When Is It OK To Use Leaf Blowers? Or Are They The Devil? [Block Talk]

ACROSS AMERICA — Fall is coming, and with it the arrival of leaf blowers — either a marvel of manufacturing that saves hours of back-breaking labor or an instrument of torture that disturbs the peace and quiet with persistent, high-pitched popping sounds that can reach up to 95 decibels.

For this installment of Block Talk, our series on neighborhood etiquette, we asked on Facebook: “When is an appropriate time to run a leaf blower in the morning? Does it bother you?”

The controversy surrounding leaf blowers — especially gas-powered versions, the loudest with a noise level similar to a motorcycle — isn’t just a matter of annoyance. Prolonged exposure to noise above 70 decibels is a health issue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and gas-powered engines aren’t healthy for the environment, either.

California became the first state in the country to ban gas-powered gardening equipment (the law takes effect in 2024), and about 100 cities across the country have local ordinances aimed at air-quality improvements prohibiting their use.

Known as the “lazy person’s rake,” leaf blowers can make quick work of a seasonal task. An Orland Park (Illinois) Patch reader made a case for either letting it go or stepping it up.

“If you don’t like it when your neighbor does it, go ask them to stop and let them know you will do it when you’re ready to wake up,” the fellow wrote. “Otherwise, deal with it. At least he’s doing something about his leaves when he can instead of just letting them blow into your yard. Maybe that’s the only time he has time to do it.”

One hundred percent, a Naugatuck (Connecticut) Patch concurred, writing, “It’s in my yard so unless you are offering to do it for me, I will do [it] when I want.”

“If someone is doing mine, I don’t care,” a Brick (New Jersey) Patch reader wrote. “I hate raking leaves.”

‘Don’t Be A Nose Bag’

A Peabody (Massachusetts) Patch reader thinks her neighbor deliberately “waited until the football game every Saturday afternoon without fail” to start the leaf blower. “He just moved,” she wrote. “Yay.”

Several people said it’s not worth squabbling about.

A Middletown (New Jersey) Patch said she’s “glad people are taking care of their property,” and said complaining about their method is similar to “when people complain about the garbage truck [but are] grateful when they show up.”

“I don’t care when my neighbors run their leaf blower, mower or snow blower,” a Malden (Massachusetts) Patch reader commented. “Not everyone has the same working schedule. Worry about yourself and don’t be a nose bag. Too many people in other people’s business these days.”

A Joliet (Illinois) Patch reader said when people use leaf blowers is “not my business or my concern,” and pointed out that if the noise is annoying, the remedy is as simple as shutting the windows and turning on a fan.

“People got to do what they got to do when they got to do it,” the person continued. “Not everybody works 9 to 5, not everybody’s off on weekends. And it’s not like your average leaf blower is that loud anyway.”

‘Worst Sound In The World’

Harrumph. That depends.

“It is pretty loud and obnoxious,” another Joliet Patch reader disagreed.

“It’s literally the worst sound in the world to me, no matter what time of day,” a Middletown (New Jersey) Patch reader wrote.

“Most annoying thing in the world,” a Stratford (Connecticut) Patch reader said. “It’s all day, every day, nonstop.”

One leaf blower used by a neighbor is OK, a Peabody Patch reader observed, but a “team of professional landscapers” using loud leaf blowers is “obnoxious” and “should be restricted.”

Read The Noise Ordinance

A Naugatuck (Connecticut) Patch reader was among several who pointed out that cities, towns, villages and townships have noise ordinances spelling out when it’s acceptable to operate leaf blowers and other loud equipment. Some allow it as early as 7 a.m.

Another Naugatuck Patch reader noted there’s “no way” 7 a.m. is a “reasonable” time. Start at 9 a.m. “If you must,” the person said, adding, “Not everyone is a morning person. I would check with neighbors.”

A Plymouth Meeting-Whitemarsh (Pennsylvania) Patch said the ordinance in his town allows noisy activities after 7:30 a.m., “so I suppose you could technically start then.”

“But it’s really case-by-case, depending on your neighbors,” he continued. “If they have young kids — or older or sick folks — you might want to wait a little.”

As a matter of course, a Doylestown (Pennsylvania) Patch reader says he waits until at least 8 or 9 on Sunday mornings before starting up any power equipment

Nope, a Lindenhurst (New York) Patch reader wrote. On weekends, don’t start leaf blowers until at last 10 a.m.

Another Lindenhurst Patch reader who wrote this may or may not be popular in her neighborhood: “When I have the time — 6 a.m, 6 p.m. — whenever.”

“Is there a good time?” a Naperville (Illinois) Patch reader asked, noting individual circumstances dictate when people attend to lawn tasks.

“With a lot of people working from home, I am not sure convenient hours are a thing anymore, for any noisy yard work,” the person wrote.

How about this compromise proposed by a North Fork (New York) Patch reader — after 8 a.m Monday-Friday, after 9 a.m. on Saturdays and “never on a Sunday”?

Make that after 10 a.m. Monday-Saturday, and a Middletown Patch reader is on board. “My neighbor has a lawn care guy come on Sunday — any time, it’s annoying,” she said.

“Anytime you want as far as I’m concerned,” a Toms River (New Jersey) Patch reader wrote. “If it wakes me up, do you want to know what I do? I go back to sleep.”

‘Leave The Leaves’

A Marblehead (Massachusetts) Patch reader said he’s “not against” leaf blowers, but neither is he “against quiet morning and evening deck time on weekends and holidays.”

Some readers, however, are against leaf blowers.

“Can’t you just rake?” another Marblehead Patch reader asked.

People in that corner of Massachusetts have some definite opinions about leaf blowers based on the sampling of comments on the Marblehead Patch Facebook page.

Another Marblehead Patch reader said she objects “when they blow the dirt, sand and leaves into my yard, sidewalk, deck, stairs — usually after we just swept or painted.”

“They don’t do any good,” one more Marblehead reader chimed in. “They blow dirt around, cause pollution and noise.”

Careless operators are the problem, a Stratford Patch reader pointed out. “I don’t like it when they blow stuff in the street,” she wrote.

Noisy gas-powered leaf blowers heap a problem on a problem, a Doylestown Patch reader pointed out.

“Noise pollution and pollution pollution,” she wrote. “What’s not to like? (Not.) Battery powered are better, good old-fashioned raking and sweeping are best.”

“ ‘Leaving the leaves’ is even better, as many insects beneficial to our ecosystem winter over under them,” a Plymouth Meeting-Whitemarsh Patch pointed out. “Because of this, they also provide food for birds, as you’ll often see them picking through the leaves.”

About Block Talk

Block Talk is a regular Patch feature offering real-world advice from readers on how to resolve everyday neighborhood problems. If you have a neighborhood etiquette question or problem you'd like for us to consider, email beth.dalbey@patch.com, with Block Talk as the subject line.

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