AR Blue Clean AR118 Review

(Rated: 4.3 / 5) Review by Frank Lowery
Noise
Ease of Assembly
Maneuverability
Balance And Handling
Result Quality
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There are plenty of cleanup jobs around the house and garden that are much easier to do with a handy portable pressure washer like the AR Blue Clean AR118. Handheld pressure washers allow you to tackle cleanup jobs without having to use any elbow grease, because they are able to blast dirt and grime away in a matter of minutes. This means you can wash your car or SUV, spray down your deck or patio, clean vinyl siding, walls, and fences much more quickly than you ever could before.

Because it is so small and compact, you can easily throw it in the trunk of your car if you need to take it to the marina to clean your boat as well as anywhere else you could think to use it where there is a power and water hook up. This is a great tool to have in your inventory – it can save you lots of time and work.

Review Summary

The AR Blue Clean AR118 is designed with convenience and portability in mind. It is very lightweight, at just under twelve pounds, and it is quite compact as well, with a big handle that makes it easy to carry with you as you clean your deck, walls, or other surfaces. But it also has a 20 foot long hose, so you can also set it on the ground and move away from it if you need both hands for your cleaning job. The unit is quiet and produces zero emissions at the point of use, so you can use it safely in enclosed spaces as well.

The AR Blue Clean AR118 has a maximum pressure of 1500 pounds per square inch and a flow rate of 1.5 gallons per minute, which gives it one of the higher power ratings you can find on a handheld pressure washer. 1500 PSI is enough to clean tough layers of dirt and grime away, but it won’t strip paint or damage wood surfaces, so you can safely use it on decks and fences. And the adjustable nozzle lets you dial down the PSI to a gentle misting spray for more delicate jobs like washing your car or truck.

Specifications

The AR Blue Clean AR118 is a residential handheld pressure washer with dimensions of 9 x 14.5 x 10 inches that weighs 11.7 pounds. It has a 120 volt induction motor and a 3 axial-piston wobble plate pump. It has a max PSI of 1500 and flow rate of 1.5 GPM, giving it a power rating of 2250.

The AR Blue Clean AR118 produces cold water sprays only. It has an ergonomic spray gun with adjustable nozzle and a foam dispenser attachment. Its hose is 1/4 inch in diameter and 20 feet long. It has a 30 foot long power cord and comes with a one year warranty.

Description

The AR Blue Clean AR118 comes all but ready to use right out of the box, and while some assembly is required, you will have it put together and set to go in a matter of a few minutes. This handheld pressure washer is surprisingly lightweight and compact: it weighs less than twelve pounds, making it quite easy to carry with you as you move along a wall or deck while you are washing it. It has a substantial range, too: its power cord is 30 feet long, so you can get pretty far away from the nearest outlet while you are running it without having to use an extension cord.

Even though it is a small, portable pressure washer, the AR Blue Clean AR118 still packs a lot of cleaning power. With a pressure of 1500 PSI, you will be able to take care of a lot of different cleaning jobs with this little guy just as efficiently as you could with a bigger standalone unit. Its nozzle tip is easy to adjust, too – you do not have to swap one nozzle out for another to get a different pressure spray, but instead simply turn the nozzle to change it. This allows you to start at a low PSI and work your way up until you find the one that is best for quickly washing dirt and grime away from surfaces. That way, you can avoid the risk of hitting a surface like a wood deck or car finish with too much pressure and potentially damaging it.

The AR Blue Clean AR118 is small enough that you can take it with you to use anywhere you can plug it in and hook it up to a water source. You can use it on indoor projects around the home as well, like blasting mold from shower tiles. And with all of this convenience, it also has a great price.

Pros

With a portable pressure washer like the AR Blue Clean AR118, you have all of the convenience for tackling difficult cleaning jobs that a bigger unit provides, as well as the ability to take it with you anywhere you can find them. Even though it’s a little machine, it still has a relatively high PSI and flow rate, which is what you want when you have to take care of tough jobs quickly and efficiently.

