If you need to clean that deck, garden furniture, outdoor rugs, garden walkways, etc. then a pressure washer may be just what you need. I had the good fortune to test the Yard Force Electric Pressure Washer (YF1800LR). It’s a powerful beast that’s packs a lot of features and oomph into a small package.

OPENING THE PACKAGING

The unit came in a standard cardboard box with pictures of the pressure washer on virtually all sides of the box. There was no mistaking what was inside. Upon opening the box I found the unit came fully assembled (with a few exceptions, more to follow later). There was no damage to the unit due to the robust cardboard packaging and bubble wrap to protect the top of the pressure washer.

There is nothing I like better than finding any piece of gear fully (or almost fully assembled) when it arrives in a box. I loathe having to assemble complicated gardening products with a gazillion little parts and pieces that could be lost or installed incorrectly. I understand that shipping costs mandate a lot of things being boxed as pieces, but I sure do prefer products coming assembled.

The pressure washer was fully assembled – with a few minor exceptions

INSTRUCTIONS AND MINOR ASSEMBLY

The instructions that came with the Yard Force Electric Pressure Washer were very well written. There were step-by-step instructions in a multipage booklet that included lots of illustrations and covered everything from setting up the unit, to operation, maintenance, trouble shooting, and warranty info.

Also attached to the unit was a laminated placard that detailed a quick setup guide on one side and a maintenance and storage guide on the other. These were some of the best instructions I have seen in a gardening product power tool manual.

The laminated placard came with quick assembly and maintenance instructions

The unit as a whole came almost fully assembled. The only things that needed assembly were to put a two-piece water wand together, attach this wand to the pressure hose, and attach two crank handles to the spooling coils. It couldn’t have been simpler.

Two handles had to be inserted into the electrical and pressure hose reels

The spray wand came in two pieces and was easy to assemble

EASY TO USE

I’ve owned gasoline-powered models and I can say without a doubt that the Yard Force Pressure Washer (YF1800LR) is a real winner in my book. There was no need to add gasoline (thereby reducing it’s carbon footprint, gas smell and exhaust), nor is there the constant sound of an engine running when I stopped washing for a few seconds or minutes.

The pressure washer also has a nice feature of shutting off when you’re not actually spraying with it. Only when I pulled the water wand trigger did the motor run. That’s a really nice feature for noise conscious neighbors and myself as well.

Dirt and mold were no match for the Yard Force Pressure Washer (YF1800LR)

GFCI AND THERMAL OVERLOAD PROTECTION

A GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) is installed to protect the operator from inadvertently shocking themself (like accidentally spraying the power outlet coming from the house, using the pressure washer in the rain, if the electrical cord to the pressure washer becomes damager or frayed and bare wires are exposed, etc.).

The thermal overload switch is another great water pump safety mechanism built into the pressure washer. It essentially shuts down the pressure washer if no water is getting to the pump; this prevents the pump from overheating/burning up.

I was so excited to use the washer for a second time (to clean a bird bath) that I forgot to turn the water on to the pressure washer. Only a small amount of water (what was left in the pressure hose) came out at full pressure. I could hear the motor strain, then it shut off via the thermal overload. The Yard Force product development team and engineers really thought this one through. Like me, many homeowners and DYIers will probably forget to turn the water on at some point or other. So instead of trashing a pump (and the unit) you’re protected from doing so by the thermal overload switch. Once I turned the water on to the pressure washer, it fired right up with no damage to the pump.

The GFCI protects the operator from possible shock situations.

SPECIFICATIONS:

PERFORMANCE

I own a gasoline-powered pressure washer that delivers 2700 PSI. That’s in a different class than electric power washers. But I must admit, I was impressed with the cleaning power of the Yard Force Electric Pressure Washer YF1800LR. It blasted through mold on the garden walkway, cleaned a birdbath fountain, powered through dirt and grime on outdoor rugs, and stripped paint from an old outside bench with ease.

The Yard Force pressure washer cut through mold with ease

Algae on the birdbath was no match for the Yard Force Pressure Washer

The left side of the rug was cleaned by the pressure washer, the right side was not

Other things I like are the roll up power cord and high-pressure water line. It makes for compact storage and the reels have ample room on them to wind up all the power cord and water pressure hose.

The integrated reels in the unit have plenty of room for electrical and water pressure hoses

OTHER NOTABLE FEATURES

I like that it has just enough power without getting into the more industrial heavy-duty pressure washers. And it’s a heck of a lot lighter, has no gasoline to deal with, and no high pressure hoses to coil up (like a garden hose) after use. Everything is self-contained in this one compact unit.

