Reel Mowers Cut Air and Noise Pollution

Turn down that racket

Cars run quietly, and most don't burp toxic clouds of exhaust. So why do gas mowers create such a din? Mowers operate at around 90 decibels, a level the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association deems dangerous. It's the same volume as a buzz saw or a subway train enough to cause hearing loss over the long term.

It's possible to make a gas mower run as quiet as a car, but you'd have to triple the weight and the expense. An easier option is to choose a reel mower, and ditch the noisy combustion engine altogether.

It wasn't a huge issue thirty years ago. But look around today: gas leaf blowers, hedge trimmers, and weed eaters are everywhere, making it hard to enjoy your outdoor patio because one engine or another is always whining.

Reel mowers cut through the fog

You can plug your ears, but not your nose. Small gas engines don't run as cleanly as car motors do, for the same reason they're not as quiet. It's too heavy and expensive to add a catalytic converter to a mower. Carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides chug out of mower engines and contribute to the formation of ozone, which impairs lung function. Ironically, it also inhibits the health of your lawn.