Electric vs. Gas Pressure Washers

Are you ready to give your home or commercial property a major clean up? As the start of a renovation project, no other action could be more appropriate. In many cases, a “fixer-upper” property is one that has quite a few flaws for you to deal with. This may well include the appearance of the building, both inside and out. One type will be best for jobs that require raw power, another will be best for jobs that need finesse.

A pressure washer is definitely ideal for all sorts of cleaning tasks. There are two different kinds of pressure washers. One is the traditional gas pressure washer. The other is the more modern electric pressure washer. Both have specific benefits that deserve to be examined in more detail. Let’s have a look at the benefits of using both types of pressure washers as well as what situations suit them the best.

What Are the Benefits of Using an Electric Pressure Washer?

There are many benefits associated with using an electric pressure washer. For one, electric pressure washers do generally tend to be more efficient than the traditional gas models. They can average up to 2000 PSI and sometimes closer to 2500. While this isn’t quite what a gas-powered model can do, it does tend to use far less energy in the process, thus costing you a great deal less money in the end.

As a result, if you are looking to use a pressure washer for extremely demanding jobs, this may well be the correct model for you to invest in — provided you are a bit more patient and don’t expect the overwhelming burst of power that a gas-powered model can deliver.

Your patience will be rewarded in the end with the ability to perform certain tasks, such as detailing your car, that require a bit more finesses than a gas-powered model may be able to deliver.

There is also the fact that electric pressure washers tend to require a great deal less general maintenance. Once you have chosen a model to purchase, you can put it right to work. There are no extra expenses, such as having to pay for gas and oil to keep the machine running. There are also a great many less moving parts that may eventually require replacing.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Gas Pressure Washer?

Perhaps the most obvious benefit that comes with using a gas pressure washer is the ability to summon up a great deal of PSI in a hurry. The average gas pressure washer can deliver anywhere from 3000 to 4000 PSI. That’s a lot of power to bring to bear on jobs that require a burst of sheer brute power to loosen up longstanding grime and dirt.

There is also the fact that you will generally tend to use a gas pressure washer for much heavier duty type of jobs than you would the electric model. This means that, on average, you will probably use it less often since these types of tasks, such as blasting years’ worth of caked dirt and mold off the chimney or walls of your home, are a bit rarer.

It is true that the need to periodically purchase oil and gas for this type of pressure washer will drive up your maintenance costs. However, when you stack these costs against the fact that a gas pressure washer will get certain types of jobs done faster and with a lot less effort, the money you spend on operating it won’t seem quite as excessive.

When Would It Be Better to Use an Electric Pressure Washer?

An electric pressure washer is a great machine to use on all kinds of different surfaces. You can use it to detail your car, touch up your pavement or driveway, spray out your gutters, or a thousand other tasks. The fact that this type of pressure washer costs less, in the long run, to run means that you will find yourself making use of it on a far more regular basis than you would a gas-powered unit.

When Would It Be Better to Use a Gas Pressure Washer?

A gas pressure washer is usually meant for heavy-duty jobs. This means tasks like blasting dirt and grim off exterior office or home walls. It also means cleaning up grungy garage floors or pavements that haven’t seen a cleaning in decades. The tougher and more resistant the grime, the more likely it is that you will need to use a gas pressure washer. It’s simply more powerful than an electric pressure washer.

Should You Buy a Gas or Electric Pressure Washer?

In the end, the choice will be up to you. Gas pressure washers do tend to pack more power. As listed above, it’s a difference of 3000 PSI as compared to 2000 PSI. You should also note that gas pressure washers tend to be a better fit for jobs that entail a good deal more heavy-duty action, such as exterior walls and extremely dirty pavements, garage floors, or driveways.

However, there is also the fact that electric pressure washers tend to cost less. There are far fewer parts that will need to be serviced or replaced. And electric pressure washers can be used on jobs that require less sheer power and more pinpoint accuracy. If you are a homeowner on a budget, an electric pressure washer will usually cost much less to purchase and maintain – you can check out some of our favorites at TEH if you’re interested in finding the perfect model.

The most logical thing to do at this stage would be to compare and contrast these different points before you come to your final decision. Whether you decide on a gas or electric pressure washer, one thing is clear. You can be sure that you will be getting a high-quality machine that can easily clean up your building and raise its both its level of attractiveness and its ultimate resale value.