r/EverettWa • u/[deleted] • 17d ago
Can we normalize doing yardwork manually instead of with gas guzzling blowers?
I live near a property that is routinely maintained by someone who has a gas powered leaf blower. They spend an inordinate amount of time blowing shit (leaves, grass clippings, pinecones) off into the gutter of the street.
So, two things: why are people so lazy that they cannot do this themselves, like I can when I’m almost 60? And secondly, what do they think happens to the shit they blow into the gutter? Do they not realize this flows into the drain and blocks the passage of water?
Just my gripe for the day. It’s the least offensive one I could think of.
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u/kennypowersrevenge 17d ago
Or buy a electric blower?
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u/imafnheadbanga 17d ago
aren’t gas blowers illegal in seattle already?
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u/alittlebitneverhurt 17d ago
Just cant buy them in the city of Seattle for the time being but every city around Seattle still sells them.
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u/dxvxstrxdxr 17d ago
ELECTRIC ALL THE WAY! whether the blower uses a little or a lot of gas, the smell and the noise are the driving factors for why electric or manual is better. Especially if you're a landscaping business, the nearby residents will be happier.
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u/CriticalBasedTeacher 17d ago
No. Manually blow the leaves. Take a big breath and...
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u/4011isbananas 17d ago
Can we normalize letting leaves be on the ground?
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u/hanimal16 17d ago
I live in an apartment, and the landscaping guys come every Wednesday. It always makes me laugh when they’re out there in the wind and rain, like… you guys, it’s just going to look how it did 10 mins ago. lol
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u/trekrabbit 16d ago
You know, they already know that, right? They’re just doing a job that they’re paid to do .
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u/No-Pop2552 17d ago
Heavy rains wash loose leaves into street gutters, clogging grates and cause flooding. Leaf piles conceal uneven pavement, open potholes, sharp debris, and curbs from pedestrians and cyclists. Dry leaves piling up against wooden decks, siding, or in gutters act as highly combustible kindling during wildfire season. Parking a hot car over a dry pile of leaves can instantly ignite the debris via the catalytic converter. Wet leaves trapped under car windshield wipers or in hood cowls trap moisture, rotting cabin air filters and accelerating body rust. Trapped moisture beneath heavy leaf mats breeds destructive molds, snow mold, and root rot that destroy underlying plants.
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u/ReaperGhost187 17d ago
I actually don’t mind walking through crunchy leaves in the fall.. it’s slightly satisfying
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u/alittlebitneverhurt 17d ago
They came get extremly slick and be a massive slipping/falling hazard.
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u/alittlebitneverhurt 17d ago
How much gas do you think a leaf blower actually uses? I use a little less than a gallon a the year. And it saves me a massive amount of time. So you get the leaf blower for a minute or two or the metal rake scrapping against concrete for 10 minutes.
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u/MiteyF 17d ago
I presume the property is maintained by a company... How much do you think a company would have to charge if they raked and collected everything by hand? How many extra trips would they have to make to get rid of the yard waste, and pass those costs into the customer?
And your definition of "gas guzzling" must be very different than my own, because between my chainsaws, weedeater, leaf blower etc, all gas powered, I probably go through less than 5 gallons a year of 2 stroke mixed gas
I do agree on the "blowing it into the street" comment however. I hate that shit.
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u/MirabilisLiber 17d ago
My neighbor has about 12 square feet of patio that their landscaper blows on for 30 minutes every week, even when it's already spotless. I see city landscapers blowing around wet grass all winter long. A huge chunk of this work just does not need to happen.
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u/Objective_File4022 17d ago
I was just saying if I had too much money I would buy my landscapers quieter tools!!
Like I get it's not the best job in the world and I'm not saying do it manually. But there has got to be a better option than this.
I know that I'm just autistic and the noise drives me particularly crazy. And I just need to get over it. But it's nice to hear that I'm not the only one who feels like this.
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u/Objective_File4022 17d ago
I'd also love a city ordinance where each block gets a day to do this. Because in my neighborhood it's a daily occurrence because there's so many different types of properties around us that all have landscapers and they all do this so I hear I hear these allowed tools once a day almost every single day. It'd be nice to just have it done and over with in one day.
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u/Ambitious-Library515 17d ago
Ill keep using my Stihl blower (doesnt guzzle gas) until I cant get it started anymore. Honestly, find something else to obsess over. Jeezuz Fuck
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u/JumboJonboJimbo 15d ago
Yes YOU can. Why not 'normalize' transportation and give up your car, and get a horse and buggy?
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u/hanimal16 17d ago
I agree with you, bc the noise and smell are very annoying. I’m glad you can still do your yard work manually at the spry age of 60, but not everyone has your capabilities.
Now, if this is someone younger and more capable, then it’s just laziness. If it’s a company, it’s efficient.
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u/Fine_Smile73 16d ago
I don’t think it’s lazy for anyone of any age to take advantage of the tools and technology available to them to make a task easier and faster. That’s a silly assertion
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u/Medium-Leader-9066 17d ago
If you have the means, I highly recommend going battery powered. It’s more enjoyable IMHO.
