Between the high-pressure cleaning of a pressure washer and what a hose nozzle can achieve, there's an emerging class of power tools: the power cleaner. The best electric cleaner for your needs can be a matter of highest stress, best value, or even just finding a cleaner that's compatible with the batteries you already have.
No matter what your top priority is, the key to achieving more than 1-star 5-star experiences starts with knowing what to expect. For example, if you need the power you need to clean decks and concrete, turn to our roundup of the best pressure washers.
Table of contents
- What is a powerful vacuum cleaner?
- Strong Cleaners vs. Pressure Washers
- What can you clean with a power vacuum?
- Overall Best Strong Cleaner
- Best Power Cleaner Value
- The best heavy-duty cleaners from more brands we trust
- Why You Can Trust Pro Tool Reviews
What is a powerful vacuum cleaner?
A power cleaner is a tool used to provide higher pressure than the hose itself or the nozzle can achieve. It consists of a small, battery-operated pump about the size of a pressure washer gun.
The best electric cleaner models can use a standard garden hose or a siphon hose (often included) to draw water into the system and have a multi-position swivel nozzle to choose the spray pattern you want. The ability to clean without a pressurized water source is a huge bonus!
Strong Cleaners vs. Pressure Washers
The first thing you need to know is that an electric vacuum cleaner is not a replacement for a pressure washer . Power cleaners typically have a pressure range of 300 – 600 PSI, while pressure washers have a pressure range of around 1500 PSI and can go over 4000 PSI.
Traffic is also limited. Our recommended model has a flow rate of approximately 1 gallon per minute. This is the low end of pressure washers. Just like a pressure washer, you get the highest water flow when you use the nozzle with the lowest pressure.
What a powerful vacuum gives you is moderate pressure, and it's less likely to damage surfaces (including your skin) it hits at its relatively low flow rate.
What can you clean with a power vacuum?
Power cleaners step in where a pressure washer is too powerful and could damage surfaces or cause injury. Here are some ideas. Let us know other ways you use your electric cleaner in the comments!
- Cleaning Wicker Furniture
- CAR WASH
- Clean Around the Pool Deck
- Clean up fallen birds
- clean windows
- Clearing Dirt From Mountain Bikes
- clean out your camping gear
- wash off muddy boots
Overall Best Strong Cleaner
DeWalt 20V Max 550 PSI Cordless Power Cleaner DCPW550
The DeWalt is near the top of the pressure food chain, with a 15° nozzle producing 550 PSI. Although there are other models in the same pressure range, what sets this model apart is that it uses a 15° nozzle to produce 1.0 GPM and can produce up to 2.2 GPM at lower pressures! That's more than double the water flow that everyone else has.
DeWalt took the unusual step of using a single nozzle instead of multiple nozzles, and included a nice option to store directly on the tool. You can get Turbo, 15°, 25° and 40°, plus a soap bottle. When you want to extend battery life, just flip the 2-speed switch to low.
By running on a 20V Max battery, DeWalt has hundreds of compatible tools that use the same battery, giving you access to its broadest line of cordless products.
If there's a downside, it's that this model is a bit heavier than most others at 7.4 pounds and has a 5.0Ah battery.
The DeWalt 20V Max Cordless Power Cleaner is our pick for the best power cleaner thanks to its higher pressure and flow rate and more professional design.
- Maximum pressure: 550 PSI
- Maximum Water Flow: 2.2 GPM
- Nozzle settings: 4 (independent nozzles)
- Overall Length: 40.5 inches
- Weight with battery: 7.4 lbs with 5.0Ah battery
- Price: $219 kit with 5.0Ah battery
Ryobi 18V One+ HP Brushless EZClean RY121850
Ryobi has come a long way with an HP brushless upgrade to its original EZClean electric cleaner. Most impressively, it's increased from 320 PSI to 600 PSI – the most power we've seen running off a single 18V/20V Max battery.
Although the nozzle only contains 3 settings, they are the most useful ones: Turbo, 15° and Rinse.
There's a lot to love about this setup, but it's even better with Ryobi's EZClean accessory.
- Chemical Nozzle Kit
- wash
- foam sprayer
- scraper
- Bottle adapter (for 2 liter bottles)
- expand
- Flexible Wand (Must Have!)
- Siphon extension
- Swivel adapter (another must have!)
If you need more convincing, it's part of Ryobi's extensive 18V One+ system. At $119 bare-bones or $159 kit with 4.0Ah battery and charger, it's our pick for the best value electric cleaner.
- Maximum pressure: 600 PSI
- Maximum Water Flow: 0.7 GPM
- Nozzle Settings: 3
- Weight with battery:
- Price: $119 bare, $159 kit with 4.0Ah battery
The best heavy-duty cleaners from more brands we trust
Craftsman V20 Cordless 350 Max PSI Power Cleaner Kit CMCPW350
When you compare the Craftsman's 0.5* GPM rating to the other models in this group, it's a bit misleading. It is calculated with the maximum PSI rating using the 15° nozzle, so if you use any wider nozzle setup, the flow rate will actually be higher.
The kit comes with 2 lengths of wands. The shorter one is designed for watering and the longer one has a quick connect for the 5-in-1 nozzle. You also get an extra soap bottle and a storage bag for easy storage. The kit comes with a 2.0Ah battery and charger, and it's compatible with the entire Craftsman V20 system.
- Maximum pressure: 350 PSI
- Maximum Water Flow: 0.5 GPM*
- Nozzle Settings: 5
- Weight with battery: 5.4 lbs with 2.0Ah battery
- Price: $149.99
Hart 20V Pressurized Car Cleaner HGPC011
Hart specifically labels its electric cleaner as a cordless car cleaner, but it's a relevant tool for any light-duty cleaning. Even so, Hart makes it attractive for cleaning your vehicle by adding a wheel brush and soap suds. Simply choose your favorite foaming car wash to soap your car, then attach the brush to the end of the wand to scrub your wheels without bending all the way down. This one will work with any Hart 20V battery.
- Maximum pressure: 320 PSI
- Maximum Water Flow: 0.8 GPM
- Nozzle Settings: 3
- Weight with battery:
- Price: $98 bare metal
Kobalt 600 PSI Rubber Pressure Washer Spray Gun Kit KPC 2040-06
Available with 600 PSI, Kobalt's electric cleaner is one of the most powerful options around and a good addition to its 40V lawn care tools.
Including a 5-in-1 nozzle and soap applicator along with standard accessories, it's a steal at under $150. The downside is that it's not a battery system compatible with Kobalt's 24V cordless power tools, but you may find several lawn care products to add.
- Maximum pressure: 600 PSI
- Maximum water flow: 0.8
- Nozzle Settings: 5
- Weight with battery: 5.3 lbs
- Price: $179 kit with 2.0Ah battery
Worx 40V (2x20V) PowerShare Hydroshot Portable Power Cleaner WG644
When we reviewed Worx's original cordless Hydroshot electric cleaner, we knew that if people only knew what it was designed to do (and what it wasn't), they'd be blown away. A few years later, one tool turned into a complete product line, becoming the most successful brand in the electric cleaner field.
Of the options available, the WG644 is a good balance of price and performance at 450 PSI and 0.9 GPM. Here's another 2-speed model, this time using two 20V batteries combined to provide 40V of power. These 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, ditching the turbo nozzle in favor of 0°.
- Maximum pressure: 450 PSI
- Maximum Water Flow: 0.9 GPM
- Nozzle Settings: 4
- Weight with batteries: 6.63 lbs with two 2.0Ah batteries
- Price: $179.99 kit with two 2.0Ah batteries
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