1. 1500 PSI and 1.5 GPM : The AR Blue Clean AR118 is small, but don’t let that fool you: it is still a very powerful and efficient pressure washer. With a PSI of 1500 and a flow rate of 1.5 GPM, this machine has all of the cleaning ability you could need for small jobs around the house and garden. The unit has a 3 axial-piston wobble plate pump, and these are designed to provide efficient power in a small space.
2. Lightweight and compact : Because of the design of the axial-piston pump, the AR Blue Clean AR118 remains very lightweight and compact in spite of all of the power and performance it offers. The pressure washer weighs just 11.7 pounds and has dimensions about the size of a breadbox, so it will be easy to carry around and a breeze to find storage space for it. You can tuck it away on just about any shelf where it will not take up much room at all.
3. Adjustable spray nozzle : The spray nozzle on the wand is itself adjustable, which means you can find the right PSI setting for whatever job you need to do without dealing with the hassle of swapping out one nozzle tip for another, as you have to do with other units. This means you can quickly dial the PSI up or down and keep on cleaning surfaces without stopping. It also means you can find exactly the right setting for every job.
4. Long power cord and hose : The power cord on the AR Blue Clean AR118 is 30 feet long, and the hose is 20 feet long. That means that even without an extension cord, you can clean surfaces that are as much as fifty feet away from the nearest power outlet. With an extension cord, you can increase that to as much as eighty or ninety feet. This kind of range is important, especially with a handheld pressure washer that is meant to be portable.
5. Useful for a lot of different jobs : The AR Blue Clean AR118 has a wide range of applications, which is really important in a pressure washer – you want to be able to use it for a lot of different kinds of cleanup jobs easily. This unit transitions from one to the next with ease, in part because of its adjustable nozzle, but also because of its portability and detachable foam dispenser that you can use to clean surfaces with a soap and water mix.

The AR Blue Clean AR118 portable pressure washer with 1500 PSI and 1.5 GPM flow rate is excellent for any homeowner with a lot of cleanup jobs around the house and garden. You can take it just about anywhere there’s a power source available to clean virtually anything you can think of.

Cons

With so many excellent features, it would be hard to believe that the AR Blue Clean AR118 has any drawbacks to it, but there are a few. I do not think any of them take away very seriously from its overall performance, but they are worth examining. Let’s take a look.

1. Major parts are made of plastic : The body, along with a number of accessories and other components, are made of plastic. This has the advantage that it allows the AR Blue Clean AR118 to be so lightweight, but it also means that it will not be as durable as it would be if these parts were made of brass or steel. Because of this, you have to be careful not to subject this pressure washer to too much wear and tear.
2. Not suitable for very big jobs : Due to the fact that it has a max PSI of just 1500, while it will have a wide range of tasks it can take care of, the AR Blue Clean AR118 may not be suitable for very big jobs or particularly tough cleanup jobs. This pressure washer is primarily designed to be portable and easy to use, so it is not as heavy duty as other residential pressure washers, and this places limitations on it.
3. Quick connector tends to leak : One of the important parts that is made of plastic is the quick connector for the pressure washer’s hose, and this can present problems, as it may tend to leak. While it doesn’t affect the PSI too much, it can still be an issue. The best solution to this problem is to replace the quick connector fittings with brass replacements, but this can be a bit of a hassle, not to mention an additional expense.
4. Can be a bit difficult to use : Some users who are not used to operating handheld pressure washers may find some aspects of it a bit difficult to use at first, although I expect most of you will get used to the AR Blue Clean AR118 after just one or two uses. Adjusting the nozzle to the desired spray and attaching the hose correctly are two of the hardest things to get used to, and they may take a bit of practice to get right.
5. Cold water only : Unless you hook up the AR Blue Clean AR118 to a hot water source – which I do not recommend unless your hot water heater holds more than 60 gallons – you are only going to get cold water sprays from it. While this will be just fine for most jobs, occasionally you may find yourself wishing you had the hot water option for tougher jobs. Fortunately, the detergent foam dispenser does give you a means of combating stains that aren’t water soluble.

As you can see, for the most part all of the great Pros the AR Blue Clean AR118 offers more than make up for any of its Cons. For the most part, the limitations placed on this model are due to the fact that it is designed to be as portable as possible, which it certainly is.

