from the emulsion. i'd definitely recommend one for daily use, especially in a screen print shop, as i've seen other shops still using mineral spirits in safety-cleen bin - ugh!

Crab wrote:Electric pressure washers are, in general, a bad idea. We had one (different brand) and it just didn't get the job done. Broke down and got a gas one. You get more juice with gas. Plus, there's no electrocution concern (remote though it may be). And a gas engine will last longer than an electric motor.

Good deal for the (very) infrequent user, who only has small jobs, but IMO I'd spring for gas.

The longest lasting industrial pressure washers are electrically driven when possible.
northerntools have examples of electric pressure washers that will outlast any engine driven one-but they cost as much as gas ones and the more powerful ones require 230v.

faughtey wrote:A bidet with super powers, everyone needs one!

Thank you for the wonderful comment on canines!
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion. - Unknown

Sorry woot, but if you want a pressure washer, the only way to go is gas powered... at least as far as I've seen.

sounds like a piece of junk

is this good enough? for the price?

jwallpe wrote:1) I never ever read the stories before the specs, as they are usually a waste of time. For some strange reason I did this time. I recommend it (this time). Nice twist there at the end. Had I been drinking milk, it would be on my computer screen.

2)I love pressure washers. Use em all the time. 90% of the time, not only are the electric ones sufficient, but they are so much easier (no maintenance) than the gas ones. Plug em in, add H2O and go. Those saying that the electric ones don't work at all are just being dumb. Used improperly, this is strong enough to take paint off of metal or ruin your siding.
But the gas ones are twice as powerful, so if you are really trying to take the paint off metal, or trying to clean large areas with a stubborn problem like algae or moss, and don't have all day, it will make your life easier to get a stronger one. Remember the stronger the spray, the more damage you can do too. The gas ones can take your skin off. Really. And it hurts. Ask my brother. (IN my defense I told him several times to get the h3ll away from me);-)

For washing your car though, or spraying off your deck or garage. These are more than adequate.
Karcher is a respected brand, but not the absolute best. Somewhat above the real cheap ones, though. If I needed one, I would buy it, Well worth $100-120

yes the electric are easier to maintain, but gas is not too hard to maintain either. lets see some pros and cons shall we? In my expierence:

Electric:
Pros: lightweight, cost less, can clean alittle, easy storage, not as loud. anything else?

Cons: Electrical cords (limited to distance and they tangle), poor power, vibrates and rolls away from you while in use, plastic (drop it, it cracks, OOPS)

Gas:
Pros: high powered, can move it anywhere, doesnt move away from you, doesnt crack, has different bits for soft (white), medium (yellow), or high (red) pressure, can remove paint, oil stains, grease stains, (im not gonna list every stain), it can even blow the weeds out of the cracks in your driveway.

Cons: oil, gas, heavy, loud, engine gets hot, more expensive.

i miss anything?

DSM3000gt wrote:You might want something like this

It has nozzles, soap injector, it's gas, Honda engine, bells, whistles, and it's relatively inexpensive for a Honda gas-powered pressure washer.

Looks nice, but I didn't want to spend more than $300 and as always, we Wooters want the best for the least $$! ;)

duckcake wrote:Yes all pressure washers can have soap added to them. Yes they all have attachments. to get mildew off your house, i would suggest a gas powered 2500 PSI one, just be careful if your house is painted though because having it too close will take off the paint, but too far will just be a mist.

Edit: If you have a brick house it wont matter how close you are. and you might wanna use a 3000 PSI one to make your house look cleaner

My house is mostly brick with the very top of the second story having siding. Siding comes colored all the way through, right? You know what I mean. It's not paint. But the siding is mildewy, too.

BTW, what causes this? We built this house. We've lived here five years, had it professionally pressure washed once and it's already all greenish blue again - what can I do to help prevent the growth of mildew on my house?

DSM3000gt wrote:Here is a cool guide to Pressure Washers

Very cool, thanks! I bookmarked it.

Soapie0 wrote:My house is mostly brick with the very top of the second story having siding. Siding comes colored all the way through, right? You know what I mean. It's not paint. But the siding is mildewy, too.

BTW, what causes this? We built this house. We've lived here five years, had it professionally pressure washed once and it's already all greenish blue again - what can I do to help prevent the growth of mildew on my house?

Yeah don't worry it wont take off the siding color if its colored all the way through. Mildew grows on brick and concrete because of moisture and temperature conditions, basically humidity... moisture sticks to the brick and molds there. cant really do much about it other than washing it from time to time sorry.

omnipotentq wrote:I really need one of these to clean my porch...but the reviews don't look so good. Anyone got a better suggestion for a good pressure washer?

