Author Topic: Worx cordless (battery) power washer - anyone tried it?  (Read 3808 times)

Offline Dr Mike Oxgreen

  • GTI forum regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 171
I keep seeing this advertised on TV, and keep thinking that it looks (potentially) as though it could be useful during the winter months for giving the car a quick rinse to get rid of some of the crud that winter invariably creates when one can't really be bothered spending hours in the freezing cold giving it a proper wash.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WORX-WG629E-1-Cordless-HYDROSHOT-Portable/dp/B01NAN12FW/ref=sr_1_4?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1543915509&sr=1-4&keywords=worx+power+washer

I know that it's way below the power of a proper power washer, but it's better than a hose and mains water pressure can manage, and I keep wondering if it would be any use as a snow foamer.

Has anybody used one?

Offline dubber36

  • Forum addict
  • *
  • Posts: 5,536
Re: Worx cordless (battery) power washer - anyone tried it?
« Reply #1 on: 13 December 2018, 10:10 »
Do the job properly or leave it alone. A half arsed washed car can look worse than a dirty one.

When your paint is well protected, dirt sitting on it won't do any harm. It's more important to keep the underside crud and salt free, which this machine won't be any good at.
Red Mk6 gone replaced with a white Mk7 which has gone too. Green Mk2 here to stay.

Offline Dr Mike Oxgreen

  • GTI forum regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 171
Re: Worx cordless (battery) power washer - anyone tried it?
« Reply #2 on: 13 December 2018, 13:16 »
I'm not sure that you've understood my original post.

I'm not advocating this as an alternative to a "proper" power wash, snow foam, citrus pre-wash, rinse, blow-dry regime, rather as an alternative to using a mains pressure hose and shampoo when time or climate dictate that a quick wash is preferable to no wash at all.

I don't intend leaving my car to accrue layers of salt-laden crud over the winter before I can give it a complete nut-and-bolt restoration in the Spring.

I have all of the equipment to undertake a full day-long wash and detail, but not the inclination to spend all day in freezing weather to undertake the task.

My Worx kit has arrived, but I have yet to find the time to try it out, and the actual temperature outside is hovering around 1c, so it won't happen today.  I'll let you know when I've had a chance to use it.

Offline Dr Mike Oxgreen

  • GTI forum regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 171
Re: Worx cordless (battery) power washer - anyone tried it?
« Reply #3 on: 17 December 2018, 15:30 »
I finally managed to try this out, as the temperature today struggled above 7c, which is my cut-off point for car washing.

I bought the attachment for using a drinks bottle (I used a two litre mineral water bottle) which worked quite well, but needed to be refilled to allow me to rinse the whole car, including the wheel arches.  Connecting the washer to a hose appeared to give a little more pressure, and I experimented with the adjustable nozzle, which is useful, and put some snow foam concentrate in the shampoo dispenser.  This produced a somewhat watery foam, which didn't "dwell" particularly well, so I might experiment some more with this.  The results made me think that it would work well with a citrus pre-wash, though.

It's powerful enough to remove some, but not all, of the grime adhering to the paint, but it's better than mains pressure.

The device works as a portable light-power jet wash, so it would be ideal for something like mountain bikes as it produces enough pressure to deal with mud that hasn't dried and caked on.  At 10bar it's never going to produce as much power as a mains pressure washer, but then it's not intended to be used as one.  The big attraction with the Worx kit is its portability and for that, and the fact that it's more powerful than mains water pressure, I'm quite happy with it.

Offline Dr Mike Oxgreen

  • GTI forum regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 171
Re: Worx cordless (battery) power washer - anyone tried it?
« Reply #4 on: 13 March 2019, 15:39 »
A quick update: the power washer came into its own yesterday when, having parked carefully in a slightly wider bay in the far corner of Waitrose car park, I returned to the car to find that a herd of pigeons had amused themselves by crapping all over the bonnet.

I got home, put the shopping away, loaded the 2-litre mineral water bottle (for which I had bought the special attachment) with water, and blasted the cack away.  A quick dry with a microfibre, and an application of Carnauba wax, and all was well.  Took about ten minutes.

Offline Jim_mk7.5

  • I live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,388
Re: Worx cordless (battery) power washer - anyone tried it?
« Reply #5 on: 21 March 2019, 16:29 »
That's a decent outlay compared to K2 Karcher.....   :shocked:

Winter maintenance wash takes me an hour tops. Snow foam, rinse, hand wash with warm water, rinse, dry with Aquawax. Done. Nitrile gloves every time. Moving round the car so quick not enough time to get cold. 
NOW - 330e M Sport
GONE - 2018 Mk7.5 GTI Performance 5dr DSG, Tungsten Silver, 2017 Mk7.5 GTI 5dr DSG, Indium Grey