Early last fall, my house resembled a rattlesnake shedding its skin. Loose paint was flaking off everywhere, and the gutters had grown an exterior life form of their own. It was time for a long-overdue paint job. But before I could scrape and break out the paint sprayer, my first order of business was to pressure wash the entire house to remove the grime and peeling paint. The problem was, my pressure washer was out of commission. So I filed the job with the many others that roll around in the back of my brain.

Until I stumbled across the DeWalt 2,600-PSI Jobsite Pressure Washer in our Popular Mechanics tool cage. Pulling the box from the side of our lockers, I thought to myself: Have I got a job for you.

I can’t speak for other people, but if a tool comes with a bunch of parts that are separate from the machine, I might as well throw them in the garbage. A grinder without a storage bag for wrenches. Or a router with a bunch of parts and bits that I’m constantly hunting for. Loose pieces without a proper onboard home are not a match for my often chaotic mind—and workshop. This is exactly the feature I enjoy most about DeWalt’s 2,600-psi electric pressure washer.

This thing is designed like the love child of a rollaway suitcase and a secret agent’s attaché case. The wand easily breaks down into three parts, each one occupying its own fitted space beneath the flip-top lid along with the spray tips and turbo nozzle. The foam blaster nests nicely in its berth, molded into the housing body, and the 25-foot hose tucks away beneath the grab handle that spans the breadth of the machine’s top.

The washer sits on two 4-inch composite rubber wheels and has a telescoping pull handle much like that of a travel suitcase. While it’s plenty nimble and smooth over pavement and concrete surfaces, it feels a bit unstable over rougher terrain. That said, with the wand hose and supply hose connected, I had to lift the entire unit by the spanning strap handle and carry it horizontally anyway. I wasn’t bothered much by mobility issues.

Standing a little over 2 feet high, this pressure washer is one of the most compact and convenient grab-and-go tools I’ve ever used. And at 27 pounds, it’s light and easily maneuverable, whether you’re carrying it or rolling it back to its spot in the garage. And between the 35 feet of power cord and the 25 feet of wand hose, I didn’t have to move it much. That’s a nice design feature on the part of DeWalt. If you have an outlet or two outside, extension cords probably won’t be necessary.

At first, I was a little unsure of the 2,600-psi maximum pressure to knock off a lot of that peeling paint. My former washer had 3,300 psi with enough power to deep clean concrete—and I was secretly missing that. But once I started cleaning, I not only realized that the DeWalt had more than enough pressure but it was also gentler on the wood siding and trim. Scarring or gouging any bare wood is always a possibility with a pressure washer, so I was glad for the reduction as I was looking at plenty of raw wood as the flakes came off.

Spray tips are the usual: 0-degree (red: highest, pinpoint pressure); 15-degree (orange: heavy-duty cleaning); 25-degree (white: general cleaning); 40-degree (green: light-duty cleaning/rinsing); plus the aforementioned turbo nozzle and foam blaster. The spray tips socket into holes on the wand itself—and here’s where you need to be mindful as they can sometimes fall out of there as you work. I dropped two. My advice is to park or pocket the three tips not in use as you work so you don’t lose them.

The washer starts at the turn of a power dial and is extremely quiet in “Run” mode. Just be sure to follow all instructions regarding hose setup and water flow prior to use. Like any pressure washer, the axial pump needs a constant flow of water to keep it cooled and functioning properly, so the order of operations is important here. I gave the house a good clean-down in less than two hours, then did it again with a diluted TSP-substitute through the foam blaster for best prep before priming and painting.

I found the real magic happening with this machine when I cleaned my white metal gutters, which were not only dingy with dirt but had a kind of light, mossy algae bonding to them. I sprayed them first with 30 Second House Cleaner—one of my favorite exterior solutions—and watched all of that grunge roll off with ease once I started the DeWalt again. They looked brand new. I ran the same process with a small vinyl fence that I have around my trash cans, which also looked like it was newly installed when I finished.

DeWalt really got this one right. This isn’t the most powerful pressure washer I’ve used, but it doesn’t need to be. What it trades in raw psi, it gives back in control, portability, and a design that actually respects how you work. It’s the perfect washer for everything from a full house wash to weekly glow-ups of your walkways, patio, and outdoor furniture.

If you’re a homeowner or DIYer who wants something you can grab, use, and put away without a whole production, this pressure washer is easily just that.