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The Forum > Article Comments > The leaf blowers of La-La Land > Comments

The leaf blowers of La-La Land : Comments

By Ian Nance, published 9/9/2008

When the weather prompts, lawns will be mowed and the leaf blowers will be proudly flaunted in the affluent villas of La-la Land.

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I just bought my husband one for father's day. It cost $49 - hardly a sign of affluence - and it runs on electricity. The leaves and clippings go in the green bin for disposal. He has done the broom and rake thing for decades - why may he not have the assistance of some modern technology to make things a bit easier? Glad we don't live next to Mr Nance though - what a neighbour he would be!
Posted by estelles, Tuesday, 9 September 2008 9:53:28 AM
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What a beautifully written article! It captures my own disgust with these machines in a comical and clever way! I too am unsure of the justification for the use of these noisy, polluting devices except as something to make it look like hard work is taking place, when really it is a sign of laziness. Even the cheaper, quieter, cleaner electrical version requires the use of resources that are not required when raking and sweeping.
Posted by coothdrup, Tuesday, 9 September 2008 10:26:42 AM
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Well said Ian.. not to mention incredibly annoyingly noisy as well.

And estelles, that's wonderful that you guys actually collect the leaves at the end of the process and dispose of them, but you would be in the minority from what I have seen over the years.. and by the way, electrically powered hardly gets you off the hook now, does it? What about the dirty great coal-fired power station that made the electricity??
Posted by stickman, Tuesday, 9 September 2008 11:05:06 AM
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A nice quiet healthy BROOM would cost about, oh, $20.00.
Posted by bennie, Tuesday, 9 September 2008 12:33:05 PM
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Yay! I've railed on about those bloody things ever since they first blighted the suburban landscape not all that long ago. Rakes and brooms work just fine, and they're good exercise.

Ban the Blower!
Posted by CJ Morgan, Tuesday, 9 September 2008 12:57:28 PM
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I've never been able to get my head around the 'philosophy of the leaf-blower', they are heavier than brooms and you don't ever have to swear at a broom for not starting, and, as Bennie pointed out a broom is quiet, in fact the action of sweeping is a very zen movement - relaxing. Besides don't you still have to use a broom at the very end for all the little bits?

BTW I live in Yarra Ranges and am on very familiar basis with leaves all year round.
Posted by Fractelle, Tuesday, 9 September 2008 2:24:20 PM
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What contempt the author shows for people who might just want to use tools that make life easier. Perhaps the author might want to reflect on the status-symbolism of the Internet, and stop using it, so we won't be polluted by his greenie pseudo-left hatred for anyone who doesn't live in a mud hut.

http://strangetimes.lastsuperpower.net
Posted by David Jackmanson, Tuesday, 9 September 2008 4:43:55 PM
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I have an electric leaf blower which actually sucks as well so that when I am on my roof sucking all the leaves out of the gutter I can dispose of them in my compost. Try doing that with broom. It is ten times more efficient than any broom and it is effective in the wet whereas a broom doesn't shift leaves that tend to stick to the pavement. I have 80 metres of drive way to clear, from all the trees that I have planted that shed 24 hours a day. All debris winds up on the garden where the litter decomposes. It is not burnt............that just creates pollution and distress to neighbours who have to put up with the smoke. I don't feel guilty about having a leaf blower.
Posted by snake, Tuesday, 9 September 2008 4:52:31 PM
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At a guess snake you don't live cheek-by-jowl with neighbours in a built-up area. Where sound is muffled by trees and an 80m driveway, no problem.

But for city living, you said it yourself. Blowers suck.
Posted by bennie, Tuesday, 9 September 2008 5:26:17 PM
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We must be the most affluent nation on earth, when we care enough to write about and then comment on leaf blowers. Folks,there's a whole world out there. Stop thinking about leaf blowers - go and enjoy it.
Posted by Senior Victorian, Tuesday, 9 September 2008 10:06:23 PM
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Why would anyone need a leaf blower? With this twit around, all we need is a handle for him. There is enough hot air comming out of him, to blow all the leaves in Oz, into a big pile.

We won't need a compost heap either. The majority of his output can then be put to work, fertilising our gardens.
Posted by Hasbeen, Wednesday, 10 September 2008 12:51:36 AM
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I've had one of the cheapo electric leaf blowers for years. It only gets used a few time a year when I get in the mood for a major clean up. Great for blowing stuff out from hard to reach, impossible to broom places, excellent for moving small stuff out from amongst rock and pebble beds.