Actually Karcher came out tops in light duty power washers in several reviews I read\

http://www.consumersearch.com/pressure-washers
I have one of these (warning you need a 20 amp breaker or it will pop the breaker once you turn up the pressure) and a craftsman. They are both good for washing the crud off your house, car, boat... etc. But no it won't peel off paint from your car, it will peel old crumbling paint off your house. And get an extended warranty from squaretrade. Because they breakdown at least once in your two year warranty, and they will fix or pay your $79 back.
They are made in China, what do you expect?
The Craftman is the best though. Its $180 though. And I think it's made in Mexico or Taiwan... hehe

duckcake wrote:eww ive used one of these, the PSI leaps into the vacuum, itll get the surface dirt off but nothing else.

Well, woot told us what their target market for this thing is... I guess I'm not surprised. Enjoy.

TaylorConsulting wrote:I have one of these bad boys, had it for about three years now. I use it to pressure wash my concrete around the house and it seems to do a fine job. Lots of pressure.

Same here, still works great for me. Used it recently to strip an old fence bare in order to re-stain it.

I have had this for 3 years and I think it works like a charm. Have not had one problem with it. It makes my deck sparkle, and I have a HUGE deck.

Bought one from Woot last year...stopped working after first use. Terrible design and cheap construction. Also, get's bad reviews..save your money. Why do you think these ones are "refurbished"...Folks who bought them at retail returning them and now being sold by Woot!

mohavemarv wrote:Thank you for the wonderful comment on canines!
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion. - Unknown

Thanks for noticing it!

Soapie0 wrote:See? I didn't even know you were supposed to put oil in it. Would some guy take pity on me and tell me what the heck I'm supposed to get to pressure wash my brick house and white columns and have it kick butt and last us?

I had/have one of these, but not this exact model/mfg. I didn't know about the oil either. But I found out. they consist of a motor and a high pressure pump. The motor didn't require oil... but I later discovered, in the fine print, that the washer needed to be stored with oil in the pump. I didn't do that and it only worked well ONCE. Even though the pump was mostly brass, it seized up big time, from using it once and not oiling it before storing it. That being said, it did work well when I used it, and by once, I really mean I used it for a bunch of chores right after getting it, before putting it away. I washed a couple of cars and cleaned siding. After putting it away for the season, and it not working when I pulled it out again, I took it apart, and cleaned and lubricated it. It still didn't work. (it would run for a few minutes before tripping a breaker.) I poured oil in the pump and let it sit for a week. Then it worked pretty good... until the hose started to leak, and sprout 'mini geysers' all along its length. So perhaps they may work if properly maintained, but who knows? This Woot price is less than I spent, and must be pretty good. I checked Harbor Freight's site and the cheapest one they list is $100, and that one appears to be inferior to this one. The one from H.F. is only 1600 psi, and has fewer attachments.

I'm passing on this one. I'll eventually buy a gas one, or rent one If I really need to in the mean time.

Soapie0 wrote:Okay, I trust you guys. But, at that price we could get both the china cabinet and the pressure washer. We've never bought one and my DH told me to research it and find the one we need. What do we need? I'm just looking for a pressure washer that kicks butt and blasts the "mildew" look off the house. I like that this one had soap. Do they all have soap? Do they all have attachments?

Any reccommendations for a clueless wife whose husband assumes she can find anything on the Internet. I can! I found you guys who are going to tell me what to look for and what to do - right, guys?

I bought a Karcher from Sam's Club this Spring. I have used it about once a week through this entire summer and have really enjoyed it. The electric pump option does not supply you with the psi that gas models will. That being said, not all applications require extremely high pressure. I use mine mostly for washing my mower and things such as that. My model is the 1800 psi variant, and it was perfect for prepping my wood porch for staining (about 1000 sq. ft).

If your husband spends a great deal of time outside doing your home and garden chores, an electric pressure washer such as these is a great tool to have. You will want a more powerful gas model for applications such as concrete and larger wood decks, but they can be rented. I have both, and hopefully always will, but if I had to choose, this seems to be a good price. I have not had any problems with my unit, but I do see there are some folks out there that seem to have had some issues. My guess is that if you steer clear of using standing water and always connect to a hose, you should not have any problems.

For what it's worth... I bought three.

Total POS. I brought a two month old one in for repair and the guy looked up from the desk and said HA! So-and-so, you owe me 10 bucks, number 10 just walked in!

1) I never ever read the stories before the specs, as they are usually a waste of time. For some strange reason I did this time. I recommend it (this time). Nice twist there at the end. Had I been drinking milk, it would be on my computer screen.

