I lost my weekend to Power Wash Simulator, and I regret nothing

When I told a few friends over the weekend that I was spending hours cleaning virtual houses and cars with a power washer on my PC, some of them didn’t exactly share my enthusiasm.

But I’m here to remind you that, once in a while — and especially during the pandemic — you just need a simple way to relax. And Power Wash Simulator (PWS) delivers on that front in spades.

I first came across the game last year, when there was only a single demo level and limited washing equipment to work with. The title, which is now available for PC via Steam Early Access, has expanded to offer a lot more content to keep you occupied.

There’s a career mode where you can earn money to spend on new equipment, as well as several new environments to blast the grime off of. You can spend your hard-earned cash on a bunch more washers, nozzles, and cleaning liquids to speed things up. You can also just go to town on in free play mode without keeping tabs on your score or earnings.

[Read: This dude drove an EV from the Netherlands to New Zealand — here are his 3 top road trip tips]

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I found it immensely satisfying to clean houses, vehicles, a playground, and a skate park over the weekend. It took me several hours to get through these initial levels, and I appreciated the simple joy of just seeing a job well done.

At the same time, developer Futurlab baked in a few little touches of complexity to keep things interesting, and make PWS easier to get through. You can track your progress through individually marked portions of large levels — so you know where you might have missed a spot — and earn and spend money on new gear at any point during play.

All of which is to say that if you’re looking for a way to kill time and distract yourself from the terrible state our world is in right now, PWS is a well-oiled machine to help you do just that. If you don’t want to sit at your desk, you can stream it to your phone or tablet and enjoy wherever you like to lounge, using Steam Link.

Power Wash Simulator is available in Early Access on Steam at $15.99, with a 10% discount right now. You’re welcome.