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Leaf Blowers: Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em

Date:October 25, 2010 | Author:Diane Tuman | Category:Home Improvement

Photo courtesy shiftncsu.com

Leaf blowers: Are they a scream machine and pollutant, or a necessity to make your home’s lawn and landscape neat ‘n tidy?

Coral Gables, FL is the latest city to crack down on use of leaf blowers after the City Commission tentatively passed a partial ban on leaf blowers. The final reading is scheduled for tomorrow, according to the Miami Herald.

Leaf blowers are quickly becoming the SUV of home ownership: They are considered loud and pollute the air by spreading mold spores, pesticides and other chemicals. For Coral Cables, this is just par for the course since the city has many rules and regulations that home owners must abide by. For example:

House paint must be an approved color
Garbage can’t go out until the night before pickup
Trucks must be concealed in garages, not left out in driveways

If the leaf blower measure passes in Coral Gables, commercial landscapers and lawn services will not be allowed to use them, while homeowners will be allowed to use electric leaf blower models during designated hours. However, Coral Gables city workers and city contractors are exempt from the measure. Power tools such as chain saws, weed trimmers, lawn-edgers and chippers will also be affected by the measure.

Approximately 400 cities in the U.S. have a partial or total ban on leaf blowers, including major California cities such as Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, Hermosa Beach, Carmel and Berkeley. Add another California city — Orinda, CA — to the list of possible leaf blower-banishment as the New Yorker magazine offers a thought-provoking article about one person’s war against leaf blowers.

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Responses (9)

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Buy Scentsy 1:03 PM - Oct 25,2010

Leaf blowers are great if you are using them to conveniently clear your own garden, but on a hypocritical note, when you are trying to relax in your own home and you have to listen to your neighbor run his leaf blower for hours on end it makes you want to pull your hair out. Need someone to create a quiet version.
Ian Marshall 10:12 AM - Oct 28,2010

Most lawnmowers now have the ability to mulch the leaves returning them to the lawn to nourish the soil. I don’t like to tell my neighbor what to do, but I will never purchase or use a leaf blower.
Sentsy 11:06 AM - Oct 28,2010

I was at the Dr’s yesterday with my sick child waiting in the lobby. Just outside the door was a leaf blower in full force. The exhaust, noise and debris was blowing into the lobby making the situation more uncomfortable for everyone. So, today I hate them!!
Raleigh Real Estate 2:20 PM - Dec 2,2010

Mulching is always a great idea but a leaf blower sometimes is the most economical way to get a yard or an office cleaned up.
Dry Cleaning Delivery Service Atlanta 1:19 PM - Dec 17,2010

If you’ve ever raked leafs and then used a leaf blower, then you understand what a true time saver leaf blowers are.
Bob the innocent passerby 10:03 AM - Feb 10,2011

There are alternatives to these noisy, smog producing (In many cases), animal feces spewing, spore spewing and possibly bacteria spewing machines. The alternative is a vacuum device that is offered by some other manufacturers. They are a little more expensive and make the job a little longer, but at least an innocent passerby is not subjected to the exhaust of these perfect examples of how to spew those vile things into the air that you shouldn’t breath. No wonder you see some of the operatives of these devices wearing masks (even the electric ones).