Sitting between the high-pressure cleaning of a pressure washer and what you can achieve with a hose nozzle sits an emerging class of power tools: the power cleaner. The best power cleaner for your needs may be a matter of the highest pressure, the best value, or even just finding one that works with the batteries you already have.
No matter what your top priority is, the key to having more of a 5-star experience than a 1-star experience starts with understanding the expectations. For example, if you need the power required to clean decks and concrete, head on over to our best pressure washer roundup instead.
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What is a Power Cleaner?
A power cleaner is a tool used to deliver higher pressure than you can achieve with a hose by itself or with a nozzle. It contains a small pump powered by a battery and is about the size of a pressure washer lance.
The best power cleaner models can use either a standard garden hose or siphon hose (usually included) to pull water into the system and have multi-position rotating nozzles to select the spray pattern you want. The ability to clean without needing a pressurized water source is a huge benefit!
Power Cleaner vs Pressure Washer
The first thing you need to understand is that a power cleaner does not replace a pressure washer. Power cleaners typically range from 300 – 600 PSI, whereas pressure washers start around 1500 PSI and can exceed 4000 PSI.
The flow rate is also limited. The models we’re recommending have flow in the general neighborhood of 1 gallon per minute. That’s on the low end for a pressure washer. Like a pressure washer, you get the highest water flow when you’re using the lowest pressure nozzles.
What a power cleaner gives you is a medium pressure that’s much less likely to damage surfaces it hits (including your skin) with a relatively low flow rate.
What Can You Clean with a Power Cleaner?
Power cleaners step in where pressure washers have too much power and might damage surfaces or cause injury. Here are a handful of ideas. Feel free to tell us about other ways you use a power cleaner in the comments!
- Cleaning wicker furniture
- Washing a car
- Cleaning up around a pool deck
- Washing bird dropping off the dock
- Cleaning windows
- Knocking mud off your mountain bike
- Cleaning off your camping gear
- Washing off muddy boots
Best Power Cleaner Overall
DeWalt 20V Max 550 PSI Cordless Power Cleaner DCPW550
DeWalt is near the top of the food chain for pressure with 550 PSI coming from the 15° nozzle. Even though there are others in the same pressure range, what sets this model apart is that it does 1.0 GPM with that 15° nozzle and can produce up to 2.2 GPM with lower pressure! That’s more than twice the water flow that others have.
DeWalt takes the unusual step of using individual nozzles instead of a multi-nozzle and includes a nice selection that stores right on the tool. You get Turbo, 15°, 25°, and 40°, plus a soap bottle. When you want to extend your battery life, just flip the 2-speed switch to low.
By using a 20V Max battery for power, DeWalt keeps you on their most extensive cordless lineup with hundreds of compatible tools that use the same battery.
If there’s a downside, it’s that this model is a bit heavier than most of the others, weighing 7.4 pounds with a 5.0Ah battery.
Thanks to its higher pressure and flow rate along with a more professional design, the DeWalt 20V Max Cordless Power Cleaner is our choice as the best power cleaner.
- Max Pressure: 550 PSI
- Max Water Flow: 2.2 GPM
- Nozzle Settings: 4 (individual nozzles)
- Total Length: 40.5 inches
- Weight with Battery: 7.4 pounds with 5.0Ah battery
- Price: $219 kit with 5.0Ah battery
Best Power Cleaner Value
Ryobi 18V One+ HP Brushless EZClean RY121850
Ryobi made significant progress to their original EZClean power cleaner when they gave it the HP Brushless upgrade. Most impressively, it moved from 320 PSI to 600 PSI—the strongest we’ve seen using a single 18V/20V Max battery for power.
While the nozzle only includes 3 settings, they’re the most useful ones to have: Turbo, 15°, and Rinse.
There’s a lot to love about the setup, but it gets even better with Ryobi’s EZClean accessories.
- Chemical nozzle kit
- Wash brush
- Foam blaster
- Squeegee
- Bottle adapter (for 2-liter bottles)
- Extensions
- Flexible wand (must-have!)
- Siphon extension
- Pivoting adapter (another must-have!)
And if you need more convincing, it’s part of Ryobi’s extensive 18V One+ system. At $119 for the bare tool and $159 for a kit with a 4.0Ah battery and charger, it’s our pick as the best value power cleaner.
- Max Pressure: 600 PSI
- Max Water Flow: 0.7 GPM
- Nozzle Settings: 3
- Weight with Battery:
- Price: $119 bare, $159 kit with 4.0Ah battery
Best Power Cleaner From More Brands We Trust
Craftsman V20 Cordless 350 Max PSI Power Cleaner Kit CMCPW350
Craftsman’s 0.5* GPM rating is a little misleading when you compare it to the other models in the group. It’s taken alongside the max PSI rating using the 15° nozzle, so if you use any of the wider nozzle settings, the flow will actually be higher.
The kit comes with 2 wand lengths. The shorter one is specifically for watering and the longer one has a quick connect for the 5-in-1 nozzle. You also get a bonus soap bottle and a handy storage bag to keep it all in. The kit comes with a 2.0Ah battery and charger, plus it’s compatible with the entire Craftsman V20 system.
- Max Pressure: 350 PSI
- Max Water Flow: 0.5 GPM*
- Nozzle Settings: 5
- Weight with Battery: 5.4 pounds with 2.0Ah battery
- Price: $149.99
Hart 20V Pressurized Vehicle Cleaner HGPC011
Hart bills their power cleaner specifically as a cordless vehicle cleaner, but it’s a relevant tool for any light-duty cleaning. Even so, Hart made this attractive for cleaning your vehicles with the addition of a wheel brush and soap foamer. Simply pick your favorite foaming car wash to soap up the car with and attach the brush to the end of the wand to scrub the wheels without bending all the way down. This one works with any Hart 20V battery.
- Max Pressure: 320 PSI
- Max Water Flow: 0.8 GPM
- Nozzle Settings: 3
- Weight with Battery:
- Price: $98 bare tool
Kobalt 600 PSI Rubber Pressure Washer Spray Gun Kit KPC 2040-06
With 600 PSI available, Kobalt’s power cleaner is one of the strongest options and a nice supplement to their 40V lawn care tools.
Between including the 5-in-1 nozzle and soap applicator along with the standard accessories, it’s pretty compelling for less than $150. The downside is that it’s not a battery system that’s compatible with Kobalt’s 24V cordless power tools, but you may find there are several lawn care products you’d like to add to go with it.
- Max Pressure: 600 PSI
- Max Water Flow: 0.8
- Nozzle Settings: 5
- Weight with Battery: 5.3 pounds
- Price: $179 kit with 2.0Ah battery
Worx 40V (2x20V) PowerShare Hydroshot Portable Power Cleaner WG644
When we reviewed Worx’s original cordless Hydroshot power cleaner, we knew they were onto something big if folks just understood what it was designed to do (and not do). Several years later, one tool turned into an entire line in what has to be the most successful brand when it comes to power cleaners.
Among the available options, the WG644 balances price and performance nicely with 450 PSI and 0.9 GPM. It’s another 2-speed model, this time running on two 20V batteries to combine for 40V of power. Those 20V batteries are compatible with all 20V Worx tools and lawn care products.
The 4-in-1 nozzle offers 0°, 15°, 25°, and 45° nozzles, forgoing a turbo nozzle in favor of the 0°.
- Max Pressure: 450 PSI
- Max Water Flow: 0.9 GPM
- Nozzle Settings: 4
- Weight with Battery: 6.63 pounds with two 2.0Ah batteries
- Price: $179.99 kit with two 2.0Ah batteries
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