Tip of the Day: Take the work and injury out of fall cleanup

As I lay in bed last Sunday morning recovering from a day spent removing my air conditioners, my colleague Steven H. Saltzman had already started on his fall yard cleanup and wasted no time blogging about it.

Don't feel guilty if you've yet to start your own seasonal cleanup. In this case, procrastination is not a bad thing--use the time to review our best lawn-care products.

Plus, you'll be able to heed this expert advice from the Consumer Reports Health blog to avoid raking-related and other injuries. And follow these tips from Silvana Fix, D.P.T., a doctor of physical therapy with Spine and Sports Rehab in Fairfield, Connecticut.

• Before you start working, "a brisk walk for about 10 minutes is a good general warm-up," says Fix. To stretch your back, "Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and bend backward five to 10 times before returning to a full upright position," says Fix.

For your quadriceps, bend your right leg, grab the ankle with your right hand, and gently pull your leg toward your buttocks. Hold that for a count of 10 or 20. Repeat with your left leg. Be sure you're near a wall or tree and on flat ground so you can maintain your balance.

Fix also recommends this easy chest-and-shoulder stretch: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, clasp your hands behind your back and gently bring your hands away from your back. Hold for a count of 10 and repeat two or three times.

• When you rake, "Keep your wrists in a neutral position, with no bending. A rake that has a bent or side-mounted handle can help here," says Fix. She adds that good body mechanics are important: "Place one foot ahead of the other, keep your back straight, and rake the leaves while taking small steps backward and keeping your arms close to our body."

As you work, avoid stooping or bending forward, twisting your back, and overreaching with your arms, and keep your feet planted firmly in one place on the ground, according to Fix, who notes that you should stretch again when you're done and consult a medical professional if you pain lingers.—Gian Trotta

Essential information: Remember, it's important to get rid of leaves, especially under your deck. Piles of leaves are an open invitation to mice, which can carry Lyme disease and hantavirus, and other pests to set up warm winter homes. Our fall lawn-and-yard checklist will help your yard looks its best next spring. Autumn is an especially effective time to fertilize some lawns. Don't hesitate to fall back on mechanical help to get the job done, including the latest leaf-bagging lawn tractors, cordless and gas-powered leaf blowers, and string trimmers.

Tip of the Day: Use a string trimmer for late-summer and fall yard care

String trimmers are handy for cutting grass, weeds, and brush in areas your mower or tractor can’t reach, helping to keep your property looking its best and eliminating habitats for insects and rodents, and other critters. As fall approaches, you’ll want to be sure you don’t to provide overwintering abodes for pests.

With prices of the string trimmers in our ratings (available to subscribers) ranging from $20 to $370, we can help you weed out some choices and find the best model for your home. Read our latest report on string trimmers and watch the video at right, in which our garden-equipment guru Peter Sawchuk details the pros and cons and costs of gas and electric (corded and cordless) models.

Essential information: Get ready for autumn with our guide to fall yard care. And find the best leaf blower to make easier work of yard cleanup.

Inside Consumer Reports Test Labs: How we review string trimmers

When you work for Consumer Reports, friends, family, and acquaintances often are curious about how we examine products, wondering if we really do put each and every item—be it a vacuum or a Volkswagen—through rigorous testing.

For string trimmers, an essential yard-care tool, I can tell you, based on first-hand experience, that a lot of work goes into reviewing these machines.

One day early last fall, despite a looming deadline, I snuck off for a ride to Lyndhurst, a New York country estate once home to former New York City mayor William Paulding and railroad tycoon Jay Gould. This 67-acre property north of our Yonkers, New York, headquarters includes a nearly 170-year-old Gothic Revival mansion. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which maintains the site, has let Consumer Reports test leaf blowers and string trimmers there for more than 10 years.

Running the tests that afternoon were Peter Sawchuk, our outdoor-power-equipment maven (shown with the highly rated Stihl FS 45 gas-powered string trimmer), and Mike Sedlak. I caught up with them as they were whacking away at tall weeds and grass on a little-used portion of the estate along the Hudson River, testing the 21 new gas and electric models that will appear in our upcoming review of string trimmers. (You’ll find the new story on our string trimmers page along with updated Ratings and CR Quick Recommendations, available to subscribers.)

I watched Peter and Mike run the grass-and-weeds test, which replicates the worst conditions you might encounter along the perimeter of your property—some of the growth is more than a yard high and is rife with deer ticks and poison oak. They timed how long it took each model to chop the grass in a 5x8-foot patch down to about three inches. They also tested the edging capability of each model along wood pilings and some of the walkways.

Our testers also assess each string trimmer on how well it’s balanced, how easy it is to replace cutting line, and how noisy the machine is at the operator’s ear.

The testing at Lyndhurst might not have been as much fun as my machete-swinging hikes in the boonies of Guam . . . that’s another story. But from all appearances, the best weed whackers we tested are far more precise.—Ed Perratore

Essential information: Read about the pros and cons of gasoline and electric trimmers and learn how to find the right model.