Anonymous wrote:I just bought this cool, nearly silent, leaf sweeper. My parents had one decades ago, but I thought they didn't make them anymore.

Looks like push mower with a plastic bin attached. Brushes rotate as you push it across the lawn and sweep leaves in the bin. Push it to the cub to empty and repeat. Much better than bending down with raking. And lightyears better than leaf blowers. Another plus: your kids will have fun while cleaning up the yard...for a while at least. See http://www.amazon.com/Noiseless-Adjustable-Rolling-Leaf-Sweeper/dp/B0040ZXDO6

Anonymous wrote:I don't expect silence and I don't mind all the other noises...cars, children, sirens, even mowers and edgers. It's just the damned leaf blowers that cross the line in volume and pitch. I've been tempted to get some kind of decibel meter app on my phone and actually measure the decibel level. Anything over 75 decibels (I think that's the threshold) as measured from the property line violates noise ordinances in the District. But I don't really wish to be the leafblower police....

Anonymous wrote:I'm with OP. I am SO sick of having to go inside and close all the windows multiple times a day while the yard crews come through with three leaf blowers at a time. It is high-pitched and deafening. Frequently I will see them just mindlessly blowing the leaves around with no intention of picking them up...down the sidewalk, into the street. Never mind all the dust and pollen they are whipping up into the air. I can see needing a leaf blower on a 2 acre lot in Potomac...but three of them on a 5000 square foot lot in NW DC, with dozens of neighbors in close proximity? It's ridiculous, and maddening.