It’s important to be able to maintain your yard properly so that it doesn’t get too messy. During the autumn months, you’re going to have the leaves on your trees change color and they will eventually fall to the ground.
This is a natural process and many people enjoy being able to see the leaves like this. As fun as it is to look at the beautiful leaf colors during this season, it’s going to be important to keep your yard cleaned up.
Leaving leaves on the ground will make your yard look messy, and it also won’t be the best thing for the health of your yard. This is why you need to take the time to rake the yard every so often.
What about using a leaf blower, though? Some people find leaf blowers to be the better option because it might allow them to get finished with moving leaves around sooner.
When it comes to deciding between using a leaf blower or a rake there is going to be a lot to consider. It isn’t as straightforward as you might think when you dig into the details.
Keep reading to learn more about the leaf blower vs. rake debate. After going through the pros and cons of each option, it’ll be easier to make a decision about which is better.
Leaf Blowers Can Save You Time
Perhaps the best reason to consider using a leaf blower instead of a rake is that you can save time. The act of raking leaves will take you a significant amount of time if you need to rake the entire yard.
It would be possible to use a leaf blower to move the leaves in a much shorter amount of time. You could wind up getting the job done in half the time depending on various factors.
If you’re a busy individual who doesn’t have many hours to dedicate to doing chores like this, then being able to save some time is appealing. You want to be able to use your time wisely so that you don’t feel as if you’re wasting it.
Leaf blowers can be pretty convenient to use overall, and it’s hard to deny that getting the job done faster is nice. Even if you don’t mind raking the yard manually, it’s still going to make sense to factor in how long it will take you to do so before making your decision about whether to buy a leaf blower.
Leaf Blowers Can Save You From Back Pain
The act of raking the lawn has the potential to hurt your back over time. Many people who rake their lawns will experience soreness in their backs due to the repetitive motion of raking and the posture that they have to use while raking.
No one wants to feel sore after doing a bunch of chores, but that might just be something that goes along with raking the yard. Of course, not everyone is going to have to deal with issues such as this since some people will have stronger back muscles that are less likely to become fatigued by raking.
Even so, it’s nice to know that you can use a leaf blower to save yourself from the pain of raking the lawn. You’ll be able to get the leaves in piles so that they can be bagged without hurting your back at all.
Generally, leaf blowers are going to be light enough that carrying them won’t cause you any fatigue or injury. Some leaf blowers will be heavier than others, though, and this means that you’ll want to find one that is appropriately sized for you.
If you’re someone who suffers from chronic back pain, then you should probably use a leaf blower instead of a rake. It’s more than likely going to save you from having to deal with unnecessary aches and will just be more convenient overall.
Rakes Are Affordable
One of the best reasons to use a rake instead of a leaf blower is that rakes are affordable. You can go to just about any department store and buy a rake for just a small amount of cash.
Leaf blowers can actually be pretty expensive, and this means that it isn’t practical for everyone to buy them. Just about anyone will be able to afford to buy a rake, but the same cannot be said of leaf blowers.
For some people, leaf blowers might be prohibitively expensive, but it’ll depend on your financial situation. Leaf blowers aren’t necessarily so expensive that only rich people can buy them, but they’re still a lot pricier than rakes.
If you want to be able to rake the leaves in your yard without spending much money, then it makes sense to just buy a rake. It can get the job done well enough and you’ll be able to keep more of your hard-earned cash in your bank account.
Before you make your decision, it’s just going to be wise to weigh the positives of using a leaf blower against the money that it will cost you to get one. If you’d rather use that money for other purposes, then getting a rake is a cost-effective alternative that will work out fine for most.
Rakes Are Environmentally Friendly
Another thing to keep in mind is that rakes are environmentally friendly while leaf blowers aren’t. You see, it’s important to consider the impact that using certain things will have on the environment.
The looming threat of climate change is problematic, and many people are trying to do what they can to cut down on using fossil fuels as well as electrical energy. Most leaf blowers will use electricity to charge up, but some make use of gas.
Either way, there is an energy cost to consider when using a leaf blower that isn’t there when you use a rake. You’ll just be using pure manpower when you’re trying to rake the lawn traditionally with a rake.
If you want to keep things simple and eco-friendly, then using a rake is the route that you should take. Your feelings on this might depend on various factors, but it’s still something to keep in mind when you’re choosing which is the best tool for the job.
