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Best Lawn Sweeper in 2024: Expert Reviews and Buyer’s Guide

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by Bryan Mckenzie

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Home » Lawn care » Lawn Sweepers » Best Lawn Sweeper in 2022: Expert Reviews and Buyer’s Guide
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Hi, I am Bryan McKenzie. Gardening has been my hobby for years now. With all my extensive experience, I believe I can amend the gardening lives of others with my best lawn sweeper reviews.

Taking care of plants reduces the risk of stroke, burns calories, and relieves stress. No matter what you do, you cannot avoid the overwhelming amounts of thatch being created on your lawn. What to do? You need the best lawn sweeper for your situation specifically because such products differ significantly and not all sweepers suit the lawns in the same way.

Top Pick
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Sun Joe AJ801E 12-Amp, Electric Dethatcher...
Pros
Easy assembly
Prime
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Runner Up
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Ohio Steel 42SWP22 Sweeper Spiral Brush,...
Pros
Excels at leaf collecting
Prime
Amazon Prime
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Premium Choice
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Agri-Fab 45-0492 44" Tow-Behind Lawn Sweeper,...
Pros
Easy dumping
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10 Best Lawn Sweepers Reviewed

I have acquired sone experience in gardening, and during the last ten years, I’ve been exploring the details and every available aspect of gardening. There is nothing that I have not seen or tried. I am very well acquainted with the feeling when you are only starting!

If you are a gardening beginner, you have no idea what tools you need and which ones you should buy. The feeling of being overwhelmed with the things you have to do and have to know can sway you away from gardening. However, do not be scared! As we have discussed, gardening can bring you joy and appreciation for nature, and fight that initial feeling. I have created this list to aid you on your gardening journey.

I am going to review the most popular lawn sweeper choices. All of the sweepers below are the best that you can find on the market. We are merely going to start with the best rated lawn sweepers and finish with less popular variants. The reviews will have a simple structure, presenting the brand, mentioning the design, and focusing on the functionality.

Let us start with the lawn sweeper reviews!

1. Best Lawn Sweeper – Sun Joe AJ801E 13 in

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The first one is Sun Joe AJ801E, a remarkable piece of gardening equipment, coming from a company that is famously known as Snow Joe. Although the company’s name suggests that it specializes in snow equipment, they own a sub-brand, Sun Joe, which offers all things gardening. This includes electric pressure washers, telescoping poles, chainsaws, and jet fan blowers.

Snow Joe does not disappoint with this lawn sweeper, in fact, they deliver precisely to expectations. This was the first lawn sweeper bought by me after the house acquisition. I went online and purchased the most popular option. Like with all their products that are for summer use, the design of the lawn sweeper concentrates on two green shades with some black highlights. Personally speaking, the shades of green of this product are not my most favorite colors. It is safe to say that I don’t like them.

However, what this product lacks in design, it makes up in good old performance. A couple of facts about this best rated lawn sweeper:

  • it has the most potent motor between all of the lawn sweepers (at least on Amazon);
  • employs an air boosting technology developed by Sun Joe, maximizing thatch pickup through steel tines;
  • has an easy “push a button” start that utilizes a security switch, preventing any accidents;
  • encompasses a scarifies/scraper, a part that boosts the lawn growth by cutting up the ground;
  • is incredibly sturdy and strong.

When you buy this lawn sweeper, of course, it comes in parts, so you have to assemble it. However, there is little ingenuity required for the process of assembly, as everything fits perfectly and is pretty logical and self-evident. Additionally, the assembly takes almost no time at all. I want to point out one flaw – the thatch collection bag can be too small for people with big gardens, so, a replacement bag may be in need for such users.

ADVANTAGES
  • Easy assembly
  • Efficient thatch picking up
  • Easy to use
DRAWBACKS
  • Small bag

2. Ohio Steel 42SWP22 Lawn Sweeper with Spiral Brush, 42″/22 cu. ft.

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Ohio Steel 42SWP22 – another product from Ohio Steel. You can consider this unit a stripped-down version of the Ohio Steel 50SWP26. It would be almost a copy of the unit above if it were not for the differences in the assembly, which make the Ohio Steel 42SWP22 more prone to breaking.

