Design and Features

• An unusually funky, big design
• Hose and cord could be longer
• Excellent stowage for hose and accessories

The Nilfisk Core 140 Power Control doesn’t look entirely like other pressure washers. Aside from its distinctive blue colour, and funkily Scandinavian design, its key feature is the large, round disc at the front. You’ll have guessed this is a hose reel, but it’s particularly well integrated. The high pressure hose remains connected to the washer, while the other end is held neatly on the front panel. It’s incredibly neat, entirely concealing the hose when it’s not in use.

The one dropped ball here is that the six-metre hose isn’t quite as generous as you might expect in a machine of this level. Similarly, the five-metre power cord might not prove ideal. Both are likely to be enough, but another couple of metres might have added a bit more versatility.

Talking of versatility, this pressure washer doesn’t come with a raft of extras. You get a long high pressure lance, onto which you can fit a choice of rotating jet wash nozzle, or a spray head. Unusually, this isn’t adjustable, but you can reduce its pressure via the machine’s four-position power level/off switch. There’s also a foam gun, useful for cleaning cars or generally throwing a lot of detergent around, but perhaps surprisingly this pressure washer doesn’t have an inbuilt detergent bottle.

Unlike some other manufacturers, Nilfisk doesn’t sell its pressure washers in bundles, and its accessories aren’t cheap. If you want a patio tool it’s £50, and the car brush is £40. There’s also a 15-metre pipe-cleaning kit for £50, which could be well worth it if your gutters or drains are prone to blockages.

Most pressure washers need a bit of assembly when they arrive, but the Nilfisk Core 140 Power Control is ridiculous. Owners who’ve just spent nearly £200 have to screw in its wheel mounts, front foot, lance holder, hose reel handle and the main handle. They’re not done yet; the wheels, wheel covers, hose reel handle trim and power flex holder all need clipping in too.

Once built this is the neatest pressure washer I’ve seen. Its lance clips into place on the left, where it merges with the overall design. There’s no sign of the hose, and the nozzles and foam bottle all clip discreetly in at the back. While there’s only one hook for the power cable, there’s a rubber strap to keep it in place. Even the nozzle blockage removal tool is clipped into place.

Overall, this pressure washer is big and distinctive, but incredibly tidy. It’s a great design, but I wish the main handle was telescopic or hinged – collapsing it would allow this washer to fit into a much smaller space.

Performance

• Great cleaning
• Useful power control
• Easy to prepare and pack up

This is such an easy pressure washer to get ready for use. You simply unclip the power cord, pull out the hose’s end, attach the lance handle, then clip on the nozzle you’re starting with. I began by cleaning the car, using the spray head and a middling power setting for an initial rinse. On this machine, you adjust power using the four-position on/off switch.

Next I attached the foam gun for a liberal bit of shampooing, before rinsing it off at lower power. There are graphics showing recommended power levels for various jobs near where the nozzles stow – a nice touch.

Next I moved onto the patio, attaching the rotating jet head and cranking up the power for maximum cleaning. I compared the Nilfisk Core 140 Power Control with five other pressure washers, two of which had dedicated patio tools, with each used to clean one stone slab on my patio. You can see the Nilfisk’s results in slab 7 below.

It doesn’t show in this photograph, but on very close examination the Nilfisk Core 140 Power Control seemed very subtly less impressive than the Stihl RE 100 Plus (8) and Husqvarna PW 235 R (3). My son and I had to keep moving around and trying different light to notice the difference, however, suggesting it was negligible.

In theory, it’s more hassle to have to return to the pressure washer’s body to change the power setting, but in practice I found it didn’t bother me. This washer wasn’t unduly loud on any setting, and its power use ranged from 1,052 to 1,421 watts in steady use – that’s some way below Nilfisk’s stated 1,800W. It’s good to have a choice of power, as low settings help prevent you stripping paint or damaging wood. They can also save power and water compared to full power blasting.

When done, it was easy and quick to pack the Nilfisk Core 140 Power Control away. It’s the work of moments to wind the hose back up and stow the lance and nozzles. With only one hook, stowing the power cord is a bit more fiddly, but the rubber strap keeps it in place once you’re done.

Should you buy it?

FAQs