There have been various people who post themselves using their leaf blowers inside their houses.
This has caused quite a controversy as a lot of people want to know if it is safe to do so.
It is however not safe for you to use a leaf blower indoors as it can cause health issues as well as noise pollution.
This article will explain why you should not use a leaf blower inside your house, whether a leaf blower can hurt you as well as when you should and should not use a leaf blower.
What Are The Reasons To Avoid Using A Leaf Blower Inside Your House?
- Noise From The Leafblower
The most significant disadvantage of using a leaf blower inside is the noise.
It has the potential to irritate and distract people.
When using a leaf blower, it is critical to wear hearing protection; otherwise, you may suffer permanent hearing loss.
The approximate point at which prolonged exposure can cause hearing loss is 85 decibels.
When exposed to a leaf blower for two hours continuously, it produces a noise of ninety decibels, which can cause permanent hearing loss.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately forty million US adults suffer from hearing loss as a result of being exposed to deafening noise, such as when using a leaf blower indoors.
It results in permanent hearing loss; once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
- Noise Reduction Rating
The ideal Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) ranges from 20 to 30; the higher the figures, the better the leaf blower is for your ears.
Aside from hearing loss, using a leaf blower inside your home can cause annoyance, decreased school performance, headache, high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease, sleep disruption, tinnitus, stress, hypertension, and productivity loss.
The air blast from a leaf blower will direct a large volume of loose dust and mud in a specific direction, resulting in a powerful dust storm inside your home.
Asthma, rash, dust allergy, dry cough, skin irritation, and other symptoms will result.
It is such a dangerous tool that it endangers people’s breathing, especially asthmatics, infants, the elderly, and premature babies.
- Dust Particles Redistribution
The use of a leaf blower within the house simply disturbs and redistributes the dust particles that are already present.
The use of leaf blowers on a regular basis in the ground-level ozone layer is carcinogenic.
Leaf blower dust contains dead human skin, dead bugs, and infectious microbes. Dust acts as a fomite, allowing various viruses to spread.
Asbestos, sand, and wood particles in the air cause 12000 deaths in the United Kingdom each year.
A leaf blower used indoors generates tons of dust in a single second.
When the amount of dust in the air reaches a critical level, explosions occur.
- Pneumoconiosis
Pneumoconiosis can occur if the air in your home contains particles of coal and silica.
When mineral dust is inhaled in large quantities due to the use of a leaf blower inside the house, it can lead to pneumoconiosis.
Domestic dust particles can stay in your airways for a long period of time, causing inflammation or fibrosis.
The harm to your lungs will become apparent after many years, when you are no longer able to be cured.
The problems listed above are easily avoidable if you stop breathing in the inordinate amount of dust emitted by a leaf blower.
The weight and size of dust particles decide how far they travel in your lungs. The smaller the particles, the deeper they travel.
Here is an article I wrote on can leaf blowers use gas?
Can A Leaf Blower Hurt You?
There have been controversies on the safety of leaf blowers and whether regular use can hurt the users.
Regular use of leaf blowers can hurt hearing.
According to the CDC, using a traditional and gas-powered leaf blower for two hours damages your hearing.
While in use, some leaf blowers release between 80 and 85 decibels.
Cheaper leaf blowers, on the other hand, can lead to exposure of about 112 decibels. At this level, they can cause serious ear injury and pain.
They are also a major source of noise pollution in the environment.
In a 2016 noise pollution study, the majority of the respondents felt they could not get away from noise and they fingered the use of leaf blowers as a major source of noise.
Leaf blowers are also very polluting to peoples’ health especially to the users and those around them.
Many of the smallest dust particles enter your lungs and deposit in your air sacs or alveoli, as well as your bronchial tubes or airway, which are located in the depths of your chest.
Because your lungs are unable to expel these dust particles, they develop fibrosis or scarring, resulting in shortness of breath and a dry cough.
In rare cases, it can result in death.
Aside from particulate matter, carbon dioxide emissions and unburned fuel from toxic compounds in gasoline are carcinogenic and can irritate the majority of the body’s organs.
When Should You Not Use A Leaf Blower?
- When It’s Raining
Using your leaf blower when it’s raining is an invitation for damage to your machine.
The rain water can get into the parts and cause rust. If you are using a corded leaf blower then of course the rain can cause a blow out from the power source.
Also, heavily wet leaves can cause your machine to clog up and stop working.
- Inside Your House
As we mentioned earlier, you shouldn’t use your leaf blower inside your house as it will only cause noise and health pollution.
Leaf blowers are not designed for indoor use.
- Close to a Window
Do not use leaf blowers close to windows.
Stray pebbles from the ground can hit the window and cause a crack or cause the window to break.
- Where There a Lot of Stones
If the patch you want to clear is full of stones, then it is advisable to not use your leaf blower.
This is because, when stones get into the machine, they damage the leaf blower and clog it up.
Also check out this article I wrote on using a leaf blower to dry your dog
Where Can You Use A Blower?
- On Grass
Leaf Blowers are effective at moving leaves on your grass.
After moving the leaves, some come with the vacuum and mulch function which effectively makes your work easier to carry out.
The air from the leaf blower can also help to dry your damp or wet grass in minutes.
- Wet Leaves
A pile of wet leaves can be an eyesore in your lawn or garden.
Most leaf blowers are powerful enough to move wet leaves around so they do not smother grass underneath them.
However, except specifically stated, do not use the vacuum and mulcher mode for wet leaves as it can clog up your machine and damage it.
- Drying Your Car
The mechanism used in drying cars at car washes is similar to that of your leaf blower.
You can definitely use your tool to dry up your car and even dry out the interior and the boot.
- Moving Snow
Another fun use of a leaf blower is for moving snow. Your leaf blower is definitely up to moving lightweight and fluffy snow.
So you can get out your leaf blower and blow away.
Your leaf blower however might not be up to blowing heavy and wet snow from your yard.
What Else Can You Use A Leaf Blower For?
Apart from moving leaves on your grass, other safe uses of a leaf blower include cleaning out your dryer vent.
It is creative and solves a household problem. It might take you up to 30 minutes of blowing to clear the air vent, but it will definitely solve that problem.
You can also use a leaf blower to clear your eavestrough and eavestrough downpipe.
This is especially good if you have an asphalt roof with shingles.
Can You Clean Your House With A Leaf Blower?
Do not use a leaf blower to clean your house.
The leaf blower ends up redistributing the dust particles and regular use can seriously damage your health.
The noise decibels from a leaf blower when used indoors can be deafening and cause ear problems.
Although some people clean their houses with a leaf blower, it is not advisable for your health and safety.
Can You Use A Leaf Blower In The Rain?
It is not advisable for you to use a leaf blower in the rain.
Most leaf blowers are not designed to be waterproof and if you use them under wet conditions they can get damaged.
They can get wet on the outside but if the water gets inside, it will damage the machine and you would have to spend money repairing it or even getting a new one.
As a result, you should expect performance issues that may jeopardize your device’s optimal operation.
Rusting symptoms appear over time, shortening the lifespan of your device. Rusting is especially concerning if you own a gasoline/gas-powered leaf blower.
Conclusion
Using leaf blowers indoors is not advisable as it predisposes you to several health problems such as pneumoconiosis, lung issues, and other carcinogenic problems.
You can safely use a leaf blower to move leaves on grass, wet leaves to dry your car and to move snow.
Apart from inside your house, other times you should not use your leaf blower, including in the rain, close to a window and leaves that have a lot of stones.
Leaf blowers when not used properly can hurt you, disturb your neighbors and negatively affect the environment.