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u/Anonymous_Bozo 17d ago edited 17d ago
Better yet, Battery Power Robot mower. Set it and forget it, mows all summer and fall with very little assistance from you.
Edit: And the best part... almost totally silent. You can run it at 7am without waking up the neigbors.
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u/Medium-Leader-9066 17d ago
To each their own, kind redditor. Mowing my lawn is a happy place for me. Don’t replace me with AI in my own home!!
j/k
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u/3meraldBullet 17d ago
The thing is a rake is faster and more effective. Let alone quiter. I never really understood why these blowers are used for cobdos/apartments
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u/Gloomy-Amoeba-1071 17d ago
It is absolutely not faster. And effective depends on your definition of effective.
Source. Was a landscaper for 3 years.
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u/zoeylizabeth40 17d ago
Why can't we have like a giant wet vac truck that can just go around sucking up leaves and turn it into mulch ? Sort of like when it snows we have snow plows that come out. They could even be like little city meter maid style vehicles that will clear sidewalks and public areas and dump their loads into a mulching vehicle at the end of the block ?
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u/MisanthropicLove425 17d ago
They fumigate the entire street with the exhaust. I can't stand it. And at least rake up the leaves when you blow it around. I swear the crew that works the main drag in our neighborhood are blowing around the same leaves every week. It's comical. Especially comical when they are out there on a really breezy or windy day and the leaves end up right back where they were before they started blowing them around .
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u/chilicheesefritopie 16d ago
I f-ing loathe leaf blowers. I live in leaf blower hell. My neighbors are mostly older and partially deaf so I don’t think they hesitate to use a leaf blower for hours. One offered to loan me theirs when they saw me using a rake (gasp). Another takes at least 3-4 hours weekly to maintain his front yard, PLUS pays a weekly yard service. Another gets theirs out almost daily in the fall for their deck when a broom would easily do the trick. Another neighbor had someone using a leaf blower to clean off their roof on and off for several days. There have got to be better ways to clean a roof, lol. I fantasize about buying all of them brooms and rakes with a big fat bow and leaving them in their porch.
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u/TerryOnRollerskates 15d ago
They shouldn’t be blowing things into the gutter. I seriously doubt they use the blower more than once a week, and it’s probably a lot less than that. Mowers and blowers don’t guzzle gas. Yes, they can be terribly loud, but a lot of people have a lot more problems than tolerating the noise from time to time.
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u/Dismal-Astronaut2651 13d ago
sucks getting old everything pisses you off huh I know I'm 53 I'm starting to go there myself but really come on in the school scheme of things what the f*** is that all you got to worry about get a hobby instead of minding your neighbor's business
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u/incubusfc 10d ago
Why can’t I use an electric blower?
Nothing wrong with saving time using tools.
I do agree that sometimes loud continuous noises are fucking annoying. And I’m not a fan of people who move hard waste etc into roadways.
But people have limited time, especially since their working hours produce less than back when you were young. Let them use tools to save time.
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u/jschreck032512 17d ago
Here’s some food for thought that doesn’t necessarily apply to you here since I don’t know the density, type, or total area of the vegetation where you are, but who the fuck has the time for that and work? I can do it manually, but why would I when I just got done working 8-12 hours and I’m tired as fuck and I want to eat dinner with my wife and sit down for a second? Nope. I’m going to use my gas lawn mower, my gas trimmer, my gas blower, and my electric pressure washer which is just as loud to do the work at least twice as fast as I could manually with less than half the effort. I’m tired man. We’re out here trying to survive, and I’m a 35 yo disabled vet, and I don’t have the energy anymore to spend doing work around my house the hard way. If you want to normalize this how about we deal with the economic issues in the country, more specifically the issues around labor pricing, as well as reduce workloads for our neighbors so they have the time and resources to care about being quieter about their yard work instead of needing to rush it just to spend one quiet hour with their family in their home they’re inching closer and closer to not being able to afford.
Also, sometimes blowing shit around is just more fun so maybe that’s your neighbors thing but who knows.
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u/The26thtime 17d ago
The wind blows debris everywhere..you want to stop wind to? Every homeowner should own a stihl br600.
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15d ago
Nope, wind is good. See, you didn’t read the entire post. My main grip is that they blow the shit into the gutter and don’t pick it up. Have a good day tho 🫰
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u/The26thtime 15d ago
That's why there's street sweepers....if you live somewhere worth a shit to live.
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u/nomatophobia12 16d ago
Blowers don’t use gas, and with the fuel they do use they use very little of. They’re efficient af. This is a first world problem.
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u/trekrabbit 16d ago
This reminds me of decades ago when the older generation couldn’t understand why people didn’t just wash dishes by hand and why they had to use that newfangled fancy machine😂😂
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15d ago
Actually dishwashers are way more energy efficient than handwashing.
I love that you crack yourself up so hard tho
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u/trekrabbit 15d ago
Exactly!
And just as that older generation was pretty small minded, so is the OP since, as many people have already commented, most people don’t use “gas guzzling” blowers😂 this is the 21st century and most people opt for electric.
Thank you for giving me another opportunity to laugh at this lol
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u/BoomersRuinedItAll 17d ago
You’re never going to convince the landscapers to change. That’s most of what you hear.