The best leaf blowers of 2023
These top-tested tools leave the competition on the market behind.
Melissa Rorech, review
There she blows!
No, not Moby Dick, whose soothing whale sounds are the stuff of New Age CDs. We’re talking about the scourge of the suburbs, that curse of quiet, the nightmarish noise that homeowners dread every spring. The leaf blower.
GrrrRRRAAAAAARRRRRRaaarrrrr.
The leaf blower was invented in 1947, but in some communities in New Jersey it is now the number one nuisance.
“People don’t think of noise pollution as pollution, but it definitely impacts the quality of life,” said Rep. Lisa Swain (D-Fair Lawn), whose bill A2319, colloquially known as the “leaf blower bill,” was introduced in December 2021. She hopes it will be heard in the Environment Committee in September. “I hope there will be broad support,” she said.
Her own origin story as an enemy of the blower began like so many others.
“A few years ago, this happened: One Saturday afternoon, I finally had a few minutes and wanted to sit down and read a book,” said Swain, who twice served as Fair Lawn’s mayor. “Then my neighbor’s landscaper came. They started blowing the leaves away. It was so loud that it was no longer relaxing to sit and read. So I started.”
Noise off: leaf blower bans in the USA
Swain isn’t the only one concerned about the estimated 11 million gasoline-powered leaf blowers in the United States.
This issue became increasingly agitating for people during and after the pandemic – when many of them working from home realized that they were not hearing any sounds during the week because of their office work.
About 200 cities in the United States now have regulations on leaf blowers. Some cities restrict their use to certain times of day or season. California, Washington, DC and Miami have already banned gasoline-powered leaf blowers altogether. Other cities are planning to do the same.
New Jersey cities that have enacted restrictions include Glen Ridge, Princeton, Maplewood, Montclair, Morristown and West Orange.
Leaf blowers are pretty loud. They have been measured at over 100 decibels at the point of origin. That’s roughly the same level as a chainsaw, a jackhammer or the front seat at a rock concert.
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Of course, they are not as loud if you hear them from next door. But, experts say, there is a low-frequency component in the sound that persists even at a distance, making it more penetrating than, for example, the noise of a vacuum cleaner.
“If three people use those gas blowers for 20 minutes, it’s pretty loud,” said Dave Chalek, owner of Sprout Farms & Gardens in Teaneck.
What is the bill for leaf blowers in New Jersey?
Swain’s bill would require the utility to provide financial incentives – rebates – for the purchase of low-noise electric or battery-powered leaf blowers for homes and landscaping companies.
Such gas-free alternatives do exist. And they are quiet. “They are so quiet that you wouldn’t even hear them in the house,” said Chalek.
The problem is that they are also expensive. And not perfect. Most of them don’t have batteries that hold a charge long enough to mow an entire lawn.
Both problems are likely to be solved in the near future. One of the possible solutions is contractors’ trucks equipped with solar panels that can act as power plants. “It’s not really a viable technology yet, but it’s being worked on,” said Chalek.
At the same time, landscaping companies, who are the biggest noise polluters, need to be motivated to change.
“You have to look at it from the contractor’s perspective,” Chalek said. “I think we need to reduce pollution in the turf industry overall, but people have to remember that the cost of doing that is high. A gas-powered leaf blower costs $500. The electric models cost over $1,200.”
Decrease volume
However, landscapers can certainly benefit from dampening the noise, Swain argues.
“It affects the people who live in the neighborhoods, but also the people who work for landscaping companies,” she said. “Not only does it affect their hearing, but they are also exposed to the dust and particles that are thrown into the air.”
From an environmental perspective, gasoline-powered leaf blowers are generally questionable, says Chalek. “Aside from the noise, they are a burden on the environment,” he says. “They use quite a lot of gasoline and don’t have good filtration. They don’t have a catalytic converter. It’s a very simple system, a very simple engine, a gasoline-oil mixture.”
The other alternative, of course, is a tried and tested tool that dates back to China in 1100 BC. You may have heard of it. It’s called a rake.
Of course, that has its drawbacks. “It costs too much money to hire a man to rake,” Chalek said. “If contractors are charging $65 to $80 an hour per man, which is the industry rate, it would cost hundreds of dollars just to rake a small yard.”
But nothing stops you from doing it yourself. It’s good for your neighbors, good for you – and good for your wallet.
“It’s great exercise,” said Chalek. “It’s good for the environment. And a rake is cheaper than a battery-powered or gas-powered blower.”