The ergonomic layout of the entire unit is well thought-out. It has a collapsible towing bar that can be folded down parallel with the body of the unit (making for easy storage). There’s also a nifty handle for picking up the entire unit if you have to lift it over a structure or move it where the wheels won’t roll very well (like soft sand or super rocky ground).

A lifting handle makes it easy to move the entire unit without using the wheels

The On/Off buttons are right on the front of the machine for easy reach and are color-coded accordingly (red for stop, green for start). And the spray and soap nozzles are easily reachable on the front of the pressure washer right next to the On/Off button.

The ergonomics of the unit are well thought out with the On/Off buttons near the different spray nozzles

There’s also an integrated nozzle-cleaning needle (with a nice red thumb/finger tab) that inserts into a hole in the top of the pressure washer, near the lifting handle.

A nozzle-cleaning needle is integrated into the unit

Also notable is the chemical dispensing nozzle and chemical reservoir. Alongside the two pressure washing nozzles (in the front of the machine) is a nozzle specifically designed to pump detergents and cleaners. This nozzle does not exert high pressure like the 15⁰ and 40⁰ nozzles that come with the unit, rather it’s a light spray that sucks up the cleaner/detergent from an internal reservoir built into the unit.

The chemical nozzle has a wide opening to disperse liquids

A low pressure spray emanates from the chemical nozzle, similar to the spray and pressure of a garden hose

The reservoir and nozzle worked perfectly to pump whatever detergent/cleaner I chose to use. One nice feature of the chemical reservoir is the sight window that’s integrated into the side of the pressure washer unit. This was an excellent way for me to see how much soap I had pumped and how much remained.

It should be noted that only non-corrosive chemicals should be used with a pressure washer. Look for specially formulated cleaners/detergents that are labeled for pressure washer use.

Reservoir tank built directly into the unit with a nice sight window

There is a storage compartment at the back of the unit for placing other items like the pressure wand.

The built-in storage bin is a handy place to store the pressure wand

Another thing I like is that the unit runs on 13 Amps of current, meaning that it can be run from any standard 15 Amp circuit in your house. There’s no need to have a dedicated 20 Amp circuit to run this pressure washer.

One more goodie that comes with the YF1800LR is a “turbo nozzle”. This produces a rotational spray pattern that is ideal for faster cleaning. The interior of the spray cone is closer to 1⁰ and it fans out to spray a pattern similar to somewhere between a 15⁰ to 40⁰ nozzle. You need to be careful using a turbo nozzle since the interior spray pattern is closer to 1⁰. This can damage wood and other softer surfaces if you’re not careful. But when time is a factor, using the turbo nozzle reduces time by about 50%. I just had to be careful how close I held the nozzle to area to be cleaned. When holding it just above moldy surfaces it worked wonders. It is also flexible enough to blast off paint, and even clean wooden furniture. It all depends on the distance you hold it from the surface to be cleaned. With a turbo nozzle, err on the side of placing the nozzle a little bit farther away from the object to be cleaned.

The turbo nozzle helped with cleaning with less pressure

SAFETY

Clearly marked on the side of the pressure washer are safety icons:

• wear safety glasses (I like these from Wiley-X )
• never spray:
  • electrical outlets
  • people or pets
  • in rainy weather
  • flammable liquids

CUSTOMER SERVICE

I didn’t have any problems with the pressure washer, but if I had, there were plenty of places on the shipping box packaging and the instruction manual where I could find the number (or computer contact information) to contact Yard Force customer service. It appears that they really want to make it simple for their customers to get in touch with them in the event of a problem.

WARRANTY

Yard Force offers a two year limited warranty on the pump and motor against defects in materials and workmanship, for residential use only. Commercial use voids the warranty. The product warranty is non-transferrable and the original owner must keep the original purchase receipt for any warranty claims.

RECOMMENDATION

This is one of the best (if not the best) non-commercial pressure washers I’ve tested to date. From its easy-to-understand instructions to the ergonomic design, the self-contained reels that hold the power cord and high pressure hose to the great cleaning performance, to the power to weight ratio to the small details like the nozzle cleaning needle and the included turbo nozzle, every part of this power washer works flawlessly. As the company’s name implies, the Yard Force Electric Pressure Washer (YF1800LR) is a Force to be reckoned with. I highly recommend this pressure washer.

WHERE TO BUY

The Yard Force Electric Pressure Washer (YF1800LR) is available from Amazon Prime for $159.99, Lowes for $159.00, Sears for $179.99, and Pressure Washers Direct for $179.00.

Yard Force Electric Pressure Washer (YF1800LR)

This is one of the best non-commercial pressure washers I’ve tested to date.

See it on Amazon