Additionally, with the Ohio Steel 42SWP22, you receive less performance. Remember how I said that the previous sweeper from Ohio Steel could take on a big farm. Well, this sweeper can do it too, but not as effectively, and you will be making more trips to dump leaves/grass.

However, if you do not need an industry-level lawn sweeper, this is a viable option for you!

ADVANTAGES
  • Excels at leaf collecting
  • Great for medium workloads
  • Outstanding performance
DRAWBACKS
  • Questionable structure

3. Best Pull Behind Lawn Sweeper – Agri-Fab 45-0492 Lawn Sweeper, 44-Inch

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Agri-Fab is a well-known and respected American-based manufacturer of lawn and garden devices and accessories. They gained an exceptional reputation by delivering durable and sturdy products. They are especially known for their carts, spreaders, groomers, rollers, and the sort. Agri-Fab 45-0492 is mainly oriented towards those people who enjoy their relaxation time. If you belong to the type that likes to minimize the effort and maximize the pleasure, then this option is exactly for you. Agri-Fab 45-0492 also suits you, if you have a riding lawnmower.

Let us start with the sweeper’s design. It is fairly simple: the metallic parts are a mix of red, black, metallic, while the collection bag and the wheels are black. I enjoy this kind of design: you will not look silly when using this lawn sweeper. The design is a bit off-set, increasing utility.

The specifications are as follows. This is a 44” lawn sweeper with an impressively big holder bag. Agri-Fab claims that the bag is capable of holding two times more than 2-bin bagger. However, I  personally saw that the volume allows for storing even more leaves and thatch than it is said in promotional literature. The sweeper easily connects to various tractors. The design I mentioned before allows for simultaneous cutting and sweeping of the lawn. Additionally, the handle on top of the sweeper is dump lever, making it unnecessary to stop and get off your mini tractor.

I consider this lawn product the best lawn sweeper for leaves. No doubt about it. It is superior when autumn comes. No matter how much leaves you throw at it, I feel like Agri-Fab 45-0492 will excel in any case. However, I do have to indicate that you can find some use for the sweeper during all seasons of the year. Removing debris in spring and autumn, grub control in summer, and removing falling branches in winter.

One of the biggest cons of this particular piece of gardening equipment is its price. For exceptional performance and functionality, you will have to pay quite a bit.

ADVANTAGES
  • Design
  • High capacity
  • Easy dumping
  • Useful throughout the year
DRAWBACKS
  • Price

4. Agri-Fab Tow Behind Lawn Sweeper, 52″

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Agri-Fab Tow Behind Lawn Sweeper, 52″ — a comeback from Agri-Fab. If you were not satisfied with the parameters of the previous Agri-Fab unit, then this is the lawn sweeper for you. This unit is more significant, faster, and better. Primarily bigger. Coming in at whole 52”, it is incredibly sturdy and exceeds all expectations.

On second thought, I would not accelerate on my mini tractor with this sweeper attached, as its size makes it prone to breaking in critical places.

ADVANTAGES
  • Big model
  • High capacity
  • Sturdy
DRAWBACKS
  • Not so safe when handling

5. Ohio Steel 50SWP26 Pro Lawn Sweeper, 50″/26 cu. ft.

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This company has a hand in almost the biggest manufacturing sub-fields, including structural steel fabrication, trailer manufacturing, part manufacturing, and, of course, lawn and garden.

You would expect only the best from a company that spans so much work, and you would not be wrong. The design is incredibly minimalistic with an all-black color palette. This unit is probably the best lawn sweeper on the market when talking exclusively about performance.

If this lawn sweeper has easily dealt with a big farm with a bumpy landscape and a scary number of trees, then there is nothing it cannot do. Leaves and grass clippings are where Ohio Steel 50SWP26 trumps all of the competitors.

However, there is a price to pay for such performance, and that is the quality of the fabric bag. If you are not careful, the bag will easily rip, and you will be in the market for a replacement bag for lawn sweeper.

ADVANTAGES
  • Excels at leaf collecting
  • Great for big workloads
  • Outstanding performance
DRAWBACKS
  • Weak bag

6. Brinly STS-427LXH 20 Cubic Feet Tow Behind Lawn Sweeper, 42-Inch

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Brinly has been in the gardening game for a long time. Nearing on two centuries of continuous business on the market. This fact alone should communicate the level of quality and reliability we are talking about.

