Leaf blowers were originally designed for clearing leaves from driveways, yards, and public parks faster than rakes.
It comes with the power of the wind and will help to effortlessly clear out leaves.
The use of leaf blowers has also gone past the traditional leaf blowing as you can use this tool for a variety of other uses.
These uses include blowing snow, cleaning your gutter, and even drying out your car.
This article will discuss the different uses of a blower, why you shouldn’t use a leaf blower, why cities are banning the machine, and a few other questions.
Are Leaf Blowers Useful?
- Leaf Blowing
The original use of the leaf blower is as its name implies to blow leaves.
Air is forcefully propelled from the nozzle for the blower which blows leaves.
With this, the operator can direct the leaves to an area or corner where they can be in a pile.
It is then easier for the leaves to dry up or be gathered up for compost. In recent times, leaf blowers now come with vacuum and mulch functions.
This helps to reduce the leaves by 88-90% and easily turn them to post.
- Blowing Snow
During the winter, you don’t have to store your leaf blower.
They can come in handy on cold, snowy winter days. They can also be used to blow snow as well.
While not as powerful as snow blowers, they can be used as a snow blower to clear light snow from paths and driveways.
You can also blow snow away from your car and tires to avoid slipping as you drive away.
Make sure you have a leaf blower on hand this winter to help you clear snow quickly and easily around your home.
Leaf blowers should only be used to clear light and fluffy snow. Wet and heavy snow might be too heavy for your blower to move and it might get damaged in the long run.
- Cleaning Gutters
Because rainwater has nowhere to go, it falls into gutters and clogs them up. This can cause a slew of problems.
It might result in flooding and property damage.
Furthermore, during the winter months, rainwater can collect and form icicles, which might ruin your guttering.
Without getting your hands filthy, a leaf blower provides an easy and effective gutter cleaning quick fix for your roofs
Some leaf blowers are also equipped with a gutter cleaning kit or extensions. This enables you to clean your gutters in a matter of minutes.
- Drying Your Car
The leaf blower is the next most useful apparatus if you decide to pressure wash your vehicle at home.
Most drive-through car washes employ huge blowers to dry your car after washing.
This is an excellent way to avoid the filthy streaks that natural air drying might cause.
You can recreate this feeling at home by using a leaf blower to dry your car after it has been washed.
To ensure that your automobile is totally dry, go inside all of the dark crevices.
One thing to keep in mind is that you might get a little wet while doing this, so don’t wear your nicest clothes.
Apart from your car exterior, you can also use leaf blowers to dry the insides of your car after scrubbing.
The leaf blower will easily dry up your chairs, dashboard, rug, and even the boot.
- Clearing Pathways
If you’ve recently planted some lovely floral arrangements in your backyard, dirt will almost certainly accumulate on the pathways.
By lightly using your leaf blower on this compost, you can save time and work to move them off the pathway.
Similarly, if you’ve just mowed the lawn, rather than brushing it all down, you can blow the excess grass cuttings off your path.
- Cleaning Your Lawn Mower
Your lawn mower will almost certainly be jammed with grass after mowing the yard.
Your leaf blower can easily blow the grass clippings out of the lawn mower’s bottom. After that, you can properly clean the lawnmower with a hose.
To give the lawnmower that final touch, use your leaf blower to dry it off and make it as good as new.
Here is an article I wrote on are leaf blowers bad for bees?
Why You Shouldn’t Use A Leaf Blower?
Although leaf blowers are useful for several reasons, the use of the noisy types has been a cause for concern in recent times.
A gas-powered leaf blower is bad for you for the following reasons:
- Loud Noise: Cheap and commercial-grade gas-powered leaf blowers often make sounds between 80 – 105 decibels according to the CDC. With a study use, this can lead to ear injury as well as hearing loss. They are also over the 55 DB noise limit and can’t be heard several blocks in over in cities.
- Air Pollution: Leaf blowers blow up a lot of dust particles, as well as emit noxious gases such as carbon monoxide.
- Health Problems: When combined, these issues from the use of leaf blowers can cause health problems for long-term users. Conditions such as mental health problems, hearing loss, asthma, hypertension and the like can come up from the frequent use of noisy leaf blowers.
Why Are Cities Banning Leaf Blowers?
Several cities and municipalities are not only regulating the use of leaf blowers but have banned their use out rightly.
In Washington DC, gas leaf blowers are banned and in California, legislation that will ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers is currently being passed.
The environmental consequences of leaf blowers, especially the gas-powered types are increasingly becoming a source of concern.
Leaf blowers have been identified as a major source of carbon emissions in studies.
Furthermore, there is growing concern that the emissions are having a negative influence on landscaping employees’ health.
Because of the seemingly unending screaming of leaf blowers in many neighborhoods, it’s difficult to enjoy reading, a barbeque, or even having an outdoor event or conversation.
Landscapers in certain upscale neighborhoods are unrelenting. From daylight to night, the noise is practically constant.
Many consumer-grade leaf blowers employ a two-stroke engine that lacks an independent lubricating system, necessitating the mixing of fuel and oil.
Carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides (which generate smog and acid rain), and hydrocarbons (a carcinogenic gas that also causes smog) are all dangerous toxic pollutants released into the air when oil and fuel are burned.
Can Leaf Blowers Damage Cars?
It is safe to use leaf blowers around and on cars.
They do not damage the paintwork on your car and they are quite good for drying off your car when you wash.
This is due to the fact that most leaf blowers operate using low PSI and strength.
If you are using a leaf blower around your car, ensure that the nozzle of the machine is well directed to the floor.
This is because stones and debris flying up can actually damage your car.
Here is an article I wrote on best leaf blowers for seniors
Are Leaf Blowers Worth It Right Now?
Despite the uproar around leaf blowers, we have to admit they are still very useful in the house and around cities.
Most environmentalists are campaigning for them to be banned outright and the leaves should be left where they are.
To ease the issues that come from leaf blower use, switch to electric leaf blowers.
Electric leaf blowers are quieter and do not emit polluting substances into the environment.
Electric leaf blowers have basically solved the problems that come from the use of gas-powered types.
Although electric leaf blowers do not have engines as powerful as that gas-powered ones, they are lighter, quieter, and less expensive.
Conclusion
Leaf blowers were originally used for spraying chemicals on farms and in time they got adapted to being used to blow leaves.
This does not mean leaf blowing is the only thing they can use them for.
In this article we have outlined several fun uses of a leaf blower including snow blowing, cleaning gutters, drying your car to mention a few things.
Leaf blowers have become an issue of concern for users and the environment due to their loud noise, and bad emissions.
Although there is a clamor for leaf blowers to be banned, electric leaf blowers are cheaper and healthier alternatives that can be used by everyone.