I wish they would ban the gas ones. They are rarely well maintained and just blow huge clouds of exhaust into the air
Leaf Blowers - How much do they pollute?
by Elsewhere 18 Replies latest jw friends
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Nathan Natas
All the guys in my country club have leaf blowers - the good ones, 500cc V-8 double stoke engines. Make one hell of a racket!
Once a year we all get together down at the country club after the leaves have fallen for our annual BLOW OUT BBQ.
We blow the leaves into a holler on the property and then light em up! What a glorious fall celebration.
Then we have our end-of-the-season BBQ. Good times, amigo, good times.
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rebel8
I actually import leaves to cover my lawn. I don't have enough so I get them from other people's trees.
The soil quality is so poor--I had it tested by a university and they said I need to keep adding organic material and protect it from absorbing salt in the winter (sprinkled on the roads).
My neighbors were none too amused.
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worldtraveller
As mentioned above, leaf blowers are 2 cycle (or stroke). That requires you to put oil in the gas to lubricate moving parts. That's bad.
As I have learned last year, raking leaves and placing them on our compost recycling burns lots of calories and doesn't take tons of time. That's good.
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Finally-Free
I leave my leaves on the lawn. Autumn is my favourite season, so why would I remove one of its most attractive characteristics?
W
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worldtraveller
Hello FF. I remove most because here in Vancouver, if I did that all that would be left would be moss. Too wet here.
Otherwise I would. I would prefer to shred these huge leaves before they rot.
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hecouldbewrong
California EPA says leaf blowers are bad? Let me attempt to contain my surprise.
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dissed
I've always thought rotting leaves smell like dirty socks.
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WTWizard
Leaf blowers do save labor, and they do pollute with particulates. The pollution is because you are mixing oil and fuel--that is what puts out the filth. It does not put out carbon dioxide any more than any other burning of the same amount of gasoline. They also pollute with noise.
If you use a rake (not a pressure washer), you are getting exercise while raking leaves. It is also much cheaper, it makes no noise, and is safer (rakes do not get hot enough to burn or create hazards associated with fuel in normal usage). If you have a small or medium sized yard, I definitely recommend a simple rake. Bonus" Rakes are more reliable and never need maintenance.
However, rakes are not as thorough as a leaf blower. Electrics are quieter, cleaner (no oil and gas mixture), and safer (no fuel to blow up), but they are limited in range by cord or rechargeable batteries, and generally not as powerful as fuel powered models (they are also lighter). With a rake, there is the chance of handling a spider (in parts of the country, you have to worry about black widow or brown recluse spiders) and snakes (if you are scared of snakes and live in an area where they are common, you definitely want a leaf blower). I recommend an electric/cordless rechargeable leaf blower for small yards if you are unable to physically rake them, and the gas powered ones for professional use or larger yards.