How To Mow A Lawn With A Lawnmower

If you have never used a lawnmower before, do not despair – there is still time for you to learn and to keep your yard perfectly trimmed. It really is not hard to use a lawnmower, regardless of the size of your lawn, and once you get started you’ll feel like you have been doing it your whole life.

Before you turn your lawnmower on, check that there are no obstructions around the blades. If there are, such as grass or sticks, carefully remove them as they will greatly affect the efficiency of your lawnmower or may be flung out and cause injury. If the moving parts feel a little stiff or tight, put a little oil on them to loosen them up. Check how sharp the blades are, as if they need to be sharpened or replaced they can cause damage to your grass.

Next, you will need to adjust the wheel height of your lawnmower to ensure that you are cutting your grass to the right height and not scalping it. There will be specific levers on your lawnmower that easily enable you to do this. In the warmer seasons, your grass should be about half an inch to an inch in length, whilst in the cooler seasons it should be two to three inches high. This, of course, depends on the type of lawn you have.

Before you turn your lawnmower on, you should also check for lawn obstructions that could cause damage to your lawnmower or injury to yourself if flung out of the chute. Sticks, rocks, dog bones and toys are all objects that are dangerous if left on a lawn during mowing.

You should run your lawnmower back and forth across your grass, not around in a spiral pattern. Move at a brisk walking pace, as walking too slowly can cause grass to become caught up in the blades and affect the quality of your lawn. At each turn, make sure that your lawnmower overlaps some of the area that you have just mowed. This is known as the half pass trick, and is useful because it ensures you haven’t missed any patches of grass and makes for a smoother mowing movement.

If your yard, or part of it, is on a slope you need to run your lawnmower across it, as mowing up and down is highly dangerous. This is because it increases your chances of slipping and mowing over your own feet or of the lawnmower tipping over and injuring yourself or an observer.

It really is not difficult to mow your lawn using a lawnmower and once you have learnt it is a skill you will never forget. Just remember how to safely use your lawnmower, and your grass will always be looking green and well groomed.