How much does it cost to run a pressure washer for 1 hour?
Running a pressure washer for an hour is inexpensive in terms of raw utility costs — electric units typically use about 1,400–2,000 watts, costing somewhere around $0.20–$0.35 per hour on average U.S. electricity rates, while gas machines burn roughly a third to half a gallon of fuel per hour, costing $1–$2 depending on current gas prices. The real cost of an hour of use comes from water consumption rather than power: a typical residential machine uses 2–4 gallons per minute, meaning an hour of continuous operation could use 120–240 gallons of water, which affects your water bill more than most people expect. If you’re hiring a professional instead of running your own machine, expect to pay $50–$160 per hour for labor, well above the equipment’s actual operating cost.