Kärcher Pressure Washer K1700, CETA Certified, 3 Spray Nozzles, Detergent Tank, For Cars, Driveways, Siding, Patios, 1.2 max. GPM

I bought this in July and have not had time to open it and see what I got for my $100 during that big sale. It was 50% off. I live at the beach and have colored concrete around both sides of my home and during these last two years and all the rain here in Cali on the Central Coast I ended up with mold in the concrete and on my retaining walls. The concrete mold would NOT wash off so I thought, what the heck I am going to try a power washer and do it myself before forking out money to have my concrete recolored.Mold on concrete can be dangerous to your health and can cause allergic reactions, respiratory problems, and lung infections. Mold can appear in different colors, such as black, green, white, or brown, and can have a fuzzy, slimy, or powdery texture so it must be treated.I opened the box and the instructions were very easy to follow. I put on the wheels, struggled a little putting on the handle because it didn't fit great, so don't force it, just keep trying and once you get it in, it will click and be fine. The nozzles store easily on the unit. I did have an issue with the way the water hose attaches. The first piece you screw/twist on goes one direction and when you screw on the hose it goes the other direction, so a couple of times it would leak where the water hose attaches. I had to move it from one side of the house to the other so the second time I attached the water hose I was sure it was secure. It still leaked water but not as much and it didn't take any pressure away. I was barefoot and three times I ran that pressure spray over my foot and wow, that hurts.Don't make the mistake of plugging it into an outside plug outlet where it cannot lay it completely flat. My outlets have that plastic cover with a latch at the bottom so getting the plug to lay flat could not happen. I did this because I was rushing and it didn't occur to me it needed to be secure and flat. I could never get the machine to come on (motor sound) when I pressed to foot pedal, not thinking about the connection. It would still spray water in a trickle but no motor would come on. I moved the plug to my garage where it could be completely flat and it worked fine. The long cord was really nice to have so you can move around easily.The one thing I disliked was when I pulled or pushed the unit to move forward, it was difficult at times because the hose screws in on the side of the unit and hose curves because you have the hose in the front of the unit when you are working so when you pull it, its turns sideways. It was a minor issue.The pressure power was great. I used water only without any soap and was able to spray my vinyl fence down to clear all the spider webs and dirt. I cleaned my house walls which are stucco and my downstairs windows. I mostly concentrated on my colored concrete walkways. I used the large strongest nozzle and made small circles on the mold stains that were deep in the concrete. You can see in the pictures what looks like drops of paint that are Brown. And on the retaining wall it is just Green. I really thought I was going to have to pay to have my cement ground down and repainted. After a few hours I was finished and it looks brand new.I turned off the hose and sprayed out the remaining water. I unplugged the unit. Removed the hose from the wand and the unit and drained that water from the hose and put it away! I plan on taking it to my upper two decks to spray the ceiling of each deck next. I would recommend this unit."I'm just a girl ~ one happy girl"

Karcher K1700 pressure washer: Assembly is very easy -- wheels and handle. If you just use the supplied hose then screw it on to the outlet and onto the spray nozzle. Screw the garden hose adapter on and screw a garden hose on. Plug it in and it should work, mine did.I bought a Karcher because a review by Pan the Organizer who said his Karcher K5 lasted 10 years and still works but it was time to get a new pressure washer. As I recall he thought Karcher had a superior pump. I watched a couple reviews of the K-1700 as well. So, as I had no idea and the K-1700 seemed what I was looking for, I bought it. I have light work -- a small cement patio, some siding and vehicles. Note that the high-pressure fittings are M22-14 not M22-15 as many electric pressure washers use so I ended up ordering another set. I knew the foam cannon used M22-14 when I bought it. I didn't see any reference to the fittings in the Karcher manual or brochure. I did see that some Karcher products fit the K2 or K5 but not the K-1700 but was left to assume why. I guess Karcher wants us to buy their brand.I added some quick disconnect fittings. I had a leak on the appliance end of the pressure hose. It seemed the o-ring on the hose is too large and was pushed down when I inserted/screwed the quick disconnect on. I took an o-ring off another fitting and the same thing happened. I then added a garden hose washer to the supplied pressure hose fitting after cutting it down so it fit and replaced the o-ring with a piece of Teflon packing "string" which fit into the o-ring groove perfectly. I used silicon grease to get it to stay put. No leaks. I was testing with a car wash foam cannon which worked very well and produced a persistent snow foam coating.The pressure hose went onto the pressure washer without any leaks. The garden hose adapter leaked some, but I didn't tighten with a wrench which I'll do next time.I ordered another quick connect set for the high pressure fitting on the K-1700 and a couple different sets of o-rings to have on-hand.The electric cord wraps nicely on the supplied handle arms.CONS:1. Nozzle storage is limited to two regular nozzles and one hybrid rotating type nozzle (as supplied). So, I don't have a place to put other nozzles except in a bag in the storage box.2. No built-in good way to keep the supplied pressure hose coiled neatly on the unit. The hose is a little stiff and making it fit in the storage box may not work well or conveniently and being slick plastic will likely push out.I added a piece of PVC pipe that went through the handle and that keeps the pressure hose coiled up around the handle and the storage bin. I'll fit it with some closed cell foam to keep it in place as I want to be able to remove it.My initial impression is that I think the supplied hose will work for me but time will tell if a longer, more flexible hose will be needed. The K1700 seems like a good unit overall particularly for the price. I cannot see paying lots for something I don't expect to use that often.Winter storage: per the manual, be sure to run it out of water. It seems that water runs out when I tilt it to the inlet fitting but the manual said to run it until just out of water. I think I can handle that.

I bought this on sale to replace a smaller Karcher power washer. Assembling it, according to almost everyone that purchased this unit, was a snap. Well, the person in quality control missed checking the handle installation openings. There was just enough extra plastic at the openings to prevent the handle from slipping into place. Once I removed a bit of plastic with a rounded file it fit perfectly. I thought something was wrong with me, but it was Karcher falling down on the job. Otherwise a great unit.