Snow foam is an excellent and effective way to get a deep clean of your car.
It breaks down dirt and oil and I’m not sure there is a more effective form of pre-wash when it comes to getting your car sparkly.
But which pressure washer should you get to give you this magical cleaning power?
There’s a lot of choice out there so I’ve personally tested, reviewed and compared the best UK choices available so you don’t have to. I’ve linked each one through to Amazon so you can order yours today but many of these are also available from Halfords or B&Q.
Top 5 Pressure Washers For Snow Foam
- Top Choice – Paxcess Electric Pressure Washer with Snow Foam Cannon
- Runner Up – Pro-Kleen 1600W Jet Washer With Snow Foam & Detergent
- Best Karcher – Karcher K 3 Home Pressure Washer
- Budget Choice – Wilks-USA RX510 High Power Pressure Washer
- Best Multi Use – Stream Pressure Washer with Patio Cleaner
1. Top Choice – Paxcess Electric Pressure Washer with Snow Foam Cannon
Power: 1800W/ 135 Bar
Pros
- Snow foam attachment included
- Lightweight machine for manoeuvrability
- 12 month warranty
- 8m long hose
Cons
- Assembly a little fiddly
- No detergent included
The Paxcess pressure washer is everything you could want from a pressure washer if you’re looking to get your car clean. It’s got good power at 135 bar but not so much that it’s going to damage your paint work in any way.
The snow foam lance is easy to connect and set up, and while I would have liked some detergent to come with it, you can buy your own easily enough (polar blast is a great choice if you come across it).
You’ll also like the quick connect nozzles which adjust the angle of the spray giving you from a tight jet for stubborn dirt up to a wide jet for general cleaning and soap removal. Nothing is more anything than trying to rinse off the soap foam with a narrow jet so this is super handy.
You get an 8m hose with it and an 8m power cable which for most people allows them to easily run it from their house. But even if you need an extension cord the machine itself is lightweight and on wheels so you can move it easily.
Overall, if you’re interested in a thorough car cleaning and need a snow foam cannon, the Paxcess is the pressure washer for you.
2. Runner Up – Pro-Kleen 1600W Jet Washer With Snow Foam & Detergent
Power: 1600W/135 bar
Pros
- Comes with detergent and cloths
- Great for detailing
- Durably made with aluminium parts that won’t rust
Cons
- Hose could be longer at 5m
This is your all in one ready to go car washing pressure washer, it’s got the snow foam adapter as well as 5L of detergent so you can unpack it and get to cleaning. Plus you get a couple of microfibre cloths for that deeper polish and finish.
You’ve got similar cleaning power to the Paxcess above with the same pressure, just a little less electric power but you also have 3m less of hose.
Now, this can be good or bad.
If your hose is close to your car it’s great because you have less hose to tidy up and store and less chance for kinks. But for many people, this isn’t long enough and you’ll have to get an extra hose to make up the distance. That’s what put it in the runner up position.
It’s an easy fix and I love the unpack and go approach you can take with this giving you effective cleaning power at the utmost convenience.
3. Best Karcher – Kärcher K3 Home Pressure Washer
Power: 120bar
Pros
- Built in detergent tank
- Trusted brand
- 6m hose
- Lots of available accessories
- Includes patio cleaner
Cons
- Snow lance sold separately
- No car wash included
I couldn’t find a snow foam set as part of a karcher deal, The FJ6 foam nozzle is always sold separately, and sold here on Amazon.
But that German engineering is hard to beat and combine the FJ6 attachment with the power and price of the K3 and you are on to a winner! I went for the K3 because it’s got good power but not so much that you’ll risk damaging the paint work or the tires by accident.
Plus you get the Vario lance which adds cleaning power by sort of spinning the water as it comes out of the lance adding agitation to the mix and providing a deeper, more thorough clean.
The K4 also comes with a patio cleaner and patio cleaning detergent for an overall package that is effective as a home pressure washer. As the name suggests…
You can trust a Karcher and this is the best choice when it comes to using a snow foam attachment.
4. Budget Choice – Wilks-USA RX510 High Power Pressure Washer
Power: 1800W/145 bar
Pros
- Snow foam included
- Includes patio cleaner and brush
- Under £100
Cons
- Shorter 5m hose length
- Don’t use brush on your car
Wilks USA are probably better known for their petrol pressure washer but their electric one does a great job too, and it is a pretty good price to match.
