Leaf Blower Noise Pollution: The Sound of Annoyance
Leaf blower noise pollution is a hot topic in many towns and cities across the United States. Some people seem to think that leaf blowers are a necessary evil, while others find the sound of them to be incredibly annoying. In this blog post, we will explore the issue of leaf blower noise pollution and how it affects our lives.
Types of Noise Pollutions
The phrase “noise pollution” has been used for decades to describe the environmental sound that is undesirable and offensive, intrusive or persistent. It is a general term which covers all kinds of unwanted sounds from cars, trucks, motorcycles and other transportation vehicles; planes; power tools; lawn mowers; leaf blowers; concerts and sporting events to airplanes overhead. Since most people use some form of electric tool every day in their lives it is hard to imagine not using at least one type of leaf blower on your property. But many people are unaware of the potential health risks associated with prolonged exposure to this kind of high decibel sound.
Leaf Blowers: Decibels and Health Issues
While leaf blowers are not specifically designed to harm the environment, they do have the potentiality to do so. Leaf blowers may produce sound at decibel levels above 90, which is louder than leaf rakes and brooms. Their peak emissions can be as high as 120 decibels; leaf rakes usually only go up to 70 or 80 dBs (dBA).
Some leaf blowers emit ultra-low frequency (ULF) sounds that reach up into subsonic levels and can travel for miles through air or water before being dissipated by background noise sources such as wind turbines or traffic on roads nearby your property. These low frequencies interfere with human hearing which means people who work in close proximity to leaf blowers often suffer from hearing loss as well as other health issues including tinnitus (ringing ears), headaches and nausea just from exposure over time.
Other health issues that result from leaf-blowing include headaches due lack sleep quality as well nausea due poor nutrition habits. Furthermore, some studies suggest regular leaf use could even increase your risk for developing dementia! These leaf blowers’ noise affects human health in many ways such as hearing loss, stress hormone release from the body like cortisol and adrenaline causing increased blood pressure while also decreasing sleep quality.
How to Reduce Noise from Leaf Blowers
All leaf blowers have a few things in common. The leaf blower noise is caused by the motor running, and it will never stop making sound unless you unplug or turn off power to your leaf blower.
Ways to reduce the noise of leaf blower for you
You can reduce leaf-blowing noise for you with some simple techniques:
- Make sure there’s no wind when using a leaf blower (or other loud equipment). Wind carries sound waves further than air alone does; if possible wait until after sunset before starting up any loud machinery outside where you live.
- If possible, use earplugs while leaf-blowing
- Try limiting yourself just to one day per week – maybe even less often during busy times like leaf season!
Ways to reduce the noise of leaf blower for your neighbours
If leaf blower noise is a persistent problem for you, there are some things you can do to try and reduce the sound. The first step is to talk to your neighbours about the issue – they may not be aware that their leaf blower is causing a disturbance. If they are willing to work with you, there are some things you can do to help reduce the noise:
- Try leaf-blowing at different times of day when your neighbour is less likely to be home.
- If possible, use leaf blowers with a lower decibel rating.
- Line up your leaves in one direction before leaf blowing instead of moving them around; this will help ensure that leaf blowers only need to be used once for each pile.
- Give your neighbours a leaf-blower muffler or other sound dampener as a gift! Mufflers are available from many hardware stores and gardening supply shops.
Final Renmarks
It’s important not just because leaf blower noise pollution is annoying but also harmful to our health in many ways. We hope these solutions help you to reduce leaf blower noise in your neighbourhood and keep everyone healthy and happy!