Kärcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus review

Autumn’s here and with it plenty of muck to clean off the car as well as around the outside of the house. We recently got our hands on a Kärcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus to review, which is a new model for 2017, and just in time.

A Kärcher K5 is one of those luxury boy’s toys we men all end up talking about at dinner parties and dream about owning, and after just 5 minutes of jet washing it’s easy to see why, it’s so easy and more to the point, astonishingly satisfying. In fact, jet washing becomes really quite addictive – blasting away the muck and grime from pretty much any surface feels really quite good. Whatever it tackles ends up looking great too, bringing outdoor surfaces back to their original glory and this includes paving, drives, decking bricks, garden furniture, cars, bikes, garage doors… well, just about anything.

New for 2017, the Kärcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus now comes with a 3-in-1 Multijet lance that can be adjusted between vario lance, dirt blaster and detergent application settings. The pressure for each setting is easy to regulate with the simple buttons and LCD display on a touch control trigger gun, and the hose is stored on a handy reel, with on-board storage for all other tools or the power cable.

We found the lance attachments super easy to fix to the gun, allowing you to easily connect the perfect tool, whatever the job. What’s more, there is a wide range of different detergents available (you get the stone wash free with the Kärcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus), which you can very easily attach to the washer itself, and which allow you to spray soaps, helping to loosen dirt even before you get blasting.

Something else we found quite surprising about the K5 is that is uses less than 50% water than a garden hose and can even run off a water butt, so you can access Full Control in the most remote areas of the garden.

The K5 is solid, has wheels and is light enough to be very portable. Previous jet washers we’ve tried have almost always been a pain to keep the pressure hose in check, often unravelling itself and then getting in the way. But the K5 has a useful arm at the back of the washer to wrap it around, as well as a handy, neat netted area where you can stash the plug, so it all tucks away beautifully.

Arguably our favourite feature has to be the paving brush, which attaches to the gun and allows you to very easily clean paving and Decking – there is a handy power adjuster for bricks and paving too. It works by having two high velocity jets underneath it and you simply push it along like a broom, with it clearing even the hardest muck and bringing paving back to original splendour – without mess! Within 2 hours we’d brought our 40 Sqm driveway back to life and changed the entire aspect of the house. You’ll find the compressor cuts out after 30 minutes of continued use, protecting itself from overheating – simply put it down, have a cup of tea and by the time you’re done it will be ready to rumble again.

To sum up, the K5 has more than enough capacity and capability to clean even the hardiest of grime of pretty much any surface. It’s super quiet also compared to petrol equivalents meaning you’re less likely to offend the neighbours. With the various lances you have full control of the jet’s power, allowing you to clean more fragile as well as solid surfaces. Using the K5 is really not a messy affair, quite the opposite. The final thing to mention is that the K5 comes with a five-year guarantee, which makes the £339.99 price tag a little easier to justify knowing you’re covered for a very long period of time. Fellas, you really will be smiling for a good few hours after using your K5 and your house and car will be looking good as new once again. Not to mention the look of jealousy you’ll get when you start talking about your K5 adventures at those middle-aged dinner parties!