olivia_moore•1mo agoProlific Poster

Got a $200 pressure washer from Costco and it barely cleaned my driveway

I bought a cheap electric pressure washer last month thinking it would save me money, but it took me three hours to do what a gas one could do in 30 minutes. Anyone else have better luck with a specific brand around here?

3 comments

3 Comments

linda_dixon491mo agoMost Upvoted

Those electric ones just don't have the same punch for concrete stains and grime... you really need something with higher PSI and flow rate to get the job done quick. Gas models are louder and heavier but they save you so much time on things like driveways and patios. Maybe look into renting a commercial one for a day if you don't want to buy a whole new machine.

linda1141mo ago

Take a look at how people treat tools these days. Everybody wants something lightweight and quiet but nobody wants to admit that sometimes you need a machine that's built to work hard, not just sit pretty in a garage. It's like the same pattern with lawn mowers or shop vacuums, people grab the cheapest plastic model and then wonder why it chokes on a few leaves. Gas pressure washers are loud and heavy because they're actually doing the job instead of pretending to. We've traded durability for convenience in so many things and it shows when something real needs cleaning. Renting a commercial unit for a weekend makes way more sense than buying an underpowered toy you'll regret every time you pull the trigger.

williams.sage1mo ago

Wait, wait - hold up. Three hours? You spent three hours cleaning a driveway with a $200 machine? I mean, I get that Costco has good deals but that's just painful to think about. I got a gas model a few years back and even that takes me about 45 minutes for my two-car driveway with all the oil stains and moss buildup. I can't imagine standing out there for three whole hours listening to that little electric motor whine. My neighbor tried one of those electric Karcher units and gave up halfway through his patio because the thing kept overheating.