Choose A Pressure Washer Hose (To Replace Or Extend Yours)

At some stage you WILL need to replace your hose.

The problem is there’s many to choose from and the original hose was chosen for you (by the manufacturer). So you probably aren’t familiar with your options…

​

Pick Hose Diameter

Knowing which pressure washer hose diameter to get is easy – just copy your current hose diameter. If you don’t know what it is, bring it with you to the store to get help. Otherwise, just check the User Manual. If you no longer have the manual just go online to find it.

You have 3 diameter hoses to choose from:

• 1/4-inch is by far the most common diameter used in pressure washers for around the home. Of the 10 bestselling pressure washer replacement and extension hoses online  8 were 1/4-inch diameter. And 2 were:

• 3/8-inch is the thickest diameter hose you’ll see around. It’s for pro machines because of the high volume flow requirement.

• 5/16-inch is not used as much as the other 2. The thing is light and medium-duty units use 1/4-inch hose and then the heavy-duty units jump to the 3/8-inch hose. 5/16-inch gets left out. There was 1 in the top 50 bestsellers.

​

Pick Hose Material

4500 PSI poly blend hose with quick connect

Hose material is important because it dictates the price, durability and flexibility of the hose.

Here’s the 3 types:

• Plastic hose is used in the light-duty and medium-duty electric pressure cleaners. It is the most affordable hose. It’s flexible enough to be wound up into a reel, but you’ll probably find yourself wishing you had more flex/give. A garden hose is typically made of plastic PVC.

• Rubber hose or synthetic rubber hose is what really good garden hoses are made of. A 50-ft rubber high pressure hose will cost $50 or more.

• Polyurethane hose is the most expensive for a reason. It offers the best of everything: flexibility, durability, weight etc…

​

Connection Type

No matter what type of connection your pressure washer and pressure gun/wand have… Or what connection type comes with the hose you’re about to buy – just know: there’s always an adaptor to make it work.

Here’s what connections are out there:

• Female and Male M22 threaded – Almost all replacement/extension hoses are M22 female on both ends out-of-the-box. So your gun will need to be M22 male. Simple.

• Female and Male Quick-connect – The QC connections are usually included with your pressure washer. If you need extra order them at time of purchase.

​

Pick Hose Length

Do you want 25, 35 or 50-ft length? Take your pick.