Leaf Blowers Need to Be Maintained and Repaired
When you use a leaf blower, it’s going to be necessary to take good care of it so that it will keep working properly. This means that you’ll need to put it somewhere safe when you aren’t using it, and there also might be certain things that you’ll need to do to keep it in working order.
Cleaning the leaf blower is necessary to ensure that it keeps function as intended. You’ll also need to maintain the battery properly depending on the type of leaf blower that you decide to use.
This isn’t necessarily difficult, but it is an extra thing to think about. When you use a rake instead of a leaf blower, things are a bit simpler.
Rakes can just be placed in a shed to be kept out of the elements. You don’t have to do as much to keep a rake in good working order as you do when you’re trying to maintain a leaf blower.
This might not be a huge deal, but it can be considered when trying to determine whether a rake or a leaf blower is right for you. Keep everything in mind so that you can make the right decision for yourself.
Leaf Blowers Make Noise
One of the most annoying aspects of using a leaf blower involves how noisy they are. If you’ve ever used a leaf blower before, then you probably know that they can be pretty loud.
Some of the best leaf blowers on the market will actually be quite noisy. More powerful leaf blowers seem to be noisier due to their ability to move leaves at such a high speed.
If you decide to get one of the powerful backpack leaf blowers, then you’re probably going to want to get some noise-canceling earmuffs to protect yourself. Otherwise, you might wind up hurting your ears just by operating the leaf blower.
Normal handheld leaf blowers aren’t quite that noisy, but they can still be loud enough. You might find the noise that’s produced by a leaf blower to be annoying, and your neighbors might find it to be maddening.
If you want to have a quiet experience when you’re taking care of the leaves in your yard, then using a rake is preferable. It might take longer to finish using a rake, but it’ll be peaceful in comparison to using a leaf blower.
Leaf Blowers Can Reach Tricky Spots
There might be some spots in your yard that will be tough to reach with a rake. For instance, you could have leaves in a corner somewhere near your home that you won’t be able to get easily with a rake.
Leaf blowers will be able to use the power of air to move the leaves around. They’re great for getting leaves out of tricky spots, and you should be able to use the leaf blower to get everything where you need it to go.
For certain jobs, using a leaf blower is going to be more practical. You might find yourself wishing that you had a leaf blower if you need to move leaves in awkward spots often enough.
Raking Can Be Good Exercise
Raking the yard is a lot more work than using a leaf blower. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though.
You need to get exercise so that you can stay healthy and strong. It might be better to rake the yard and get some exercise than it would be to avoid doing it.
If you know that you could use some extra sources of exercise, then maybe manually raking the leaves is for the best. It’ll give you a bit of a workout and you’ll likely feel better when you do things such as this with some regularity.
Those who aren’t in good physical condition or who have physical ailments might prefer to use leaf blowers. It just depends on your situation, but exercise certainly isn’t a negative thing.
Leaf Blowers Can Make a Mess
Leaf blowers can also make a mess sometimes because of how they work. You won’t just be blowing leaves around with the leaf blower since you’ll also be kicking up dirt and dust.
Sometimes this can make you cough and it might even cause you to have some respiratory issues. This is why some people choose to wear masks when they’re using leaf blowers to keep themselves from breathing in dust and dirt particles.
It can be hard to be precise with leaf blowers, though, and this means that you could wind up making a mess in some ways. You could wind up accidentally spreading debris in your yard.
So Which Is Better?
The decision about which option is better is really going to come down to personal preference. You might find a leaf blower to be the more convenient option, but some of the negatives could offset that for you depending on your perspective.
Leaf blowers can be very useful and they’re better than rakes when it comes to doing certain things. Most people are also going to be able to finish yard work more quickly when using a leaf blower instead of a rake.
However, rakes are more environmentally friendly and they don’t cost as much money. You also won’t have to maintain a rake because you don’t need to change filters, worry about spark plugs, or clean it as often.
Raking is a lot more work than using a leaf blower, but is that a truly bad thing? The exercise might be good for you, and it just depends on whether you’re worried about hurting yourself.
Consider all of these factors and then decide whether to go with a rake or a leaf blower. There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer, and it’s just up to you to decide which one you want to use.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
--
If you want more backyard tips including recipes, how-tos and more, make sure you subscribe to my youtube channel