5 ms·

Honest question : Does humanity really need leaf blowers ?

tomxor 3y ago
I don't think so. It seems to be mostly a thing in the US, I presume for aesthetic purposes? In the UK we just leave them. For most roads, pavements and grassy areas (especially public areas), it's usually left alone, the leaves are good for the soil anyway. Admittedly they can be a road hazard when you get lots of layers of leaves, but then so is ice, mud, frogs etc. I think road-sweepers might take care leaves in particularly hazardous cases and in busy city areas, but I've rarely seen them.
- sarchertech 3y ago
  Leaf blowers are poorly named. Blowing leaves accounts for maybe 5% of their use. They are primarily used by landscapers to blow grass clippings off of sidewalks and driveways. Personally I think they should be banned because they are annoyingly loud almost half a mile away.
bagels 3y ago
Need, no. I do want a tidy yard and to not track dust, leaves, and twigs in to the house.
- mr_toad 3y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broom
- Gigachad 3y ago
  Take your shoes off at the door. Then you won't be dirtying your floors.
  - shiroiuma 3y ago
    [flagged]
- n8cpdx 3y ago
  The others suggested broom technology and advanced taking shoes off technique. I would like to humbly offer two additional contributions to this field. Robot vacuums are getting cheaper and better at a surprising rate. I can track all manner of chaos and debris into my home, and my robovac keeps my floors very clean. As an alternative, there are welcome mats (also known as doormat). As a bonus they can be configured to greet or repel visitors.
asdff 3y ago
For managing large property, absolutely. As long as we play sports outside near falling leaves we need leaf blowers for safety. Good luck clearing leaves off a baseball or a football field with a rake, it would probably take an entire weekend of labor instead of a couple of hours.
n8cpdx 3y ago
I’m not even sure humanity wants them. I lived in socal for years in a home where the property management paid for landscaping. Every week, they would come and use leaf blowers to blow my dust onto my neighbor’s lawn. The next day the neighbor’s landscaper would come and blow their dust onto my home. The SoCal desert has a reputation for being dusty, but I think it is just a result of leaf blowers being used on unpaved driveways and an unintentional war between neighbors who haven’t even consented to the hostilities.
stickfigure 3y ago
To ask this question, you must live in a city. My pool area. My gutters. My roof during fire season. Underneath deciduous trees in the fall. A cordless leafblower is one of the best things I ever bought.
- panopticon 3y ago
  Same. I live in a heavily wooded area and it basically rains needles in the fall. I'm up there every other week this time of year with the cordless blower clearing off the roof. Couldn't imagine doing that with a rake or broom or something.

I don't think so. It seems to be mostly a thing in the US, I presume for aesthetic purposes? In the UK we just leave them. For most roads, pavements and grassy areas (especially public areas), it's usually left alone, the leaves are good for the soil anyway. Admittedly they can be a road hazard when you get lots of layers of leaves, but then so is ice, mud, frogs etc. I think road-sweepers might take care leaves in particularly hazardous cases and in busy city areas, but I've rarely seen them.

sarchertech 3y ago
Leaf blowers are poorly named. Blowing leaves accounts for maybe 5% of their use. They are primarily used by landscapers to blow grass clippings off of sidewalks and driveways. Personally I think they should be banned because they are annoyingly loud almost half a mile away.

bagels 3y ago

Need, no. I do want a tidy yard and to not track dust, leaves, and twigs in to the house.

mr_toad 3y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broom
Gigachad 3y ago
Take your shoes off at the door. Then you won't be dirtying your floors.
- shiroiuma 3y ago
  [flagged]
n8cpdx 3y ago
The others suggested broom technology and advanced taking shoes off technique. I would like to humbly offer two additional contributions to this field. Robot vacuums are getting cheaper and better at a surprising rate. I can track all manner of chaos and debris into my home, and my robovac keeps my floors very clean. As an alternative, there are welcome mats (also known as doormat). As a bonus they can be configured to greet or repel visitors.

asdff 3y ago

For managing large property, absolutely. As long as we play sports outside near falling leaves we need leaf blowers for safety. Good luck clearing leaves off a baseball or a football field with a rake, it would probably take an entire weekend of labor instead of a couple of hours.

n8cpdx 3y ago

I’m not even sure humanity wants them. I lived in socal for years in a home where the property management paid for landscaping. Every week, they would come and use leaf blowers to blow my dust onto my neighbor’s lawn. The next day the neighbor’s landscaper would come and blow their dust onto my home. The SoCal desert has a reputation for being dusty, but I think it is just a result of leaf blowers being used on unpaved driveways and an unintentional war between neighbors who haven’t even consented to the hostilities.

stickfigure 3y ago

To ask this question, you must live in a city. My pool area. My gutters. My roof during fire season. Underneath deciduous trees in the fall. A cordless leafblower is one of the best things I ever bought.

panopticon 3y ago
Same. I live in a heavily wooded area and it basically rains needles in the fall. I'm up there every other week this time of year with the cordless blower clearing off the roof. Couldn't imagine doing that with a rake or broom or something.