Stop Blowing Me

As fall trudges forward and more leaves litter our yards and sidewalks, I am reminded of how the leaves make me cranky. Not the leaves in and of themselves, per se, because I do think they are beautiful. But rather, the act of cleaning them up. Quite honestly, not even the process of raking or sweeping, but the hated, dreaded, loathed, nasty practice of leaf blowing. I understand this is not an activity limited solely to autumn, but falling leaves certainly do make the problem more prevalent.

Look, I sympathize with people who perform back breaking labor in yards, especially those who do it for a living. So I decided to give the benefit of the doubt and assume the noise makers really do significantly speed up yard work. I have observed the landscapers in my neighborhood for far too many hours during this experiment, and they would not be pleased with the results. Those who used leaf blowers ended up spending more time on cleanup than those who raked or swept up debris.

This worker has been over the same spot three times already. Sweeping is faster.

It's true. I have witnessed countless examples of these workers circling the same area over and over and over again to corral a few rogue leaves or blades of grass, only to blow the rest of the pile around, necessitating more blowing. Add to that the practice of keeping the blower running while pausing to talk to someone, check a cell phone, look around or perform any other non-work related activity. Why must the blower stay buzzing when not immediately in use? Everywhere I pass, I see the same phenomenon repeated by different people using different, but equally annoying, blowers.

This guy isn't even doing anything, but keeps the blower running.

I understand the rhythmically twirling leaves may be mesmerizing and force yard workers to become momentarily incapacitated. However, the rest of us are not privy to the little leaf dance show and can only imagine that the artistic qualities of said twirling leaves are enough to render workers impervious to the incessant buzzing they create.

Think I'm overreacting? Take this into consideration: many, if not most, of the people I witness using leaf blowers wear ear plugs. While I'm glad workers take measures to protect their own hearing, not all of us have been offered such a luxury. When I'm merely feet away from the device, be it while running or when my condo association's landscapers are DIRECTLY OUTSIDE MY WINDOW, my ears are still being bombarded at full blast.

While I don't have any children, I've heard numerous mothers complain about the struggle they encounter with leaf blowers during naptime. The noise seems to permeate even the thickest walls and windows so effectively, many a mother has grown weary attempting to force a cranky child to sleep through the racket. I'll admit that I've experienced this when trying to put myself down for a nap, only to be foiled by the blasted blowers and give up in an exhausted rage.

As I understand it, there are noise mufflers that can be attached to the blowers, and many newer models employ noise reducing systems. However, these innovations add to the price tag, and are therefore often avoided by people in the market for a leaf blower.

The problem doesn't solely lie in the cringe-inducing din emitted by leaf blowers. They create a health hazard with the debris kicked up into the air. Think about it: would you want to breathe in all the crap collecting on the ground? Many people remove their shoes at the door for the very purpose of avoiding trekking that into their homes. But we don't think twice about sucking it into our lungs when passing an area where someone is using a leaf blower. Sweeping, raking, or even using a leaf sweeper does not fling particulate matter into the air as does a blower, which spews air at speeds that rival hurricanes.

Use a non-motorized sweeper. Quiet and quick!

Don't get me started on using a blower in the street.  This is completely pointless. I don't sweep the street, so you shouldn't feel the need to blow around the bits of debris in it. This is foul, considering the gutter is where every pungent liquid in the neighborhood pools and travels to the nearest sewer. I would like to ask those who continue to blow matter into and around the street to cease and desist. Kindly don't kick up matter from the gutter for me to inhale. In addition to the grossness of other particulate contents, take into consideration those of us who suffer from allergies. Forcing air onto sidewalks and streets makes countless pollen spores that were previously smashed to the ground airborne, and thus makes them ripe for inhaling.

I'm all for innovations making our lives more convenient. However, when an innovation so clearly exhibits more negative qualities than the amount of energy spent doing the task by hand, I take exception. Are leaf blowers the only such commonly used device?  Certainly not. But in my opinion, they're one of the most egregious examples.

I'll take solace in the fact that I'm far from the only person becoming enraged by the noise and unhealthy effects of leaf blowers. I've been complaining about this for years, and have been working on this blog post for months. Last year I found an article in the New Yorker about frustrated residents in California who banded together to get bans on the devices in their neighborhoods. In the long term, I'll keep my fingers crossed that such a ban makes its way into my community. But for now, I'll leave you with a piece on leaf blowers which aired recently on CBS Sunday Morning, and highlights quite well nearly all of my gripes for the national audience to ponder.