Leaf Blowing Snow Off Your Car
by Mike @ DII saw a video years back of someone using a leaf blower to clear the snow off their car and I was like that’s a great idea. We’ve had mild winters as of late with limited snow but this year we’ve had a few snowfalls already. At the end I have also included a short video of my experience with blowing snow off my car.
How is this related to detailing? Well this is an alternative to snow brushes and broom removal tools where you don’t touch the paint.
First I tried it with Ryobi blower and thought it worked pretty well. I actually really liked using it for the walkway in front of my house. The conditions were about 3 inches of snow.
Next I tried it with the BLO Car Dryer which I also thought did a sufficient job removing snow. This was another day where we got some light snow. One negative for the BLO is that I need to plug in but it does have a convenient 26′ hose compared to the leaf blower which is battery operated. There is a positive for the BLO that the leaf blower doesn’t have, heated filtered air. Meant for drying your car the heat can aid in defrosting some ice.
Here are some things to keep in mind about blowing snow off your car:
- Blowing works best with powder snow conditions
- The effectiveness will decrease as the snow piles up
- The more output of your blower has the more effective it should be
A couple of things to note in my testing is that I had difficulty holding the blower and recording a the same time. It was a cold day not to no wear gloves. The other thing is I didn’t try different attachments, like a flat one might work better.
My experience with using a blower to remove snow was a positive one that I think I will continue to do under the right conditions. It’s touchless snow removal from your car, helping protect your paint and it’s fun! Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments.
Source: YouTube
If the snow is light and “fluffy”. i.e. with low moisture content, using a blower is a great way to quickly clear snow off of a vehicle. If the snow is heavy and “wet”… not so much.
My vehicles are ceramic coated, and I try to make sure they are clean before the snow comes to reduce the risk of scratching the paint if I have to use my Snow-Brum or Arctic Plow to remove snow.
I also use the blower as a car dryer. Then i don’t have to worry about scratching the surface with a drying towel. I will say i feel its better to dry with windows and any chrome with a towel.