The product of this American-based company is another excellent good in its product lineup that’ll last for years to come. Firstly, the design. My favorite from the whole top 10 list! The design is sleek, not too over-bearing, and very pleasing to the eye. By no means is it distracting, but when you look at it, you can appreciate the designers work. It is mainly matte black with a couple of red highlights and the logo. Simple yet beautiful. The way that metal and the bag are combined is almost perfect.

Let us not get bogged down with the design only. This is a 42” sweeper with six whole brushes, swiping leaves, grass, pine needles, and other debris at extremely high velocity. The high velocity makes picking up leaves and the sort possible even when turning. Many sweepers claim to do this but do not succeed in the task, unlike the Brinly STS-427LXH.

Brinly decided to use a hamper and not a bag because they designed and implemented a highly space-efficient method of storage. Still, the hamper is medium-sized, so be wary of that. Also, size up your lawn before buying this sweeper, because the hamper may not be up to the task for your particular situation. The sweeper can be emptied right from the seat of your mini tractor. The assembly here is rather complicated. You will have to break your head a bit, as the directions may seem a tad too complicated and convoluted. Once you assemble the sweeper, you get an incredibly powerful device.

ADVANTAGES
  • Easy dumping
  • Design
  • Picks up leaves when turning
DRAWBACKS
  • Difficult assembly

7. Yard Works Lawn Sweeper – Yard Commander 42″

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Yard Commander 42″ tries to win you over with its simplicity. Assembly is lightning-fast, so you could put it to use almost straight after you receive the package. However, this means that some cuts have been made. While 42”, the sweeper has only four brushes, which may not handle very big amounts of grass/leaves. Additionally, the container bag quickly overflows with debris.

ADVANTAGES
  • Easy to use
  • Simple design
  • Great for small loads of work
DRAWBACKS
  • The bag may overflow

8. Best Lawn Sweeper for the Money – Earthwise LSW70021 21″ Yard Sweeper

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Making our way through the list, we find Earthwise LSW70021. It is a part of a group of brands, which all center around outside activities. Earthwise exclusively specializes in manufacturing gardening devices. Being established in the 19th century, just like Brinly, makes Earthwise a safe option to go with. The low price tag may raise your eyebrows, but I have tested the quality of Earthwise’s products and established its superior nature.

Earthwise LSW70021 is the cheapest lawn sweeper, which does not reflect the sweeper’s performance but rather its design. The color palette of this unit is black with green encapsulations. The shade is neon green, which is not that bad when compared to the tasteless sticker on the front of the sweeper.

This sweeper offers a lot for its price and questionable design. In any other case, you would not be reading a review of Earthwise LSW70021. Although the sweeper is small, being only 21”, it perfectly suits people with small-to-medium-sized lawns. It is an exceptional raker of grass, avoiding damaging debris, and a superb leaf and grass clipper. The sweeper is light and very easy-to-use, and the assembly is simple. On the downside, the sweeper’s weakness is big bumps. If your lawn is very bumpy, the sweeper may become useless very quickly.

ADVANTAGES
  • Small price tag, big performance
  • Exceptional raking
  • Easy assembly
DRAWBACKS
  • Not bump-resistant

9. Best Push Lawn Sweeper – Scotts LSW70026S, 26-Inch Sweeping Width

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Scotts LSW70026S is significant for its type, yet small and compact when compared to tow lawn sweepers. Scotts is a lesser-known company that I discovered quite recently. I found out and fell for it.

Speaking from a design standpoint, Scotts LSW70026S is a cute lawn mower that you would see in the movies. Finally, somebody got the shade of green right. Green neatly combines with orange and black. This is a great sweeper that can deal with big lawns. It ensures that on the second pass, there will not be any leaves and grass left. With this sweeper, you can dial in the perfect height for your lawn.

One disappointment is that the praised bushel bag is fairly tricky to get out, and it can frustrate the world out of you.

ADVANTAGES
  • Lightweight
  • Compact size
  • Cute design
DRAWBACKS
  • Tricky dumping

10. Manual Agri Fab Lawn Sweeper – Agri-Fab 26″ Push Lawn Sweeper

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Agri-Fab 26″ Push Lawn Sweeper is Agri-Fab’s answer to all of the push lawn sweepers on the market. The design is strikingly barebones for this unit and makes it look like something that was put together in 10 minutes. However, it performs as if it was in the works for ten years, being carefully and continuously redesigned and amended. Agri-Fab 26″ Push Lawn Sweeper has the adjustable height feature, and the hopper’s capacity exceeds all expectations. This lawn sweeper would be a great addition for any gardening amateur.

