Those leaf blower thingies

[betty swollocks]

make a terrific din.
Why don't they just use a broom?

 

[Fnaar]

Exackerly.... it's amusing to watch them blowin' away in Autumn only to have the wind instantly undo their work! And they are an incredible waste of fuel/energy too!

 

[Dayvo]

I use one at work and I agree, they do make a lot of noise. However, there is a new one on the market that is almost silent.
I prefer using a broom, but when there's a ton of leaves and a headwind, it isn't much fun.

 

[marinyork]

I hate the things. Make a huge noise and lots of energy and completely useless if not used properly.

I remember York Council Workers coming every monday to blow leafs all day. On the trip home they'd have blown back already.

 

[simoncc]

They aren't as bad as those twig grinding machines. I'm amazed that people can convince themselves they need all these garden gadgets. I suspect they are driven slightly mad by the tedium of their lives.

 

[betty swollocks]

I can sort of understand (but don't agree with) people using petrol or electric powered lawn mowers or hedge clippers, after all, they do make the job quicker.
But I don't think leaf blowers do.
What's the point of clearing up leaves in autumn anyway?

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

..there is a road on one of my loops where I swear the main occupation of the occupants is keeping up with the jonses...I await autum with glee, I am almost certain I can tell now which house will have the biggest blower on display and which will follow...personally i think it's a sign of too much money, to much time and not much of a life.

 

[palinurus]

Just ride past 'em and shout "YOU'RE WASTING YOUR TIME!"

 

[Globalti]

They are definitely a penis substitute.

 

[Pete]

More than once I've thought of posting a long ranting gripe about leaf blowers - just never got around to it. In my case, it's in the car park at work where this happens - an obnoxious petrol-driven contraption that's noisy and disturbs us at work and serves no useful purpose - it merely pushes the 'problem' elsewhere - as likely as not around the cycle racks . I feel like throwing open the window and yelling at the chap "When I were a lad, they used a broom and shovel and cleared up the leaves...". But who to complain to?

They aren't as bad as those twig grinding machines. I'm amazed that people can convince themselves they need all these garden gadgets.

BUT: I need to take issue with you, Simon, over this one! I presume you mean the garden shredders which are becoming ever more popular. We have one - an electric model, about 1600 watts, granted, about the same as a lawnmower - which we have dubbed 'the Martian' because it closely resembles H G Wells' creation standing on three legs with its voracious appetite! It's paid for itself many times over since we've had it, and I've lent it out to others once or twice and had praiseworthy comments in return. It means that all the garden prunings - even rose prunings and brambles - which might otherwise go on a bonfire and smoke the whole neighbourhood out (to say nothing of carbon emissions) are reduced to a bag of chippings which we can easily spread out and 'lose' under the shrubbery and on the flowerbeds and vegetable plot. I once even pushed an entire apple tree which we had to take out, through the thing, save only the trunk and bigger branches. No need to load the stuff in the back of the car (as the neighbours do) and drive the 5-mile round trip to the public waste site (where the stuff probably goes to landfill anyway), burning petrol all the way. No, this shredder is doing a valuable service and no looking back! It's noisy and consumes power, granted, but no more than a lawnmower, and I only use it in the daytime when other neighbours have their appliances going. Go get one! You'll be thankful!