The best-performing pressure washers in our Ratings were versatile and efficient at cleaning a range of surfaces, from light, superficial cleaning to deep cleaning of concrete and other hard-to-clean surfaces. They also had plenty of power, a combination of pressure and water flow, and were easy to operate. Our recommendations, however, reflect more than performance. Consumer Reports believes that the most narrow setting of most pressure washers—the zero-degree, which concentrates a model’s full pressure into a single, pinpoint blast—is too hazardous for everyday use.