It's loud but not intrusively so if used at an appropriate time of day. Not a tool for 7am on a weekend morning.

Mine has a switch to allow it to suck up piles of material, do a basic shred of the material and deposit it in the attached catcher bag. The resulting trainee mulch is then ready for a garden bed or the mulch bin.

It does use some power but probably less in a year than the power used in a weekend to make cups of tea or coffee.

I wonder if the author has neighbours who use theirs too often or at inappropriate times.

R0bert
Posted by R0bert, Wednesday, 10 September 2008 8:37:14 AM
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I am not a luddite, being in possession of a car, computer, TV, DVD and a powerful Brush Cutter. But my possessions are based on need. I live on a steep site, a lawn mower, particularly a manual mower simply wouldn't work. I wonder how many people here live on flat sites and use motor mowers? Time to consider the manual mower people.

Sweeping, however, is great exercise and is one less contribution to the waste and pollution to our world. Besides I would only take a broom on to the roof with me, it is light and easy to manage - taking even a small leaf blower onto a roof sounds a too risky - working on roofs is one of the most dangerous domestic chores. I clear the gutters by hand, it is not difficult and I get a great view across the ranges. Clearing leaf litter is a frequent chore up here in the ranges, I prefer to perform this task as safely and efficiently as possible and that means using a broom.
Posted by Fractelle, Wednesday, 10 September 2008 9:16:51 AM
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Oh ! Ian, You are indeed a wicked person.. To attack the very heart of Manhood...!.

However , I feel that , although you lightly touched upon the distinction of class levels you did not take it far enough.

Will the Blower ever completely become the centre of a Male World... NEVER..!

Can you see a Leaf Blower , no matter what name it is given by a the Maker or the number of Stripes on it ... compete with a Pit Bull in the areas in and around Logan ( as an example of a non La La Land )..?

NO !!

" My leaf Blower is more savage that your Leaf Blower"...

Nuh ! I simply cannot see it.. unless it's over the fence in a Leafy Paradise inhabited by petrol guzzling 4 Wheel Drives.and Executives.

I have to agree that Blowers ( and Pit Bulls ).. are indeed useless Items to have around the yard.. so perhaps you have performed a Public Service in pointing this out to our La La Land friends

Just buy the Lady of the property a Rake ....and a cold beer for yourself as you watch her work !

This was a serious Article, wasn't it Ian ?
Posted by Aspley, Wednesday, 10 September 2008 9:23:33 AM
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Funny article and some funny comments. Humour is healthy.

I admit a dislike for leaf blowers because at the end of the clean up wouldn't you have to sweep up or rake up the leaves anyway? If you were going to go motorised, the sucking version would be better which would allow the leaves to be deposited into the compost heap. A rake and wheelbarrow is all that is needed. But each to his own.

The incessant noise of those motorised water thingies (forgot their name) or a mini-bike when one is trying to commune with nature is worse.
Posted by pelican, Wednesday, 10 September 2008 9:33:42 AM
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pelican: << The incessant noise of those motorised water thingies (forgot their name) or a mini-bike when one is trying to commune with nature is worse. >>

Don't get me started on bloody jet skis and trail bikes!

I suspect that many of the same people who think they need leaf blowers are the same drongos who insist on taking 2-stroke generators to tranquil campsites in the bush.

On one of my trout-fishing forays last summer, I encountered one of these at a beautiful camping ground next to a mountain stream in State forest near Armidale NSW. As evening fell, I was enjoying the babble of the brook, the bird calls and the rustle of the leaves in the trees, when all of a sudden

BBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLRRRRRRRRRRRR

some clown had started his generator so he could watch TV and turn on the air-conditioner in his mega-campervan. I rapidly tired of this, so I found the most raucous heavy metal track I could find on my iPod and cranked it up far too loudly through my car's ample sound system.

About 2 minutes later the generator went off.

The ensuing silence was even sweeter than the revenge.
Posted by CJ Morgan, Wednesday, 10 September 2008 12:13:29 PM
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I'd like it known that vacumm mulchers (sound like blowers, have a suck function and a bag) serve a usefull purpose. Whereas blowers (only blow, no bag, used by coucil workers at 5am) simply remove the debri from the field of view for long enough for the user to walk away.
Posted by T.Sett, Wednesday, 10 September 2008 5:41:17 PM
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CJ - how annoying.

What is the point of being out in the bush in the peace and quiet if you need all the electric mod-cons of urban living. May as well stay at home. :)
Posted by pelican, Thursday, 11 September 2008 10:17:39 AM
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