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Most homeowners only bring out their leaf blower in autumn to round up fallen leaves in their yard, but this powerful tool offers much help than its name suggests. Since you’ve already invested in a quality piece of equipment, you might as well get the most out of it. By thinking outside the box to use those powerful bursts of air year-round, you can tackle a surprising array of household chores. Here are five leaf blower uses you probably never realized.
1. Cleaning Hardscape Surfaces
You don’t have to just use your leaf blower around your yard. Put it to good use on hardscape surfaces like driveways, patios, and decks. “I use leaf blowers more for hard surfaces than leaves,” says Tom Polkinghorne, director at Creations Building & Landscaping in the United Kingdom. “It blows grit, dust, and sand out of joints between your patio and driveway 10 times quicker than a brush could.” Leaf blower air can get into the grooves and even blow moisture out of the joints, which means less moss and weeds can grow there.
Polkinghorne recommends keeping the blower close to the ground and blowing in one consistent direction. Look for units that include flat-head or tapered attachments to help direct a more concentrated stream of air for cleaning hard surfaces.
2. Removing Debris From Gutters
Using a leaf blower is one of the most effective ways to clear leaves, twigs, pine needles, and other debris from gutters and downspouts, helping to prevent severe home issues like poor water damage, foundation problems, and ice dams. This approach saves time and effort compared to removing debris manually. Use a stable ladder or purchase extension attachments or nozzle kits to clean gutters from the ground. Keep in mind that longer extension tubes reduce the air’s force, and that high-power units produce a noticeable recoil. Always prioritize safety guidelines like maintaining balance and keeping one hand on the ladder.
3. Clearing Snow
You don’t have to put away your blower after autumn; keep it around for winter to clear snow from your yard. After a light snowfall of up to an inch or two, transform your leaf blower into a makeshift snow blower to remove snow from driveways, sidewalks, and patios. This is certainly easier and faster than the manual labor involved in shoveling. Just refrain from using the leaf blower to tackle heavy snow.
4. Drying Vehicles
Leaf blowers also come in handy when cleaning your vehicle. They do a great job of cleaning spaces prone to collecting debris, such as where the windshield meets the hood. You can also use the blower to dry water from mirrors, trim, door handles, and other crevices after a car wash. “It looks so good and shiny when it’s dried off, with zero cloth marks and it’s so much quicker,” says Polkinghorne. He offers some advice to follow for this leaf blower use: “I use medium power and stay a reasonable distance away from the vehicle.”
5. Dusting of Garages and Workshops
Instead of sweeping with a broom, grab your leaf blower to quickly clear your garage or workshop of dust, sawdust, metal shavings, cobwebs, dried mud, road salt residue, and other debris. Start at the back wall or workbenches with the garage door open to easily blast buildup out of corners, from top shelves, off baseboards, and behind workbenches in just a few minutes. Stick to a lower speed setting to better manage the material you want to remove. Finally, it’s best to wear a mask during this chore to avoid breathing in dust and other airborne particles.
