Leaf blowers are one of the most common garden tools. They are small and portable machines with a long pipe that blows off fallen loose leaves, and helps you collect them into a large heap, from where you can store or trash them.
No doubt, they’re great tools for many uses, but it might also get pretty tiring to clean bigger lawns. That’s why ride-on leaf blowers were invented. Comparatively new to the market, they are a complete game-changer.
In this guide, we will show you how to use a ride-on leaf blower and make the best out of it without annoying your neighbors with your noisy garden activities.
What Is a Ride-on Leaf Blower?
Leaf blowers are usually small and portable. They have a big central unit that encloses the motor, which is attached to a long pipe responsible for blowing away the leaves. A ride-on is the same, with the only difference being that along with a central motor and a pipe, it also comes with a place for you to sit, stand, or ride it.
Imagine a small one-seater vehicle with a huge pipe attached to its front that clears the path ahead of you. These are commonly used by homeowners with huge yards and on commercial properties.
Walking around acres of land with a handheld leaf blower would be too exhausting. Why not ride around the lead blower, clean up the lawn without breaking a sweat, and make a boring chore super fun?
6 Ways to Use One
If it’s a leaf blower, then its most basic function would be to clean up dry leaves from your driveway and lawn. But when you’re investing a substantial amount on a leaf blower, why limit it to just one purpose?
Here are a few other innovative ways to use your ride-on leaf blower:
Removing Snow
As autumn slowly fades into winter, piles of fallen leaves are replaced by thick layers of snow blocking your driveway. Don’t stuff it back into the shed just yet, you can still use it to blow away snow.
Sure, they are not as powerful as snow blowers, and might not be able to help you with a thick and heavy pile of snow. But when it comes to light snow or a quick clean-up, ride-on leaf blowers are great for snow.
The best part is unlike regular handheld leaf blowers, you don’t have to walk all over the snow in freezing temperatures. You can easily ride it in your warm jacket and cap as you get the road cleaned.
Watering Plants
Even if you are an ardent gardener, you might agree that sometimes it just gets exhausting, especially during extreme weather conditions. If you have a huge garden with long lines of flower beds, a ride-on is just what you need to take better care of them.
We would recommend combining your watering and leaf-blowing responsibilities to save more time. But it does take a little while to get the hang of the machine, let alone manage it simultaneously while watering.
Blowing Away Trash
If it’s your trash, then needless to say that it’s your responsibility to pick it up and dispose of it properly. But what if it isn’t? We all know about those nosy neighbors and careless passersby who drop their trash on your property. If you want to get rid of their share of the garbage without having to touch it, ride-on leaf blowers offer the perfect solution.
Another way ride-on leaf blowers can help you with trash is if you have a big lawn littered with loose plastic, paper, or organic waste and want to get rid of it without breaking your back. In this case, you can use the leaf blower to accumulate all the garbage into a tiny heap from where you can transfer it to the trash can.
Cleaning Other Garden Tools
This might not be the best use of a ride-on leaf blower, but it still counts. Sometimes, you might need extra help cleaning some of your other garden tools, like lawnmowers or strimmers. Isn’t it annoying to handpick all of the individual grass blades stuck on these machines after you’re already tired from a long grass-cutting session?
To make it easier, you can simply use a leaf blower. Being much more powerful and efficient than the manual method, you will also save a lot of time.
Doubles up as a Dryer
Leaf blowers use strong gusts of air to blow off dry leaves. So why limit it to blowing garden waste away when it can be equally effective in drying off items in your lawn? Whether it’s another wet garden tool, a vast stretch of wet and muddy lawn, or anything else, ride-on leaf blowers are the perfect tool.
They are powerful and portable, and you can ride along them instead of having to drag the heavy machine all across your lawn. After all, drying does take time, and most other drying tools would be handheld, heavy, and quite inconvenient. You can even use a leaf blower to dry your car after a thorough wash or rain.
Perfect for Wood Shops
If you love DIY wood-based projects, you will agree that the fun part is usually followed by tons of cleaning, which, frankly, isn’t as fun. When you are looking for a quick way to clear out your little wood shop, a leaf blower would be perfect.
If you have a huge wood shop, then a ride-on leaf blower would be perfect for overall cleaning. However, to reach out to the corners and small spaces, we recommend handheld leaf blowers.
- Joy stick Deflector control allows for quick and easy control of air flow.
- Unique blower housing design
- Led lights
- Torsion mounted front axle assembly
- Ergonomic operator platform and thigh
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How to Handle the Noise From One
Ride-on leaf blowers are a godsend. They help you get the work done without breaking a sweat. But just like other leaf blowers, they can get quite loud, much to the displeasure of your neighbors. So if you want to make the most of them without pissing off your neighbors or ruining your own ears, we have a trick:
Switch to Electric Leaf Blowers
If you are tired of the noise and neighbors complaining about your loud gas-powered leaf blower, switch to an electric leaf blower. They are known to be less powerful and, subsequently, quieter compared to gas-powered leaf blowers. They also don’t have any harmful emissions and are much better for the environment.
The only downside is they are primarily corded, and you will always have to be near an electric outlet for them to work.
Wear Protective Gears
Protective gears aren’t an option. Whether you are concerned about the noise or not, you should always wear a protective pair of safety glasses. This will prevent any garden waste and debris from getting into your eyes and ear plugs.
You can wear regular noise-canceling earplugs or foam earplugs as well (anything that keeps out the noise and protects your hearing).
Work Out a Schedule With Your Neighbor
Unfortunately, ride-on leaf blowers are loud, and there is nothing you can do to reduce the noise. But again, they are an essential garden accessory. The best thing to do is to inform your neighbors in advance whenever you plan to use the leaf blower, and work out a convenient schedule for you both.
For example, you can do your garden work during the morning hours when they are not at home or are also out doing their garden work. In this way, none of you would be interfering with each other’s resting hours.
Which Is Better: Ride-on or Handheld Leaf Blowers
Ride-on leaf blowers are terrific, but so are the handheld ones. If you need a little help picking the right one, here is all you need to ponder upon:
Theyare perfect for cleaning large lawns and commercial properties. Conversely, they are not a good match for small spaces. While efficient and powerful, these perks come at a higher cost.
Handheld leaf blowers might tire you easily and make cleaning huge lawns a nightmare, but they are perfect for reaching out to smaller spaces. They are cheaper, lighter, portable, and can help you clean the roof gutters, or even the top of your car.
Conclusion
We hope you now know how to use a ride-on leaf blower. Each new day brings in a new dash of technological advancement that goes into creating better appliances for your day-to-day life, just like ride-on leaf blowers. While you can certainly use broomsticks and rakes to remove the fallen leaves from your garden, nothing is more efficient than a leaf blower.
When one garden tool can help you out with so many other responsibilities, what else could you really ask for? Be sure to check out our reviews to find the best model today.
