Vax, who are the number one brand in floorcare products have launched a range of pressure washers to compliment their floor cleaning products.
Kindly Vax sent us a VPW4 unit (pictured) to try out and review and we thought we’d give it a tough test. So, we gave it to the staff to wash their cars with which started a little marathon car washing session.
Sadly, we had to wait for a few days until the weather allowed us to test given the recent wet weather.
After they figured it out (i.e. actually read the instructions) setting up the pressure washer proved to be a really simple affair but, in the process they did manage to break a plastic trim off the body. That wasn’t really any concern as it was decorative only and, let’s just say that the troops were perhaps a little over enthusiastic to get going. Not a criticism of the unit at all.
After working it out and hooking the unit up they tested the full pressure washing and they all felt that the pressure wash was really good, especially considering that this unit is much cheaper than a comparable Karcher for example. It made a good dent in the muck on the cars.
The hose length turns out to be just right for this allowing you to move up and down one side of all the cars we tried, including a large SUV, freely and at a good working distance as well as reaching around to the rear without moving the unit from a few feet in front of the vehicle.
Once they got done with that they switched nozzles and hooked up the detergent. Again this is really simple and it’s a universal detergent that’s used which is stored in a bag. It’s a nice touch that the back has a little hoop on the back to hang onto allowing full freedom of movement whilst you use the detergent.
It worked. It worked really well actually and better than we thought it would fare especially on the road muck on the cars after the past few days of rain and gritting.
One of the staff members though has a Karcher washer at home and made the point that the Vax unit appeared to use a considerable amount less detergent but do just as good a job.
After that we moved onto using the car washing brushes which, in the kit we had, has two brushes included.
One brush is a static one with white bristles that feels quite soft but it is shaped in a way that allows you to get into tighter areas rather well. This seemed ideal for grills, spoiler areas and so on where there were more angled edges.
The other brush that we really liked was the rotary one that has a central area that moves using the pressure of the water which saves effort, we like that.
Not only was this likeable and saved effort but it also made a pretty decent job of cleaning the assorted cars.
There are a bunch of other tools as well that we didn’t get time to try out fully but from the limited time we had the break in the weather and daylight they seemed to work exactly as billed.
What impressed the most was the almost immediate pressure available, literally less than a second from pulling the trigger on the handle you get a huge blast of water jetting, it really is rather impressive for a domestic unit. Still more impressive when you consider the low price.
To sum it up we’d have to say that overall the performance is as close as to make no odds to more expensive units we’ve encountered and it’s a nice tidy package that’s dead easy to use and well thought out. the guys loved the winder for the hose that allows the washer to be stored in a remarkably small space and saves the hose from dangling around. the only thing that we didn’t like was that there is limited scope for storage for the accessories but, that’s a very minor niggle overall.
Our thanks to Vax for supplying the test unit and we’re really, really sorry we broke the plastic cover.
+++PRESS RELEASE+++
Vax pressure washers make the toughest outdoor cleaning jobs easy
The UK’s number one floorcare brand is taking its indoor cleaning expertise outdoors, with a range of powerful and durable pressure washers.
If you’ve ever tried to use your garden hose to shift stubborn dirt from your patio, car or shed you’ll know just how poor the pressure is, even using a spray attachment to concentrate the flow. Vax’s new range of pressure washers deliver up to 40 times the cleaning power of a garden hose spray attachment, so you can blast away stuck-on muck and mud in seconds.
As experts in indoor cleaning for over 30 years, Vax has produced outdoor washers that are both high powered and designed to last. For instance, the pump is a key component that’s particularly prone to stress, so everyday wear and tear can cause the pump on a standard domestic pressure washer to fail. All Vax pressure washers feature industrial-grade aluminium pumps to ensure they keep on delivering a brilliant cleaning performance, time after time.
There are four models in the Vax range, starting with the compact VPW1 Powerwash 1700, which is perfect for light tasks and smaller spaces, ranging up to the high performance VPW4 Powerwash 2500 – a heavy duty washer with an extra long 10m cable that’s designed to tackle the muckiest jobs with ease. All four models are lightweight, wheel-mounted and designed for easy transportation. They each come with a lance and jet nozzle to dislodge stubborn dirt from all surfaces, plus a higher pressure turbo nozzle to blast away embedded dirt from high traffic areas. The hand gun has an easy squeeze trigger and a built-in safety lock for easy on/off trigger release. A selection of add-on accessories is also available including a Car Kit and Patio Kit, which both feature specialist brushes designed to achieve the best finish on each particular surface
Vax pressure washers can be used for a whole host of different outdoor cleaning tasks, including patios, decking, sheds, fences, BBQs, stonework, masonry, garden tools, cars, bikes, boats, caravans and much more besides! The range is available from major retailers and direct from Vax.co.uk at prices starting from just RRP £69.99 for the VPW1 Powerwash 1700. For more information visit www.vax.co.uk or call the UK-based Vax Customer Careline on 0844 412 8455.