Guides4Homeowners Useful Information & Guides
Autumn comes with all sorts of tasks you need to take care of if you’re living in a house with a lawn and a lot of trees surrounding it. All the leaves falling off trees keep you busy on a daily or weekly basis until the entire tree loses its rusty leaves and prepares for winter. There’s no better solution than a leaf blower to make sure your lawn and driveway are clean and free of leaves. However, if you’re also concerned about the environment, or you don’t wish to annoy your neighbors, you’ll need a good alternative for that gas-powered leaf blower you own. If you’re not convinced that’s the case, in conjunction with homemakerguide.com made a job of listing all the downsides a gas-powered model has and mentioning some good alternatives for you.
Reasons Why You Should Consider Replacing Your Gas-Powered Leaf Blower
Gas-powered leaf blowers are undoubtedly efficient, but they are extreme polluters because of the gas emissions. The manufacturers of new models found a way to create more eco–friendly engines, but they still release around 100% of tailpipe emissions. This is why more and more states put the ban or limit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. Some cities in California went even further and banned not only the gas-powered but also electric and battery-powered leaf blowers back in 1976. Sometimes people think that the idea that a leaf blower can damage the environment is a bit of exaggeration, and they don’t think that we should be so concerned. Even if you’re not necessarily that concerned about the environment, there are plenty of other ways a gas-powered leaf blower can cause problems.
You might be wondering what you are supposed to do now with all the leaves in your garden if you are not supposed to use this gadget. Fortunately, not all things are lost! There are plenty of solutions that enable you to enjoy your beautiful and healthy lawn without polluting the environment and disturbing the neighbours. Let’s see what other ways of how leaf blowers cause harm and what alternatives we can use to have the same effect are.
Noise Pollution
We have all heard so much about atmospheric pollution that there is no need to explain it. But what about noise pollution – do you know what it is and how it causes harm? Let’s say you’re a morning person. And on the weekends, you’re so happy about not going to work that you want to start your chores first thing in the morning. During fall, this includes blowing the leaves off your lawn and driveway. You get to it only to discover that your gas-powered blower is so loud you’re embarrassed to operate it. Your average leaf blower can reach up to 70 decibels, and that’s enough to wake the entire neighbourhood up. You are probably not giving much thought to it. Still, according to the World Health Organisation, this is considered noise pollution, which is one of the most dangerous environmental threats for health. Also, the European Environment Agency published the statistics according to which noise pollution cause around 16000 premature deaths and more than 72000 hospitalizations per year.
Allergies
When you blow the leaves, you’re starting a mini-tornado that displaces the dust, pollen, and allergens along with everything else. Even wearing a mask can leave you vulnerable to all kinds of allergies or simply airways irritations right after you finish the job. The main problem is that blowers put little fragments of leaves in the air. Inhaling them can cause different allergic reactions and aggravate asthma if you are already suffering from it. Another possible adverse effect regarding allergies and being able to breathe appropriately comes from the fumes a gas-powered leaf blower generates.
Environmental Impact
Last but not least, we need to take into consideration the environmental impact of these gas-powered blowers. Even though it may not look like much, the fumes generated by such a device are enough to go up into the atmosphere and combined with all the car emissions and other greenhouse gases to contribute to the rapidly degrading climate. As mentioned above, you may think that using gas-powered leaf blowers a few times per year doesn’t cause big damage compared to other polluters. That might make sense on one level, yet on the other, imagine what would happen if everyone thought that way. For example, a study from 2011 shows that using this machine for only one hour per day emits 300 times the pollutants as a little truck. Imagine what can happen if all the homeowners across the world used it only one hour a few times per year. The result would be devastating, wouldn’t it? We have all seen the result of the abuse of nature over the decades. On the other hand, if each of us would take small actions, like switching from leaf blowers to greener alternatives, we would contribute greatly to the protection and preservation of our precious planet.
Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Leaf Blowers
If the reasons presented above convinced you it’s time to ditch that gas-powered model and go for something green, we have plenty of alternatives. No matter if you’re thinking electric leaf blowers or a different approach, we have you covered.
Leaf Rake
We know you’re not such a big fan of manual labour, but don’t be quick to dismiss this suggestion. Rakes have plenty of advantages over blowers and not just from an allergenic point of view. If you’re going for a high-quality model, you might discover that you’re done with gathering all the leaves a lot faster than using a blower. Plus, the emissions of a rake are 0, and the most noise you’ll be making is when you’re pressing to hard and scratch the ground with it. Plus, if you’re only dealing with the lawn or small surfaces, a leaf blower can be a bit of an overkill. Not to mention all the benefits coming from the extra exercise you’ll be putting in. If you’re not convinced a rake can represent a great alternative, you can read more about their other advantages on homemakersguide.com.
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Electric Leaf Mulchers / Vacuum
Another right way to avoid all the downsides of gas-powered blowers is going electric and changing the operation method altogether. Electric leaf vacuums or mulchers are better options because you don’t have to worry about gas emissions, and they don’t make so much noise. Also, they don’t move the air everywhere like blowers, but in the opposite direction (in the unit), they don’t create a problem with dust and debris. Besides that, many yard vacuums come with toothed impellers that shred the leaves as they are sucked in. Mulched leaves ultimately take much less space in your yard and are better to be used for compost.
- 62-170mph variable airspeed You can use lower speeds on delicate areas such...
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Electric Lawn Mowers
Since leaves tend to always fall on your lawn, it’s an excellent approach to take care of two jobs at once. Going for a new electric lawn mower that also includes a vacuum to gather the leaves will help you save time and energy at the same time. The noise generated by these mowers is also considerably lower, so you won’t have to worry about waking your neighbours up. Same with leaf vacuums, you don’t have to worry about sending the particles of grass and leaves all over the neighbourhood as you would do if you are using the leaf blower. Additionally, even if you are already protecting the atmosphere when you are using the electric lawn mower, there are plenty of manual options that are even safer. Yes, you might think that using this type of appliance requires a lot of effort. However, the new models of push powers are easier to operate. Plus, making a pile of leaves and jumping in it can bring a lot of fun. Another benefit here is that you also do a bit of workout and improve your health.
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Conclusion
What do you think? Is it the right time to let go of that gas-powered leaf-blower and switch to better alternatives to protect the environment and your health? We didn’t include specific models in our article since it’s up to you to find the best-fitted replacement for the blower you’re using. The main goal was to inform you about the alternatives and negatives aspects of gas-powered devices, and we hope we achieved it. As always, we are happy to hear your thoughts and feedback through the comment section.