Product Comparison

When you are shopping for a new electric pressure washer, you want to make sure you find the very best one, and to this end, comparison shopping is always a good strategy. This way you can get a good sense of what the market as a whole offers as well as see how a particular model stacks up against its competitors. You’ll find that there is a good deal of variance in terms of PSI and GPM as well as size and weight between handheld and wheeled pressure washers.

	AR Blue Clean AR118	Campbell Hausfeld PW1350	PowerWorks 51102
Type	Residential	Residential	Residential
Class	Hand-carry	Hand-carry	2-wheel
Dimensions	9 x 14.5 x 10	15x7x9.8	21.6 x 19.1 x 12.8
Power	Electric	Electric	Electric
Motor	120 V / 60 Hz (induction)	120 V / 60 Hz	120 V / 60 Hz (induction)
PSI	1500	1350	1700
GPM	1.5	1.3	1.4
Power Rating	2250	1755	2380
Pump	3 axial-piston wobble-plate	Direct-drive axial	Direct-drive axial
Cold/Hot	Cold	Cold	Cold
Spray Gun	Ergonomic	Ergonomic	Ergonomic
Nozzle	Adjustable jet Foam dispenser	Adjustable jet Turbo	Adjustable jet Turbo
Hose	1/4-inch x 20-foot	1/4-inch x 19-foot	1/4-inch x 25-foot
Hose Material	PVC/plastic	PVC/plastic	PVC/plastic
Power Cord	30-foot	35-foot	35-foot
Weight	11.7 pounds	17 pounds	43 pounds
Warranty	1 year	1 year	1 year

As you can see, there are substantial differences between handheld pressure washers like the AR Blue Clean AR118 and wheeled ones like the Power Works 51102. The Power Works has power rating that is less than 200 units higher than the AR Blue Clean AR118, but it is a lot bigger and weighs almost four times as much. It is clear that you do not lose a lot in terms of power or performance by switching over to a handheld pressure washer.

Conclusion

When you have a lot of different cleaning jobs around your house and garden – from washing your car to cleaning your wooden deck – you want a pressure washer that is powerful, versatile, and easy to carry from one job to the next. The following Pros and Cons list should help you get a clear idea of what the AR Blue Clean AR118 can offer.

Conclusion Pros

1. 1500 PSI and 1.5 GPM.
2. Lightweight and compact.
3. Adjustable spray nozzle.
4. Long power cord and hose.
5. Useful for a lot of different jobs.

In spite of the fact that it is a handheld pressure washer that is small and lightweight, the AR Blue Clean AR118 still has an impressive PSI and flow rate. The adjustable nozzle allows you to change PSI quickly and easily. This means you will be able to tackle a lot of different jobs quickly and efficiently with this pressure washer.

Conclusion Cons

1. Major parts are made of plastic.
2. Not suitable for very big jobs.
3. Quick connector tends to leak.
4. Can be a bit difficult to use.
5. Cold water only.

The AR Blue Clean AR118 is not quite perfect: because it is designed to be easy to carry with you while you wash a surface, it is made of plastic and has other limitations on its performance. But I do not think these limitations outweigh all of the excellent features it has to offer.

Final Word

When you are looking for a small electric pressure washer that can handle a variety of cleanup tasks around your home and garden, you want to combine high performance with a light and compact design. This allows you to take the pressure washer with you easily so that you can tackle whatever jobs might crop up. For attacking dirt, grime, and mold around your house, car, and yard, the AR Blue Clean AR118 has a lot to offer.

This pressure washer is light enough that you can carry it just about anywhere that has a power outlet, and it still packs a power rating that is comparable to what a lot of bigger, wheeled electric pressure washers offer. As a result, you get all the performance of larger, more expensive pressure washers, but you have it in a very convenient small package that you can throw in your trunk or store tucked away on a shelf in your home or garage.

Best Price

Handheld electric pressure washers can get fairly expensive very quickly, and it is important to find one that gives you a good value for its price. The AR Blue Clean AR118 is a very affordable handheld electric pressure washer. And in addition to that, it packs a lot of power and performance into a small, lightweight package, but it still has a great price that you will find is more than reasonable. These days, it is important to find savings wherever you can, and with the AR Blue Clean AR118, you can find considerable savings. This is a solid pressure washer at an excellent price.