Karcher have been at the forefront of power washer and pressure cleaners for years, yet I’ve never reviewed one, until now. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been thoroughly testing the Karcher K4 compact pressure washer; blasting patios, concrete, decking and dirty cars in the name of science.
In the box
– K 4.600 MD Base unit
– Quick clean Hose and Gun Vario Lance
– T250 Patio Cleaner
– Plug & Clean Detergent System
– Full Instructions
– 0.75 inch Garden Hose adaptor
Getting Started with the Karcher K4
The box is well packed and the K4 arrived in tiptop condition. Removing it from the box wasn’t the usual faff either and I soon had the box contents laid out on the ground. A myriad of paperwork is provided and includes dedicated manuals for the washer and patio cleaner. I didn’t read these in the first instance of course; and set about putting together the hose, lance and other tools on/stored the K4.
Next I wheeled it to my patio, got my Hoselock hose and plugged it into the machine. I was then ready to put the K4 through its paces on a 20 year old patio that has only ever been swept but never ‘cleaned’.
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The T250 locks in place and has an overlaid sheath to keep it rigid whilst in use. Adding this to the K4’s handle attachment is therefore easy as you like. I then slipped the detergent suction pipe into the supplied detergent bottle and merrily began cleaning my very dirty, and slippery, patio slabs. Below you’ll find a demonstration of how the dirt blaster lance and T250 patio cleaner works.
Other Tools
The Dirt Blaster lance is great for removing built up and ground on dirt, but I didn’t feel confident using it on my car as the pressure is immense. Instead I opted for the vario lance, which offers both low and high pressure water with a quick turn of the lances head. Again a picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s a gallery to show the results and my thoughts.
Final Thoughts on Karcher K4
The Karcher K4 compact was easy to setup and comes equipped with the most important tools from the Karcher range. Most importantly these tools are easy to use and perform as described, my only real gripe is that the long reach lance cable can be a tad cumbersome when it comes to storage (apparently they do have an optional storage hanger for this though).
At £189.99 it isn’t the cheapest around, but you certainly get a great product for your money. I can’t fault it for medium to heavy home use and have big plans for mine (cleaning conservatory, cars, driveway, engines etc). As always I’d love your input, so comment and ask questions below.
I think this is what I’ll get for my husband/wife/son/dad/,… a new Pressure Washer! I loved the explanations here and thanks so much for your articles. Now I need to choose one of them. the hardest job still. I’ll see what he likes.
Hi Richard in the video when youre cleaning the concrete it rips off that dirt/grime quite easily.. did you find the pressure was adequate for other jobs like cleaning a cobblestone patio or front steps?
Yes, quite surprised at the ease it cleaned up. I've used it on Tarmac to good affect as well.
Hi Richard,
I can't believe that you easy to take down dirt quite easily in concrete.