ADVANTAGES
  • Lightweight model
  • Great performance
  • Compact size
DRAWBACKS
  • Barebones look and feel

How Does a lawn sweeper work

Best Lawn Sweeper Buyer’s Guide

Men riding a lawn tractor Agri-Fab 45-0492 with attachment

A lawn sweeper or a sweeping machine is a lawn care device that moves around the lawn to clear debris. The tool manages much faster than a rake and requires much less energy to work from you. In the majority of cases, it’s used to remove the leaves.

The lawnmower allows you to clean the entire front yard. In fall, all paths are covered with dry leaves. They can spoil the beauty of nature at any time of the year. Thus, for perfect and proper cleaning, the mower is the best choice for you.

However, if you wonder how to use a lawn sweeper for something else, there’s good news. The machine also can remove trimmed grass, pine needles, acorns, offshoots, and even artificial objects such as bottles. Sweepers can take just a few hours to work the area that would take days with a rake.

How Does a Lawn Sweeper Work

For those who want to know what is a lawn sweeper doing exactly, here’s a little explanation. There are high-speed brushes inside this equipment piece. They’re attached to the shaft and connected to the rotating wheels of the sweeper. When the lawn sweeper moves, the rotation of the wheels makes brushes comb through the grass, removing debris or cutting the grass, and then throwing material into the rear hopper (sometimes called a bag). As the bin is full, you put all the contents in a container or a heap for disposal.

Types of lawn sweepers

1. Tow-behind lawn sweepers

Tow-behind lawn sweeper drops the need to rake leaves or grass. This type of equipment cleans the ground surface quickly and efficiently. These lawn sweepers have to be attached to something with a motor. It can be a lawnmower or tractor. You can’t operate them manually.

The best thing about the lawn sweeper tow behind is that you can easily connect it to your cleaning tractor. You’re able to attach it to the mounted lawnmowers, as well as change them using other nozzles. It’s a large capacity machine that’s also suitable for commercial purposes. You can use it for practically any type of surface.

This type of lawn sweeper is perfect for taller grass, broad areas, firm and large debris. Unfortunately, it doesn’t suit you if you have a hilly lawn to clean.

2. Push lawn sweepers

This type of sweeper is manually operated; it also has a smaller size than the tow behind one. Lawn sweeper push works as you move it, the wheels rotate a series of sweeping brushes under the machine, which collect garbage and dump it into the storage hopper. As the bag is full, you have to clear it and remove all the contents. Then you can continue the operation.

A manual lawn sweeper is more suitable for newcomers. They are very light and come in a low price range. Don’t forget to take into account that it’s also less powerful. It can get stuck with more firm debris such as pine needles, cones, sticks, and branches.

But with the help of this equipment, it is easy to get to hard-to-reach places, as well as to clean the relief areas. Your lawn can be cleaned regardless of its shape and size.

Furthermore, the walk behind lawn sweeper is more eco-friendly because you don’t need to use any petrol, fuel, or anything like that.

How to choose a lawn sweeper?

To choose the right sweeper, you have to determine your needs first. The following indicators are taken into account:

  • the total area
  • type of coating
  • intensity of cleaning (continuous, periodic)

Coverage and type of brushes determine performance indicators and cleaning methods. More rigid brushes are designed for cleaning rough surfaces, collecting larger debris. Soft brushes are the optimal solution for cleaning smooth finished floors.

Also, lawn brush sweeper can be equipped with additional attachments, such as protective aprons, snow dumps during winter cleaning, water sprayers to improve cleaning quality and prevent excessive dust formation, oversized containers, or bags for garbage collection.

If you want your sweeper to serve for a long time staying in good condition, it is necessary to use it correctly. Do not overload the machine — strictly follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. Its productivity should be enough to clean a specific area of adjacent territories.

If you plan to carry out the cleaning of the garden area, then the machine should be designed to capture sizeable solid debris or stones, earth clods. Otherwise, the brushes will wear out quickly or the engine will fail. In winter, it is better not to use this type of equipment to clean packed snow or ice — sweepers are not designed for this.

