Last Updated on October 2, 2023 by Kyle Whitley
If you have ever wondered can you use a leaf blower to dry a car, the answer is absolutely. I actually use a leaf blower to dry my truck all the time. It makes the process of drying a car or truck a much quicker task.
If you have ever been to a car wash with heavy-duty wind blowers at the end of the carwash then you know that blowing the water off your car is a quick, touchless, and efficient way to dry your car.
Using a leaf blower is the same as those huge blowers at the carwash but on a smaller less expensive scale.
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Using a leaf blower to dry a car
If you like to handwash your car or trucks as I do, then you know about drying towels, squeegees, and chamois. These are all good tools for getting water off your car or truck after you are done rinsing off that last bit of carwash soap.
Using a leaf blower makes the task a whole lot easier and quicker. When you dry your car, you should start from the top and work your way down.
Steps to using a leaf Blower to Dry your Car
- First, dry the roof
- proceed to dry the windshield and windows.
- Move to the hood and trunk after the windows have been dried.
- Then move to the cars doors, quarter and rocker panels.
- Finish off by drying off the wheels and tires.
From personal experience, I would say using a leaf blower dries my truck in half the time of using towels and squeegee to dry the truck off.
What Types of Leaf Blowers are Good for Drying a Car
While you can dry your car with any type of leaf blower, I would lean toward a handheld corded electric or battery powered leaf blower to handle my drying tasks.
Handheld Corded Leaf Blowers
Hand held corded electric blowers might be perfectly suited for drying off cars and trucks. They are relatively light weight and you can run them for as long as you like as long as you have a power outlet near the area you are washing your car and a long enough extension cord.
Battery Powered Cordless Leaf Blowers
Coming in a close second would be a battery powered cordless leaf blower. This is actually what I use to dry my truck and my wife’s SUV with. I have a small RYOBI 18v leaf blower to handle all of my drying duties.
Cordless leaf blowers a generally light weight and grant you a little more mobility without sacrificing to much runtime and power. The one con is that the battery can add a little extra heft, that can make drying off the roof of a taller SUV or truck a little more taxing on your arms after awhile.
Gas Leaf Blowers
While gas leaf blowers are generally the top dogs in the leaf blower game, they are not great in my opinion for drying a car. Gas leaf blowers have tons of power but that comes with extra weight of a small gas engine.
These small gas engines also are loud and spew emissions. I know when I am using my battery powered blower, I often have the blower at or near my head. Using a gas blower near your face or head isn’t the best idea.
Not only will you be exposing yourself to loud noises of the blower, but you could be exposing your face to carbon dioxide emissions. I know from my using gas leaf blowers in the past that exhaust gases can be an issue. I always smelled like exhaust after using my leaf blower for more than 5 minutes.
Leaf Blower Car Drying Pros and Cons
While overall using a leaf blower to dry your car is a good idea there are a few pros and cons that you might want to consider before using your leaf blower to dry your car.
PROS
It’s faster
Using a leaf blower to dry your car will dramatically decrease the amount of time you spend removing water from your car after washing.
No more drying Towels
Drying towels, at the amount you used to use will be a thing of the past. Drying you car with a blower will cut your use of drying towels by 90%. I still use a drying towel to dry up those last drops of water that remain.
No streaks or scratches
If you use a drying towel or chamois to dry your car, you can introduce streaks or possibly even scratch your car.
Using a leaf blower pretty much eliminates the chance of streaks. You will need to be aware of the leaf bower nozzle because the nozzles and paint aren’t good companions. A leaf blower nozzle could easily scratch your paint.
Cons
Noise Levels
There is no denying that leaf blowers put off some noise. Gas leaf blowers are by far the worst culprit. Corded electric blowers and battery powered blowers aren’t nearly as loud.
If you are concerned about noise levels when drying your car, then you will want to steer clear of a gas blower, and take a look at an electric or battery powered leaf blower
Room to Do the Job
A leaf blower isn’t really a compact piece of outdoor equipment, so you need to make sure you have plenty of room around where you are drying your car off. If you are drying a car in smaller garage you will need to pay special attention to room you have to maneuver around the car or truck.
Weight
Like I mentioned previously in this post, weight can be an issue when drying a car with a leaf blower. Even electric blowers can be an issue with weight if you are holding the blower over your head like I have to do to dry the roof on my truck.
Tips for Drying Your Car With a Leaf Blower
Here are a few tips that might make drying your car a more enjoyable experience.
- Don’t stop with drying off the outside you can also dry out your engine bay, tires, wheels, and truck bed if you have one.
- You will still need to keep a few drying towels around to clean up those last few drops of water that seem to hang out in nooks and crannies of your car.
- Make sure you do not hit your car with your blower. The blowers nozzle could easily scratch your paint.
- If you are using an electric corded leaf blower, pay attention to your extension cord, you don’t want it to get tangled around your feet, dragging it over any surface of your care, or get it caught on a tire and come unplugged.
Leaf Blower Manufactures
Summing it Up: Drying A Car Faster With a Leaf Blower
You can definitely dry a car with a leaf blower, and the leaf blower makes the job much easier and quicker.
The next time you are out washing your car and reach for that drying towel, think twice, that leaf blower in your garage might be the tool for the job.
