This page is about the machine. A bottle of patio cleaner will not wash a terrace. The product you can buy in the UK right now for most slabs is a mains Kärcher K4 or K5 Home kit: a tap-fed washer plus a T 5 head. The head steers the water. The pump does the work.
People searching this phrase often land on chemical concentrates or a clip-on disc sold on its own. If you already own a K-series washer, you need the head, not another pump. That is the live Kärcher patio cleaner page. If you own nothing, you need the washer. That is this page.
Specs come from Kärcher. Street prices come from Screwfix, ITS, Trafalgar, Wickes, GO Outdoors and comparison sites on 17 August 2026. B&Q was down this check. It is not a lab test.
If you click through and buy, we may earn a commission.
A cordless 18V brush is a joint-weed tool, not a patio washer. The Ryobi RY18PCC spins a wire wheel through moss in the pointing. Useful. It will not strip green film off the face of the slab. Do not buy one instead of a K4.
If there is no outdoor socket, start with the cordless pressure washer guide. A battery gun will rinse furniture. It will not match a tap-fed K4 on a winter terrace.
Quick picks
Best overall
K4 Power Control Flex Home
From about £210
130 bar, 8 m Flex hose, T 5 and stone cleaner in the box. The patio washer most UK yards should start with.
Best big patio
K5 Power Control Flex Home
From about £330
145 bar, 500 L/h, 10 m hose, T 5 included. The kit if the terrace is long and green.
Best if you already own a washer
Kärcher T 5
From about £55
280 mm hood, K2 to K7. Buy the head, not a second machine.
Best for corners
Kärcher T 7 Plus
From about £75
Edge jet and rinse, K4 to K7 only. Buy it if the T 5 already lives in a Home box.
Comparison table
| Model | What it is | Pressure / flow | Hose / width | Typical UK price (17 Aug 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K4 Power Control Flex Home | Washer + T 5 | 130 bar, 420 L/h | 8 m Flex | PriceSpy from £209.99. Amazon listing live, UK buy-box not locked |
| K5 Power Control Flex Home | Washer + T 5 | 145 bar, 500 L/h | 10 m Flex | Amazon from about £330 on snippets. Bare Flex £340 at ITS |
| T 5 (2.644-084.0) | Clip-on head | Uses the washer | 280 mm | Trafalgar £55. Screwfix £58.99. Wickes £79 list |
| T 7 Plus (2.644-074.0) | Clip-on head, K4 to K7 | Uses the washer | 288 mm, edge jet | Trafalgar £74.99 |
Prices checked 17 August 2026. Home and Car & Home are different SKUs. Confirm the T 5 is in the carton before you add one separately. The class argument is on K4 vs K5. This page is which box to take home for the slabs.
Kärcher K4 Power Control Flex Home
The best pressure washer for a patio if you do not already own a mains washer
- Buy: Amazon Home listing (UK buy-box not locked this check; PriceSpy from £209.99) · Viking Direct £219.99 excluding VAT on a 2+ deal, £229.99 excluding VAT for one · Kärcher UK Home
- Part number: 1.324-304.0
- Pressure / flow: 20 to 130 bar, 420 L/h
- Hose: 8 m PremiumFlex
- Motor: 1.8 kW, water-cooled
- In the box: K4, G 160 Q Power Control gun, Vario, dirt blaster, T 5, 1 L stone and façade cleaner
- Who it is for: a typical UK terrace, a path, and the odd car, if you have a tap and a 13A socket
This is the honest patio washer for people who do not own a machine. The box is a 130 bar pump plus a T 5 plus detergent. You are buying a washer that also washes a car. The head is the extra, not the product.
Do not then add a second T 5. Retailers will happily sell you one. The kit already has it. The dirt blaster in the box is for stubborn spots the hood will not face. It is not for the whole patio. That is how you get stripes and splash.
Eight metres of Flex hose is enough for a typical terrace if you park the trolley at a corner. It is not enough to stand still on a long side return. Bare Flex without the head is £199.99 at Screwfix. If you already own a T 5, buy that SKU. Washer-only notes sit on the cars page and the Kärcher hub.
A K2 Home box usually includes a smaller T 1, not a T 5. Fine for a balcony. Not a patio machine. That comparison is K2 vs K4.
Skip it if you already own a working K4 or K5. Buy the T 5 on its own. Skip it if the patio is large, north-facing and filthy. That is the K5 kit.
Kärcher K5 Power Control Flex Home
The kit if the patio is big, or you also have a long drive
- Buy: Amazon Home listing from about £330 on current snippets, no featured offer locked this check · Kärcher UK (page 404’d on fetch this check, still in search) · bare Flex at ITS £340 including VAT, in stock
- Pressure / flow: 20 to 145 bar, 500 L/h
- Hose: 10 m PremiumFlex
- Motor: 2.1 kW, water-cooled
- In the box (current Flex Home): K5, Power Control gun, Vario, dirt blaster, 10 m Flex hose, T 5, 1 L stone cleaner
- Who it is for: a large or green terrace, a long hose run, or one machine that will also do a dirty drive
Same T 5 as the K4 kit. The upgrade is water volume and hose, not a better patio head. 500 L/h rinses a 30 to 40 m² terrace faster than 420 L/h. Ten metres means you park the machine once.
The extra bar is for algae and block, not for getting closer to the pointing. Used on a wide setting under the hood, it is the right class for a neglected UK patio. Used as a pencil jet along a mortar joint, it will blow the sand out.
