In this AR Blue Clean AR383 review, we put the machine through its paces to see whether it deserves to be called one of the best pressure washers you can buy. Below you'll find all the necessary info about the AR Blue Clean AR383, including how much it cost (at the time of review), how easy it is to use, what comes in the box, and, most importantly, how well it does the job.
Overall, the AR Blue Clean AR383 is a clear example of what you get when you buy a solid - if a bit average - pressure washer as it does a fine job on the cleaning front and comes with good accessories. That being said, it's also more difficult to use compared to some of the other models we tested, and comes with a shorter warranty than we'd prefer.
John Carlsen has been creating content for Top Ten Reviews since 2013 and has covered everything from smart home and home security devices to ceiling fans, fitness aids and pressure washers. He reviewed the AR Blue Clean AR383 for performance and ease of use and compared it to some of the other leading pressure washers in our buying guide.
AR Blue Clean AR383: What's in the box
The AR383 comes with two wands and a detergent tank. However, adjusting the stream while you use the machine can be unsafe. We preferred the simpler approach most machines take, giving you distinct nozzles you can swap out.
There's also a soap nozzle with an integrated detergent tank, which can be unwieldy to carry while cleaning your car.
AR Blue Clean AR383: Design
At 28 lbs, this machine is relatively lightweight, but we found its wheels don't work nearly as well as those on the heavier RYOBI, Craftsman and Sun Joe models we tested. This means you might have trouble moving it around your project site, though it's still one of the more portable units we reviewed.
The AR Blue Clean AR383 is one of two pressure washers we tested with a built-in hose reel – the other being the Craftsman CM1800. While this is a useful way to store your pressure hose, it was hard to use because the hose didn't coil smoothly as we reeled it in.
AR Blue Clean AR383: Performance
The AR Blue Clean AR383’s water pressure is good – at 1,900 PSI, it’s the second highest in our comparison. This meant it did well removing dirt and oil in our cleaning tests, though it didn't match the two top-performing models we reviewed from RYOBI and Craftsman.
The AR Blue Clean AR383 is the third-quietest pressure washer we reviewed. It only produced 82 dB of noise, which is much lower than our test group’s 87.4 dB average.
Putting this machine together is straightforward since most of the parts snap together. However, you need a screwdriver to attach the tool caddy to the back of the machine. The assembly process is more involved than those of most other pressure washers we tested but not by much.
We found the pressure gun easy to handle, especially the way it connects to the pressure hose with a quick release. Our testers also found that the soap nozzle itself didn't work very well.
Its pressure hose connects to the back of the unit in a spot that's close to the tool caddy, so close that it can be difficult to join the two. To complicate things further, this hose connector is inaccessible while storing the power cord on the unit. We found it easier to hook up our garden hose to the front of the machine.
