# Leaf blower to dry car?



## RBinDC (Aug 8, 2010)

Has anyone had experience with using a leaf blower to dry your car after washing? Is it superior to using towels? Take longer? 

What blower brand would you recommend?


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## white75li (Dec 29, 2009)

Using a leaf blower works great to get most of the water off but you still have to towel dry it to get it completely dry. Save time more then anything I had mine for my landscaping wouldn't be worth buying just to save time on drying your car. Mines an Eco


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## Campfamily (Sep 20, 2010)

I've thought about doing this but was concerned about picking up debris from the ground and sandblasting my car with it, so I've never tried it. Also, leaf blowers typically blow air around 200+ mph, I can't imagine that's good for the rubber seals, trim, etc.


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## djfitter (Sep 12, 2007)

De-ionized water for final rinse and the top of my shop vac doubles as a leaf blower. The blower isn't really necessary with the DI water (no minerals, no water spots) but it hastens the drying and gets all the water out of the crevices and behind the license plates and such. Zero swirls/scratchs after 3.5 years. The only towels I use are for door jambs and under the hood.

And to Campfamily, my blower has a foam filter on the intake so no sand blasting, not that there is a lot of sand floating around in the air to pick up anyway. 

dj


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## Johnz3mc (Jan 5, 2005)

I can chime in as a guy who's been using a leaf blower for drying for quite a while.
I have a gas powered Echo and an electric Toro. The Toro is a two speed version and the fastest speed supposedly pushes air just over 200 mph. 
The electric is for the car, the Echo is for the yard.
The electric one is very light, very manageable, easy to handle and does a great job on the water. Wheels, seams, and mouldings are dried in short order and never any drip lines after the fact. 
The better the lsp on the car, the better the drying action. With no wax/sealant on the car I'm thinking a microfiber drying towel would probably do a better/quicker job.

The lack of a towel in my drying phase doesn't affect swirlage on my paint because I usually grab a plush microfiber and do a final spritz with a qd like Aquawax or FK425 anyway. So a towel touches the car once instead of twice. 

As a bonus with the electric blower, it's so light the wife can use that one in the fall for leaves too. Bonus!
-John C.


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## DetailDan (Jul 3, 2007)

If you do it right, you can use a quality electric leaf blower, shop vac, etc. and not need to use towels at all.


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## Glock13 (Oct 31, 2009)

My wife and I use a leafblower now on our X3. I think it works pretty well. She uses it while it use a waffle-weave microfiber to dry the rest. With the leafblower, I just need to lightly press the microfiber towel in a few areas...I don't need to rub or move the towel over the car. Works out pretty well so far.


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## rdorman (Sep 4, 2008)

I use the blower all the time. If you have other uses for a blower (such as a yard) then I like Stihl. Been through a number of others and I prefer gas over electric. If not, then a good vac/blower combo (wet/dry of course) will be more versatile.


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## jfs356 (Oct 14, 2010)

Great idea, we have water that doesn't leave marks, so the blower should push it right off. I then would follow with a quick
Meguair's Quik Detailer Spray. Never really thought about my leaf blower to dry car...


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## maharaj1 (Apr 9, 2008)

I use my Echo gas powered backpack blower when I wash my cars, helps to remove the bulk of the water and does help get it out of all the cracks and hard to reach areas. Never had any problems with sand/rocks flying either.


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## Chisum (Dec 23, 2010)

*Toro*

I user my toro electric to dry my car it's fast and gets all the water out from behind the trim and other cracks.

Chisum


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## [email protected] (Nov 3, 2010)

I pick up a 20 buck leaf blower and had my Big Blue III drying towel in hand some those few spots that might have a drip or two.

http://www.properautocare.com/mitobigbliii.html


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## [email protected] (Nov 3, 2010)

If you are going to use a gas powered leaf blower than make sure that it does not route the exhaust through the blower (many do) as you will be coating your car with 2 stroke oil (great for shine).


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## OliviaHamilton (Mar 24, 2017)

I have an electric and mine works great! I still do a final wipe down with a waffle weave but having a smaller tip on the end on the leaf blower helps me get in cracks easier and blows the water in one direction. Hope this helps/makes sense.
http://www.thegoodgears.com/Leaf-Blower/ _sl_


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## andy0902 (May 2, 2016)

*Leaf Blower*

I have been doing this as well. It works great but I get a lot of odd looks from the neighbors.


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## dpritchett (Sep 6, 2006)

I use a leaf blower for the front and back bumpers, door jams and wheels...places where water collects. 
A trick I use for the rest of the car is to take the nozzle off the hose and wet down the car with just a slow stream of water from the hose itself -- this leaves less water on the car, so it's less than needs to come off. (you don't have those hundreds of drops like you get from a spray nozzle). Also, I spray my drying towels with a waterless wash or quick detailer before using them.


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