If the bare Flex is £340 and a T 5 is £55, buying them separately is about £395. A Home kit at £330 is then a saving. A Car & Home kit at £480 (ITS Flex Car & Home, listed this check) is a luxury. Shop the live total. GO Outdoors still prints the bare Flex at £340 retail and £299 for members. That yellow box was out of stock on 17 August 2026.
Skip it if the only hard surface is a 3 × 4 m yard. The K4 Home is enough. Skip it if you already own the washer. Add the T 5, or the T 7 Plus if you want the edge jet.
Kärcher T 5 T-Racer
The everyday head if you already own a K2 to K7
- Buy: Screwfix £58.99 · Kärcher Centre Trafalgar £55 · Wickes £79 list this check, has been on offer at £54 · Kärcher UK
- Part number: 2.644-084.0
- Compatible with: K2 to K7 Home & Garden
- Working width: 280 mm
- Who it is for: anyone who already owns the washer and wants even, low-splash cleaning on slabs and paths
Two flat jets sit on a rotating arm under a hood. The hood is the point. A dirt-blaster lance throws grit up the wall, over the dog and through the kitchen door. This keeps most of that water on the stone.
The jets can be set closer to, or further from, the surface. Hard York stone and concrete want the closer setting. Decking and painted timber want the higher one. A K2 will spin it and feel thin on a green terrace. If the washer is a K2 and the patio is the main job, buy a K4 Home kit, not a £55 head on a weak machine.
Full compatibility, older T 350 leftover stock and kit mistakes sit on the Kärcher patio cleaner page. Use that page when you already own the pump.
Skip it if you do not own a Kärcher. It will not clip onto a Bosch or Nilfisk. Skip it if a Home kit is already in the basket.
Kärcher T 7 Plus T-Racer
The edge-and-rinse upgrade, K4 to K7 only
- Buy: Kärcher Centre Trafalgar £74.99 including VAT · Kärcher UK
- Part number: 2.644-074.0
- Compatible with: K4 to K7 only
- Working width: 288 mm
- Who it is for: K4, K5 or K7 owners with a large patio and a lot of wall, steps or raised beds
Same rotating twin-jet idea, slightly wider hood, more weight. The extra is a front power nozzle. A foot switch fires it into corners and along the house wall, then a rinse jet pushes loose dirt off. That is the job the T 5 leaves for a lance.
It will not run on a K2 or K3. If your machine is a K2 Home, this is the wrong accessory. Do not buy both heads on day one. Use the T 5 for a season. If the leftover strip along the wall annoys you, add this.
Skip it if the washer is a K2 or K3. Skip it if the patio is a small square and the T 5 is already in a Home box.
Joints, chemicals and the Ryobi brush
A patio has two dirt problems.
- The face. Algae, traffic film, barbecue fat. That is the washer and the T 5, plus the stone cleaner in a Home kit if you want it. Trafalgar has the 1 L 3-in-1 stone cleaner at £8.80.
- The joints. Weeds, moss, sand that has gone green. A spinning hood will not pick that. A dirt blaster along the joint will blow the pointing out.
The tool for joints is a brush, a knife, or a dedicated 18V patio brush. Ryobi’s current wire-brush model is the RY18PCC-0: £84.99 on sale this check, £94.99 list, bare tool, any 18V ONE+ pack. The 2.0Ah kit is £99.99. That is a joint-weed tool. It is not a pressure washer and it will not replace a K4 on green slabs. Full SKUs sit on the Ryobi patio cleaner page.
Chemical patio cleaner on its own is a dwell-and-rinse product. Fine as a helper on the face. It is not the machine this search is for. If the slabs are loose or the pointing is soft, keep the head moving and stay off the joints. York stone and old sandstone mark if you park the jets in one spot.
Setup, splash and frost drain-down are on how to use a pressure washer. Other machines sit on the reviews index. Petrol is for a yard the lead will not reach, not a 4 × 5 m terrace. See the petrol guide only after you have ruled out a socket.
How to choose
- Own nothing, normal UK patio, tap and socket. K4 Power Control Flex Home.
- Own nothing, large or filthy patio, or a long drive as well. K5 Power Control Flex Home. The class split is K4 vs K5.
- Already own a K2 to K7. Buy the T 5. Read the patio head page.
- Already have a T 5 and hate the dirty border. T 7 Plus, if the washer is a K4 to K7.
- Only weeds in the joints. Ryobi 18V brush. Not a washer.
- No socket or no tap. Cordless. Not a bigger K-class.
Flex means the PremiumFlex hose. Home means the T 5. Car & Home means patio kit plus car extras. Shop the part number on the carton.
FAQ
What is the best pressure washer for a patio in the UK right now?
A Kärcher K4 Power Control Flex Home, from about £210, if you do not already own a washer. If you already own a K-series machine, the T 5 at about £55 is the buy.
Is a patio cleaner a pressure washer?
No. A T 5 or T 7 Plus is a clip-on head. A chemical patio cleaner is a bottle. This page is the machine that feeds them.
Will a T 5 clean moss between the slabs?
It will wash the face. Weeds in the joints need a brush or an 18V joint tool. A dirt blaster in the pointing will do more harm than the moss did.
Can I use the same machine on a car?
Yes, on a wide Vario, at a distance. Do not put the patio head or the dirt blaster on the paint. See the cars guide.
Do I need petrol for a patio?
Almost never. Petrol is for a plot the 13A lead will not reach. A mains K4 or K5 is the patio washer.