Did you know that gas-powered lawn mowers are a major source of air pollution? In fact, one hour of running a two-stroke-engine gas mower can emit more smog-forming pollution than driving your car from Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury! The stinky fumes from gas mowers can make it hard for people with lung and heart issues to breathe, and they are very noisy. Some are loud enough to pose a risk to your hearing and traumatize wild birds into abandoning their nests.
Electric mowers are less noisy, but the cord can be a pain to work with, and they still have a significant carbon footprint.
So why not consider a manual mower? Today’s manual mowers are not the beasts of our grandparents’ time! They are much improved and easier to use.
Six reasons to switch to a manual mower
- Aesthetic/environmental benefits: Can we all agree that gas-powered mowers are horrible to listen to and smell awful? With a manual reel mower, you have no annoying noise pollution, no noxious fumes, no greenhouse gas emissions. And again, while electric mowers are a bit greener, they still come with issues.
- Healthier lawn: Manual mowers work like scissors — they cut rather than rip or tear the blades of grass. This scissoring action leaves your grass less prone to diseases and pests. And reel mowers disperse clippings more evenly than motorized mowers do — no ugly clumps!
- Safety: Manual mowers do not fling rocks or debris and stop when you stop. They rarely cause injury. Each year in Canada, a lot of people, including children, are injured by power mowers.
- Cost: Manual mowers cost less and are much cheaper to maintain. No gas or oil to buy, no electricity used! They are very simple machines.
- No start needed: No rope to pull, no key to find, no gas or oil to top up, no cord to untangle and plug in, no recharging needed. Easy to get out, push, move, and store.
- Great exercise! It’s a nice way to burn some calories while walking around your yard.
We recommend you read up on reel mowers on product review sites before buying.
FYI: Reel mowers work best in yards with healthy lawns. If your yard is very weedy, depending on the types of weeds you have, a reel mower may have more difficulty. Buy quality for the best result.
How about your other power tools?
So once you’ve made the switch from gas or electric to manual mower, consider if you can switch out other gas-powered or electric lawn/yard tools as well. Gas and electric leaf blowers, string trimmers, and hedge clippers all pose the same issues as gas mowers.
We understand that in some cases manual is not an option. For example, some people have joint issues may find it difficult to use some manual tools.
But if we all switched to manual tools for at least some of our yard and garden tasks, it could make a huge difference in the levels of air and noise pollution in our community, and help reduce fight climate change.