2)I love pressure washers. Use em all the time. 90% of the time, not only are the electric ones sufficient, but they are so much easier (no maintenance) than the gas ones. Plug em in, add H2O and go. Those saying that the electric ones don't work at all are just being dumb. Used improperly, this is strong enough to take paint off of metal or ruin your siding.
But the gas ones are twice as powerful, so if you are really trying to take the paint off metal, or trying to clean large areas with a stubborn problem like algae or moss, and don't have all day, it will make your life easier to get a stronger one. Remember the stronger the spray, the more damage you can do too. The gas ones can take your skin off. Really. And it hurts. Ask my brother. (IN my defense I told him several times to get the h3ll away from me);-)

For washing your car though, or spraying off your deck or garage. These are more than adequate.
Karcher is a respected brand, but not the absolute best. Somewhat above the real cheap ones, though. If I needed one, I would buy it, Well worth $100-120

orbax1 wrote:costco sells a good gas model. You can rent em for like 50 bucks a day as well if you don;t want to spring for the costco one.

This person is correct. I've been using the costco "workhorse" brand for a year now in home repair/remodeling and it keeps going and going. My wife loves it too. She was sort of scared of it at first but after 1 minute never went back to the electric. $269 with a 5 tips and 5 year warranty. If you've got room to store it you wont be sorry.

capjones bought one of these at Costco and is quite happy with it. The "Vario Power Spray Wand" is brilliant. Haven't used the other one...

(again, helping the Woot-discussions-summary-page-guy out =)

bryan1436 wrote:I don't think an electric power washer would require oil; they probably had a gas one.

I worked at a car wash, and now at a shop with the same brand of pressure washer. All were electric, all used oil to lube the pumps (3 pistons in these models) that force the water thru the wand. I can only assume that all pressure washers would need lubrication for their pumps, gas, elec. or hydraulic. If it leaks the oil, it's a breakdown not waiting long to happen (probably why they broke down so much).
BTW you've all bummed me out. I really wanted this before reading the reviews.
Edit: I'm gonna get one anyway. I've convinced myself its Achilles heel is excess wear from oil leak, and I can fix that

I own one of these. They are good for cleaning but not stripping paint or oil off concrete or brick. You can use them to clean oxidation off wood decks or fences but you have to get real close to them so the spray is about 2 or three inches wide. With pressure washers the GPM number is probably more important than the psi number. I've prepped my fence for staining with this model and it took a few days. I borrowed my neighbors gas model and it took a few hours. They are good for washing cars, grills or plain dirt off sidings.If you store this in a garage or shed where it could get below freezing make sure every last bit of water is out of them or the plastic parts will crack

omnipotentq wrote:I really need one of these to clean my porch...but the reviews don't look so good. Anyone got a better suggestion for a good pressure washer?

Looking for a more reliable, cheaper, stronger alternative? Go to your local lawn care shop and rent one for the day.
They even service them if anything goes wrong - usually while you wait, since it's a local business!

My first ever comment but have to say this is a piece of scaffolding leaked bad then shookapart and died

MRBOZODCLOWN wrote:My first ever comment but have to say this is a piece of scaffolding leaked bad then shookapart and died

anyone else think saying all this bad stuff about this (im guilty of it too) is not helping woot sell these? and they'll just end up in the next wootoff?

Karcher is an excellent brand that also makes high end machines. Unfortunately this is the bottom of the line and therefore basically a cheap toy. Save up and buy a gasoline model with at least six h.p. and 3000 psi at about $350 if you really want the power to pressure wash anything at all. On the other hand if you mated this thing with that Iroomba you got last time it would make an excellent unit for flushing cats out from under the couch.

Used one for two years, had to constantly work on it, everything is cheap plastic, for the price not bad,

I bought one of these 4 years ago. My favorite use: making it snow to ensure a White Christmas! Yes, if the temperature is less than 32, set it for wide mist mode(i.e. not stream) and spray it into the air. It's a smaller version of the ski resorts snow machine. Surprise the kids this year and let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Twice bought at Lowes - twice broke and returned. It is a waste of time.

omnipotentq wrote:I really need one of these to clean my porch...but the reviews don't look so good. Anyone got a better suggestion for a good pressure washer?

If you insist on getting an electric one at 1850psi, this seems to be doing the job fine for around the pool.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200380041_200380041

If you're willing to spend a little more you can get a gas 3000psi.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200381527_200381527

Notice these are refurbished. This often doesn't bother me, but when I hear of problems with mass returns, I don't want to get the same thing everyone else already returned.