Bosch High Pressure Washer UniversalAquatak 135 - 1900 W, 135 Bar Pressure, 450 l/h Flow Rate, with 3-in-1 Nozzle, Detergent Nozzle, and Carrying Handle in Carton Packaging

Product Information

We recommend a minimum of 1200 PSI – or 83 Bar – to get the best results. At the high end, we suggest an upper limit of 2400 PSI – or 165 Bar. All of the products we review here fit within that power range. For older cars, classic cars, or cars that already have damaged paintwork we suggest using water pressure on the lower side in case a high pressure causes damage. There are lots of different models for different tasks as well as a range of attachments and optional extras available. These include:

We tested a range of pressure washers and pressure cleaners, putting them through their paces on a range of surfaces. They were assessed according to the following criteria with equal marks attributed to each: Handling. Looked at comfort, weight, balance and grip, including features like a safety button, the runtime, and noise. It’s hard to find fault with this power washer. If we had to be critical, perhaps this would come in the form of the use of artificial intelligence in creating all of its products, or at least assisting in reducing the amount of available jobs for humans. Simultaneously however, Bosch does seem to have considered this with the amount of associates it employs globally being just short of 400,000. The Sealey pressure washer has a low centre of gravity and can sit uprigiht on two bigger wheels or go down onto its other two smaller wheels, so it’s really easy to pull it around behind you. It doesn’t have as high a power output as some of the others here, but the cleaning performance is still perfectly good. There’s nowhere to rest the lance mid-wash, though, and then it has to be split up to be stored. Fan-, turbo- and angled nozzles are included, but we’d expect more attachments at this price.

Specific car cleaning attachments are also available, including angled tools for reaching beneath the body of the car and brushes to softly clean the bodywork.

Your final consideration will no doubt be whether you buy from a dedicated pressure washer brand – such as Karcher, Nilfisk, or Bosch – or a lesser-known brand. Well, with an ever-increasing number of manufacturers entering the pressure washer market, this decision is harder to call now than ever before. And you can forget the old rules of premium machines being supplied ready-to-use and only cheaper pressure washers requiring assembly. In this group, the Karcher and Nilfisk models required a fair amount of screwing together, whilst Wolf’s Blaster 4x4 came ready to go. That being said, this spring they were in a particularly bad state after a very wet and muddy winter where the garden and patio often resembled a paddling pool rather than a welcoming spot to sit outside. The weather had taken its toll on the paving slabs and the patio and garden path were in serious need of a good clean. The manual advises that once you've turned off the main switch, you should then operate the trigger to drain any remaining water from inside the high pressure hose. While budget brands are more likely to fit this price-tag, some mid-range manufacturers also offer a basic model:

Best Buy pressure washers at a glance

It’s easy to dismiss washing a car with a pressure washer as just being about convenience. But in many ways, pressure washing is the best way to revive your car’s appearance. For starters, using electricity to make the water work harder dramatically reduces the volume of water used, compared with traditional hose rinsing. So not only is less water wasted, but also your car’s hidden, slow-drying cavities will get much less drenched. And for blasting away the salt-rich dirt that clings on beneath sills or under wheel arches, a pressure washer is essential. A blast from a well-aimed lance will dislodge what a hose will simply dampen.

What we love about Bosch’s new addition to its power wash range is the thought put into all of the features. There is even an IoT cloud so that its customers can access all of its services across Bosch from a single cloud, similar to Google or the I-Cloud! I'll be upfront here and say that our patio has certainly seen better days! It's on the list to be replaced when we extend our house in the coming months, so the pavers are quite old and we haven't been the best at keeping on top of cleaning them. The paving is a chequerboard design of alternating red and yellow-toned slabs so having them covered with a slight layer of dirt actually helps to mask this awful colour combination! In the past we've used the good old-fashioned method of scrubbing the patio with a broom and water to give it a refresh after winter. For a standard car, a mid-range pressure washer should do the job. 4x4s that see a lot of heavy duty use, caravans or commercial vehicles may need a higher end model. All the pressure cleaners we tested are designed to clean cars and camper vans, as well as bikes when you’re out and about. You will need to keep in mind the run time and possibly charge more than once for larger vehicles. Don’t worry if you’ve not heard of this make of pressure washer: it’s Screwfix’s own brand, and the unit itself is really good. It seems well put together and is a sensible design, with a hook to keep the 6m hose coiled up when it’s not being used. It delivers decent pressure levels and you get a fan nozzle, turbo nozzle and a patio cleaner. It’s a straightforward, good-value, no-nonsense option. These mistakes are definitely down to user error, however, and not the pressure washer. I found the Bosch Universal Aquatak 135 pressure washer pretty simple to use. It's easy to set up, switch between modes and cleans a wide range of surfaces with ease. Additional features of the Bosch Universal Aquatak 135 pressure washer

The compact design of the pressure washer means it fits neatly into a corner of our garden shed and it doesn't take up much space. Handy when the shed feels like its bursting at the seams with garden tools, garden furniture cushions, the best pizza oven and a mass of children's garden toys.The handle folds down so it takes up less room and there’s also on-board storage for the power cable, lance and sprayer so it's easy to store everything together in one spot. It's also possible to buy extra attachments for the Bosch Universal Aquatak 135 pressure washer. These include things like a wash brush, car cleaning kit, a range of nozzles and an extension hose. When cleaning vertical surfaces, apply the detergent from bottom to top. When rinsing off, work from top to bottom. Finally, consider how water will drain away when you’re working and remember not to use a pressure washer in freezing temperatures. Once you've assembled the Bosch Universal Aquatak 135 pressure washer, you need to make sure that it's on level ground to ensure that it works correctly. Placing it on a paved area such as your patio, rather than on the lawn at the edge of the patio is the best option.