Leaf blower – friend or foe?
Recently, much annoyance has been caused by the street cleaners who whirl up dust and leaves on city streets, usually starting this work even when half the people are still enjoying blissful sleep. Many have developed doubts about the existence of leaf blowers as such in general. Are leaf blowers really spawn of the devil, or is it something else?
Firstly, these are still primarily devices intended for blowing together or vacuuming up leaves, which, when used incorrectly, do indeed create unnecessary noise and whirl dust around. With a leaf blower it is probably convenient to blow the dust and dirt, along with a few leaves, from the pavement you look after all the way to the neighbouring house, but that is indeed laziness in such a case. Namely, when working like this the dirt and leaves do not disappear anywhere – either the wind or the neighbour with their blower will probably at some point bring them back in front of the same house and the problem does not go away. In addition, dust in the air probably also causes health problems for people with a weaker immune system.
But where is a leaf blower suitable, then? A leaf blower is suitable for maintaining parks and green areas and considerably simplifies clearing leaves off the lawn. On the lawn there is also no loose sand and dust to whirl around. You should certainly choose calmer weather and dispose of the blown-together leaves. You should dispose of leaves that do not decompose in nature – such as oak leaves or other large leaves that cover the lawn surface to a greater extent.
If oak or maple leaves are left on the lawn over winter, fungal diseases can spread underneath them and the next season the lawn is full of ugly patches. These are brown, round patches with greyish-white edges that gradually grow larger and spread across the whole lawn. Fruit-tree leaves, however, can be successfully shredded with a mulching lawn mower – this way they decompose quickly and remain on the lawn as very necessary fertiliser.
In addition to blowing leaves, blowers can also be used for the following tasks:
- For drying a car or similar equipment after washing
- Interior cleaning of caravans, buses, lorry cargo areas and similar surfaces
- For cleaning garages, construction sites, warehouses
- For clearing freshly fallen snow
- For cleaning gutters – there are also special extension tubes for this.
- For cleaning the roof
So a leaf blower is nonetheless a useful helper if it is used sensibly. Incompetent use can indeed do more harm than good. When doing all these jobs, it is also possible to consider the health of other people – either by using appropriate protective equipment indoors or by choosing the time of use. For example, in noise-sensitive areas you can use battery-powered blowers, which make less noise and also do not pollute the environment with exhaust gases.