What is disappointing, apart from the shorter hose length similar to the Pro Clean, is that the brush attachment doesn’t do well with cars. If you’re very careful and gentle and only use it on your car it’s ok. But if you use it on your patio, rinse it off and then use it on your car you’re likely to cover it in scratches.
But the snow lance works well for getting you a solid coverage of soap, and the regular lance gun works just fine at rinsing it all off again.
So as with anything on a budget you get what you pay for, so if you can I’d spend a little more and get the Paxcess, you’ll get a better pressure washer and a better clean.
5. Best Multi Use – Stream Pressure Washer with Patio Cleaner
Power: 1650W/135Bar
Pros
- 9.7m hose length
- Lots of accessoires
- Includes rotating lance for extra cleaning power
Cons
- Hose connector isn’t the best
- Feels a little flimsy
Now if you read this is a steam pressure washer, then you did exactly what I did! The brand is Stream and they’ve made a superb multi-purpose pressure washer.
It’s got the snow foam bottle which is of course why we’re all here. It’s got a nice long hose which you’ll enjoy and of course, you get all the attachments needed for home cleaning. A patio cleaner, a brush, the snow foam, a lance, a spinning head for extra cleaning power and the jet stream for super stubborn dirt.
If you ended something multi-purpose then this is just the ticket for you.
The only problem is a lot of people report the hose connector has a tendency to pop off. It’s not something I experienced but as one reviewer says, you can easily fix it with some PTFE tape that will hold it in place better.
It would be nice if things just worked but when you’re spending less than £200 on a pressure washer you’ve just got to roll with the punches.
Snow Foam Pressure Washer Buyer’s Guide
If you don’t fancy any of the recommendations I made then fair enough! I won’t hold it against you and I still want you to find the right one you need so here are some general considerations for buying a snow foam pressure washer.
Does It Come With the Attachment
First off, does the pressure washer you’re looking at come with a snow foam gun? It’s not a standard attachment and if it doesn’t come with one then you’re going to need to buy it separately.
Obviously…
But what’s not obvious is that you’ll want to check whether that brand makes their own one, or if you’re going to need to buy a third-party attachment.
And if you go for a different brand then you’re going to want to make sure it attaches. Some pressure washer models come with a Karcher fitting so you can attach Karcher accessories for instance. Something to think about for sure.
What Other Attachments Do You Need
If you just plan on using your pressure washer to wash your car then you’re good to go with the snow gun. Other than that you’ll just use the regular lance attachment to rinse and clean the car.
But you might consider some microfibre cloths or possibly a polishing mitt to help you get that extra sparkle in the finish.
If you want a more general-purpose pressure washer then you might consider something to clean your patio, maybe some other type of brush for scrubbing work or windows.
You can buy most of these separately but if you like attachments then Karcher is the way to go, they’ve got the biggest range of them.
F.A.Q
Should you pressure wash before snow foam?
Yes it’s a good idea to get the car wet before you snow foam and a good idea to get any tough chunks of dirt that might be on it off. Get the car thoroughly sprayed and the worst off then go in with the snow foam for a deeper clean.
Do you rinse off snow foam?
Absolutely, you want to rinse off the snow foam straight away so you don’t get any streaks leftover after. I suppose you could hope it rains but that’s probably not a great idea…
Do you need to scrub after using a foam cannon?
Nope, the foam cannon lifts off much more dirt than regular soap does so generally no scrubbing is required whatsoever. If you wanted to you could scrub it but there really isn’t any need.
What PSI is safe for washing cars?
Generally you want to keep it at or under 2000 PSI which is about 137Bar, which you’ll notice is right around the power of all the pressure washers I talked about here!
Final Thoughts
That covers pretty much everything you could possibly hope to know about buying a pressure washer with a snow foam gun attachment.
Bet you didn’t know there was so much!
And luckily the next fun step is getting your hands on it and getting your car clean. Because using a snow gun is surprisingly satisfying. I’m sure there are women who love using them too but I know it satisfies my man brain nicely covering my car in foam sudsy goodness.
