Mower Maintenance & Blades

Summer is the best time to enjoy your lawn. From walking barefoot through the grass, to the playtime of children tumbling around, everyone loves a nice, green, healthy lawn. As you enjoy garden parties, barbecues and sunbathing, it's good to keep in mind a few summer mowing essentials that will help your lawn look its best.

Maintain your Lawn Mower

Change the oil at the beginning of every season. Dirt and other impurities collect in the oil and will ruin an engine. Check the mower's owner's manual for the proper procedure.

Check the spark plug annually. Sometimes it can be cleaned and adjusted by resetting the spark gap at the end of the plug. If not, it will need to be replaced.

Replace or clean the air filter. If the filter in your mower is a paper type, remove the filter cover and blow out all the debris with a high-pressure air hose. When paper filters become too clogged and dirty, replace them. If the filter is a foam one, wash it in water and a detergent solution, let it dry, and apply a few drops of oil to it. In some cases, you may need to replace a foam filter, but most of the time a simple cleaning will do.

Clean the mower top and bottom. Grass can get caked in on the undercarriage, potentially clogging the mower discharge chute. Use a wire brush to scrape grass clippings and dirt away and spray the remaining debris away with a hose. As a safety precaution, always disconnect the spark plug before working around the undercarriage. Consider a Non-Stick Mower protectant like Good Vibrations Clean Machine for underneath your mower, this will help prevent grass clippings and dirt from sticking to the undercarriage.

Sharpen your lawn mower blade at the beginning and middle of the mowing season. Check the mower blade every few weeks to make sure it's sharp and free of damage. Dull mower blades rip grass blades apart rather than making a clean cut, which leaves grass susceptible to drought and disease. A good rule of thumb is that a sharp blade lasts for 10 hours of mowing. If the blade has large nicks in the cutting edge from hitting rocks, branches or other debris, you should replace it. Always replace mower blades in sets, as blades will lose weight as it is eroded by dirt, sand, and other debris in your lawn. If you replace a single blade you run the risk of unbalancing your deck or even damaging a spindle.