Leaf blowers are widely considered one of the most annoying pieces of lawn equipment, at least by the people who aren’t using them. Most complains are caused by the loud noise. Others come up when careless operators blow debris into the streets, at parked automobiles, or too close to people walking by. Another argument against blowers is that they contribute to pollution.
Complaints about leaf blowers have lead several cities to ban or restrict their use. Hundreds of cities already restrict how long and what time of the day you can use a blower. Others have banned gasoline-powered blowers or banned blower use entirely. Still more, including Washington D.C., are currently considering whether or not to pass a ban. But are these bans actually doing any good? Or are they just creating more problems?
Reasons To Keep Using Leaf Blowers
Anyone who works with leaf blowers knows what a valuable tool they can be. Blowers save so much time compared to sweeping the pavement with a broom or using a rake on the lawn and garden. They can also be safer, such as when you need to get leaves out of a bush with thorns that could pierce through work gloves.
In some situations, switching to battery-powered or corded electric blowers offers a partial solution. With the advances in battery-powered equipment, you can now get electric blowers that are powerful, portable, and quieter than those powered by gasoline. But they’re still not as powerful as gasoline blowers and recharging them isn’t as easy as refilling a gas tank. Many landscapers prefer gasoline-powered blowers and don’t want to see them banned.
Fighting A Blower Ban
No matter how useful leaf blowers are you won’t be able to fight a ban unless you can address people’s concerns. If you’re actively fighting a ban in your city, proving how useful blowers are is only part of what you’ll need to win the argument. Landscapers also have to show they can address noise concerns by using quiet leaf blowers (both gasoline and electric).
You can also cite the example of cities like Santa Monica, which has been struggling for two decades to enforce a leaf blower ban without much success. Banning blowers doesn’t reliably solve the noise issue. It just causes other problems.
Two other complaints leveled against leaf blowers – that they cause pollution and are dirty – are pretty easy to address. Like other small engines, modern leaf blowers now meet strict exhaust emission requirements from the EPA. They’re simply not producing pollution the way that they used to. And the complaint about blowing dirt around is easy to minimize. You just need to train operators to handle blowers in a way that doesn’t blast dust into the streets or spray dirt into cars.
Better Ways To Solve The Problem
If your city isn’t yet banning blowers, you can help make sure that doesn’t happen by reducing noise levels now. Modern leaf blowers (even the gasoline versions) are about 75% quieter than those manufactured a decade ago. And there are plenty of extra-quiet blower on the market right now that produce 65 dB(A) or less of sound. For some people, these quiet gasoline blowers might even be less annoying than the high-pitched scream battery-powered models can make.
Finding better ways to use leaf blowers is a much more effective solution than banning them. Here at Richarson Saw & Lawnmower, we carry modern leaf blowers from top manufacturers including Echo and Stihl. They offer efficient gasoline powered-models as well as cutting-edge battery-powered blowers. The Echo’s PB-760LN, for example, is quieter than the sound of a baby crying. Just stop by and see us and we’ll help you find a blower that will work for you.
