Yes, ladies and gentlemen, another product review. This time it's a pressure cleaner from Kärcher. Last week I bought a brand new lawn mower, but this week I had this urge to get a pressure cleaner/washer. And there's only one brand that comes to mind: Kärcher. When, back in my homeland, I used to work at a service station, I always used a Kärcher high pressure cleaner, be it for the carwash, wash boxes, or just generally everywhere around the pumps, the tiling, the outside of the shop. Basically anywhere that needs a good machine to clean thoroughly. Kärcher is the brand you need.
But they are also not cheap. You can get a simple and affordable high pressure washer for around £100, but the job I had in mind required power so intense, a simplistic machine would not be able to do the job. So I had to look at options. One of the options was to rent the cleaner. My good friend told me about HSS Hire. Seeing as I'm not from this country and not familiar with any renting outlets, I followed his advise. And the cost is quite affordable!
Buy the machine brand new, and the total price would be around £650 from the manufacturer directly. Or rent it from a rental source, like HSS Hire, for an affordable price. You can have the item for 1 day, for £22.50. An extra day? No worries, £9.38 extra. If you need it for a weekend, you can. £26.25. Or if you feel rather excited and need it for a week? £37.50. I did it for a week. The item is still in my garden, and boy, has it done the job well!
As you can see clearly from the images in the slideshow above, it has done the work brilliantly. And yes, before anyone gets upset, I know I have not followed the health and safety protocol. I was wearing standard trainers by Adidas, which are obviously now ruined for life. HSS Hire did provide me with 2 leaflets in regards to how to operate the equipment, and all the health and safety requirements. As I am as daft as a person can be, and me having experience in the past with Kärcher, I just went straight into cleaning the garden. With ruined sneakers as a result. Oh well, it was damn well worth it!
Setting the machine up was dead easy. Like, really easy. I can speak out of experience (15+ years of experience back in NL), but even if you were a newbie to this high pressure world, you can set this up quite easily. No tools required. The delivery was speedy and on time, and it came with everything I needed. And as you can see from the images above, I also paid for the cleaner and degreaser. I had to use the whole 5 litres just to get the garden back in 'normal' conditions.
The garden has not been done for donkeys years. So it needed a treatment. I planned this for many years, but always had issues, seeing as the house did not have an outside tap. But we found one, hidden away from the rest of the world. Hence why everything now went in quick mode: I can do now things I've been wanting to do for years! And cleaning the back garden was always a 'must do'.
Truth be told, it just had to be done. It had run its course, and it was kind of neglected. It wasn't filthy or anything, it was just dirty. We do live in the London area, and it could be coming from the sky? Could be pollution? It wasn't dark of colour because we BBQ nearly every week (I wish). It just happened.
The machine has a flow rate of 500 litres per hour, with an operating pressure level of 120 bar, max pressure being 175 bar. It is a hefty machine: with all the accessories attached it weighs around 25 kg. It's a big boy, but with weight you do get more power.
It does come with some safety features. You do obviously need to provide your own garden hose, and power supply cable (if required). The retractable small hose for the cleaning product is quite handy: when used, you just simply push it back into the machine, and it's out of sight. The handle bar can also be reduced in length: press the big yellow button on the top of the machine, and it will fall down with ease.
During the cleaning process of the garden I did made a mess of myself, and was covered in dirt from top to bottom. And as you can see from the images, my shoes were ruined. But still OK. The main question is: has the Kärcher done the job, and has it done it correctly? My answer to that is 'yes'. A big, fat, YES.
I won't comment on the whole process of ordering and returning the product to HSS Hire, seeing as the item is still here. But the ordering process was really simple, and easy. You might want to look at purchasing a cleaner yourself if you require it multiple times throughout the year and not only once. But if you only require it once every so often, you could simply just hire the item.
Speaking out of experience, I do know that the Kärchers always last a long time. They are expensive, but can take a beating. A proper beating. Sadly, when they do break, it's costly, but seeing as it was covered by my company, I didn't need to worry. I think that in 15+ years I only ever had to purchase a new cleaner, a few nozzle heads, and that's basically it.
Let's put down the pros and cons, and see if the product is worth the pennies...
CONS:
* Big bulky machine
* Expensive
* Widely used as a professional machine rather than used at home.
* Provided cleaning product didn't do much. Pressure washer did everything itself
PROS:
* Quality over quantity
* High pressure
* Quick assembly
* Quirky features, including retractable hose
* Free delivery if order via Kärcher directly
So, is the Kärcher worth the money? I would say yes. If you do require it more than once a year, I would purchase it directly from Kärcher (or look for other options). Or if that's too dear, and you only require the pressure cleaner once, go and see if you can rent it for a specific length of time, as long as the job requires you to use the machine.
The weight is an issue, but the machine comes with two wheels. I wouldn't say it's easy to manoeuvre, and you do need both arms to move it from a to b, but it is still operational, wherever you need it.
The garden looks like it's brand new, and has made me happier. But the wife, she has to judge it. And she has given it the thumbs up. Thanks Kärcher and HSS Hire. I will use them more in the future.
Maybe, and I use the word lightly, I might do the front garden path tomorrow? I need to see if my shoes have dried tomorrow. If not, hey ho, maybe another day.