Under
pressure.
After
an entire summer of the kids running amok, Test Pit Towers is
something of a shambles. To blast away all the dirt and mess,
especially in the garden, we needed something with power,
versatility, and - above all – gadgets and accessories. Thankfully
our mates at Kärcher
suggested we try one of their solutions to get the home clean and
tidy for the autumn. We test the Kärcher
K4 Full Control Home Pressure Washer.
This all-in-one package features pretty much every add-on you could ever possibly need for cleaning around your home. The complete unit is compact, is set on wheels, has clips and slots for most of the included accessories, and features a telescopic handle that can be pulled out of the top side. Moving it around is great, and there is never a tangled wire issue as both hosepipe and electrical cable have a home.
As
with all pressure washers, the emphasis is very much on your patio
and decking, but it can also be used to hose down your car as well.
That's something we weren't initially bothered about, as nothing is
more fun than whacking on a pressure washer at full power and
drenching your patio, right?
Well,
it isn't that Kärcher have
taken the fun out of power-hosing, it's just that they've made it a
lot simpler, and quieter too. We were at first intrigued by the the
T350 attachment head, a fairly chunky bit of kit that doesn't have a
place to slot onto the pressure washer itself (unlike all the nozzle
heads and wires). It clips onto the end of the lance and distributes
the flowing water through multiple smaller nozzles, letting you cover
more area of a patio or deck must faster. Using it meant that our
relatively small patio was clean within minutes, quite unlike the
half an hour it has taken with other pressure washers in the past.
The
T350 can also be used vertically to clean walls and fences, as it
features two nicely gripable handles to be lifted up and pressed onto
the desired surface. It isn't too heavy in itself, but hoisting it up
on the end of the lance would probably be too much, so it's a nice
little design quirk from Kärcher
there.
With
the wider T350 head off, you have a choice of two other nozzles; the
Vario Power and the Dirt Blaster (which is also the name out of next
band). Both can be adjusted and controlled by the trigger gun grip,
where you'll find LED indicators showing what level of pressure and
water focus you have selected. Twist the Vario Power spray lance, and
the pressure will alter, meaning you can change the setting without
stopping and without fiddling with tricky control buttons.
Also
included was a bottle of Plug and Clean Kärcher
detergent. We must admit to never having bothered with detergent in
pressure washers before, but it makes a huge difference, at least
with the Kärcher K4 Full
Control Home Pressure Washer. The bottle conveniently drops into the
top slot of the washer, and drip feeds the hose, regulating itself.
With it added to the spray, the quality of the clean was amazing, and
Kärcher assure us that the
surfaces will stay that way for longer. Makes sense. Once the
included bottle is done, just twist to unlock it and grab yourself
another. From what we can tell, a few days after the wash of the
patio, it really is worth it.
As
we said, it was quite a subtle job all round, and Kärcher
seem to have built something that won't be annoying your neighbours
as you use it. The motor is also water-cooled, which reduces heat
wear over time, so hopefully this thing will be keeping your garden
clean for many years to come.
The
Kärcher K4 Full Control Home
Pressure Washer is all about speed and convenience. Set up literally
takes a couple of minutes because everything you need to get blasting
is right there on the unit itself. And jobs that used to take you
hours will now be slashed, especially when using the T350 head on
larger areas. It's powerful, reliable, and cleverly assembled. Big
win here, so check it out.
£279.99