Autumn. It’s a time of the year that creates beautiful red-tainted sceneries all around the world. For some people, it’s a season where piling up leaves from the ground becomes a regular event in their lives. Some people might not find this a problem, and others might even enjoy it, but if you are like me, you would feel pretty worn out from this.
There are multiple solutions to this problem, though. You can have someone else clean the mess, or you can regularly tidy things up so the work doesn’t stack up too much. There’s a lot of people doing this with a rake, but some people prefer to opt for a more practical tool.
Here’s where the acclaimed leaf vacuum mulchers and blowers come into play. You must have seen them somewhere, right? While driving towards your job or leaving your kids at school. When going for a walk around the park, or just by drinking your morning coffee in your front yard while your neighbor uses them.
If you are interested in this article, I’m sure you are also interested in these devices, so in this article, I’m going to talk about them in detail, compare their advantages, and let you decide which one is your best choice based on your own needs and goals.
Leaf Blowers
When it comes to cleaning up, you can always use a rake and perform some manual labor now and then. Some people like this, and I’ve even heard my mother once saying that cleaning leaves from autumn should be a part of everyone’s lives.
In my case, I am someone who prefers to enjoy their free time doing things I like instead of cleaning up. That’s why cutting as much cleaning as possible was one of my goals when I started looking up a solution.
One of the alternatives you can go for is a leaf blower vacuum, and I have to say that it is the one I decided to go for. Simply described, a leaf blower helps you clean up your lawn and move all leaves to a specific place, so it doesn’t cover the grass or any particular place of your house.
After that, you can either vacuum it and mulch it, store it in a bag, or do use it as compost. It all depends on what you want, but a leaf blower has its advantages. Firstly, it’s pretty convenient. The blowing strength of these machines can be extraordinarily strong, and depending on the size of your lawn and how aggressively leaves have invaded it, you might finish in less than half an hour.
They are especially good for old people who are not in a position to perform physical effort, since it may cause them pain and fatigue, since bending while cleaning is pretty much a rule. With a blower, you only need to be able to see where you are pointing to precisely push the invaders towards a singular position.
Another great benefit of a blower is that it can be used for other things as well as long as you are creative. I’ve ended up using mine to clean snow from time to time.
To get the most out of it, though, you have to know how to approach the cleaning process. There are two options, and I’ve tried both. You can either clean regularly or clean irregularly. In the end, it all depends on how much you dislike having leaves covering your house’s lawn.
Since I’m pretty chill about it, I usually clean every Sunday, and even if I skip one, I just clean next week. In my experience, I feel like cleaning a leaf stack is much faster (and satisfying) than cleaning little stacks all over the place, but in the end, the decision is all up to you.
Mulching and Leaf Mulchers
Now, there’s another alternative known as leaf mulchers which are often used for mulching. This consists of creating an outer layer of leaves applied to the soil or grass of a lawn to create an aesthetic look using an autumn-colored leaf floor.
Of course, it’s not always about aesthetics. Mulching is also used to improve the fertility and health of the soil and reduce the risk of weed growth, but in some cases, it can become a problem.
A mulcher is similar to a vacuum, and in contrast to the blower, you should use it regularly to avoid big stacks, since a vacuum might get overpowered by it. It can come with a bag, or without it, depending on what you are looking to achieve.
If you want to add a mulch layer to your lawn, you should use it without the bag, but if you are only looking to clean, make sure to get a mulcher with a bag included in the package. If you are going for the first alternative, make sure that the layer is not too thick since it can damage your lawn, increasing the risks of fungus growth as well as reducing the sunlight intake of the grass.
The reason why you have to do it regularly is to avoid this as well. It might be faster than blowers on some occasions, but having to do it more often might turn off some people.
How Do Mulchers Work, Though?
Some mulchers are stationary stands where you throw leaves and they shred them with blades, then provide the mulch. Others, which are the ones I recommend, are consisted of a shredded station connected to a vacuum, and a bag, so you can suck the invaders inside, shred them, then have them transferred to a bag. Afterward, you decide whether you want to mulch your lawn or throw the result away.
Last Word
You should only consider buying these alternatives if you feel like you spend too much time and effort on cleaning. If your lawn or cleaning space is too small and you can clean it with a rake in a matter of minutes, you might as well not invest in it. If you feel like you are spending way too much time on cleaning, though, go for it. I absolutely recommend it!
You can also work as a leaf cleaner if you own one of these machines, so consider an investment for a part-time job to get extra cash. Who knows, you might even turn into a service provider someday!