So, if you have a large area for cleaning, and at the same time, the surface is flat without hard-to-reach places and elevations, a pull behind lawn leaf sweeper is a perfect match. Such equipment will be also needed for cleaning more robust and more massive debris. The whole procedure won’t take a lot of time, and it won’t require many efforts.

If the lawn is embossed and the cleaning area is not smooth, you should pay attention to the pull behind type of machine.

Frequently Asked Questions About Lawn Sweepers

Here you can find the answers to the most popular questions about lawn sweepers.

How does lawn sweeper work?

There is a shaft underneath the sweeper. The shaft is tightly connected to the rotating wheels. Firstly, all of the things lying on the ground are picked up by the lawn sweeper. Inside the shaft, the wheels spin the brushes, which in comb through everything to pick up the grass/leaves/debris into the container bag.

What is the best lawn sweeper?

There is no best lawn sweeper. There are, however, lawn sweepers that suit specific situations best. You will not use a 22” sweeper on a big farm, just like you will not use a 52” sweeper for your tiny front lawn.

How well do lawn sweepers work?

The performance of lawn sweepers varies, depending on the price and the manufacturer.

Who makes the best lawn sweeper?

The companies mentioned in the list above are the best at making lawn sweepers, which is how they got onto the list in the first place. My personal favorites are Brinly, Agri-Fab, Snow Joe (Sun Joe), and Ohio Steel. These companies have either made a great quick impression or delivered continuously durable and impactful products.

Will a lawn sweeper pick up walnuts?

The lawn sweepers are designed not to pick up such things as rocks and walnuts. They will be picked up into the shaft initially but will be dropped back onto the ground after brushes for grass comb through everything. Nonetheless, cheap sweepers comb through the grass badly and pick up unwanted items.

Will a lawn sweeper pick up pine cones?

Just like with the walnut, pine cones will inevitably fall onto the ground and not into your bag. If you are in a situation where you do want to pick up pine cones, walnuts and the like, then you either do it by hand or use nut gatherers.

Does a lawn sweeper pick up grass?

If you mean precisely grass clippings, then, yes. This is what lawn sweepers are designed for, and you could say that they excel at specifically at this job.

If you mean the whole of grass, then, no. Lawn sweepers do not rip the grass out from the ground. Some lawn sweepers are also constructed to cut the grass, but this is not the standard practice.

Will lawn sweeper pick up sweet gum balls?

Sweet gum balls will be picked up if they lie on the leaves of grass. If the gumball is embedded into the ground, I am afraid only a couple of lawn sweepers could deal with it.

Do lawn sweepers pick up pine needles?

Although many companies claim that their sweepers pick up pine needles, many cheap gardening units miss great amounts of pine needles.

Will a lawn sweeper pick up grass clippings?

Luckily, most of the lawn sweepers deliver nicely on the promises to pick up grass clippings.

Will a lawn sweeper pick up dog poop?

Yes, they pick up dog poop.

Lawn sweeper vs bagger?

Lawn baggers allow you to use bin bags as the place where leaves/grass/debris fall, but baggers are less thorough by design. I prefer and recommend lawn sweepers.

Choosing the Best Lawn Sweeper

Now that you have read through my article, I hope that you can walk away knowing a bit more about lawn sweepers. As you have seen for yourself, there are many lawn sweepers to choose from, and you can find something for yourself.

Do you have any questions left after reading the article? What is your favorite product? Which features do you appreciate the most?

About
Bryan Mckenzie
Hi there — my name is Bryan McKenzie. Before I’d got into gardening, I worked as a landscape designer at landscape design and consultation company in Jacksonville. I enjoy sharing the vast gardening experience I’ve accumulated throughout the years with like-minded green thumbs. Read more about me and my wife.
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2 thoughts on “Best Lawn Sweeper in 2024: Expert Reviews and Buyer’s Guide”

  1. Excellent post however , I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this
    topic? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a
    little bit more. Bless you!

    Reply
  2. I was very confused as to how to choose the best lawn sweeper for my home, but your amazing article made it possible. Recently I bought a new lawn sweeper and I am so happy that it’s working properly because of your amazing reviews and guides while purchasing. Thanks a lot for sharing..!

    Reply

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