For your lawn mower to properly cut the grass, you must keep it in top shape. Some of the things you need to do include:

Replace worn-out parts

Like any other machine, it’s normal for the lawn mower parts to wear out. For your machine to continue functioning, you have to replace these parts.

Some people easily find the parts, while others have a hard time.

Before purchasing any lawn mower, consider how easy it will be to obtain replacement parts if any problems arise.

Most mowers have a reasonable lifespan (at least seven years or more), but that doesn’t mean you’ll never need spare blades, springs, or a replacement mower belt.

Most major lawn mower sellers, including Bosch, Cobra, Flymo, Ryobi, and Stihl, provide spare parts for their lawn mowers, either directly on their website or through a third-party seller.

It’s always a good idea to double-check the availability of these parts before making a purchase, as you don’t want a little problem to force you to replace your entire mower because you can’t find a specific part.

When it comes to cordless mowers, you should ensure new batteries are available.

Service your lawn mower regularly.

It goes without saying that you need to service your lawn mower for it to continue serving you. How you service the lawn mower is pegged on the type of lawn mower you have.

How to service a petrol lawn mower

Petrol lawn mowers are easy to service. For peace of mind that they are being serviced properly, you should have them by a local garden machinery professional. A lawn mower service will include parts such as spark plugs, air filters, blades, and oil.

If you are a dab hand at DIY projects and want to service your petrol mower, the best place to start is with the manual.

The manual will guide you on how frequently to change the oil, so check there, but a decent rule of thumb is to change it at the start of each mowing season or after 50 hours of use, whichever comes first.

Regular dipstick checks, like on a car, will also guarantee you’ve used the correct amount.

Check the air filter and spark plugs while changing or checking the oil. These are both simple to clean for your mower to turn over and run, but remember that, like oil, they should be replenished annually for your lawn mower to work as efficiently as possible.

How to service an electric mower

Cordless mowers live and die on their batteries, so it’s critical that you take care of them. The lithium-ion battery within your mower is sensitive to temperature extremes, which might harm the cells or limit performance.

It’s better to keep the batteries indoors and away from scorchingly hot greenhouses or sheds.

Even if you are not using your battery during the off-season, you should charge it several times. If you let the battery discharge and remain at 0% charge, it may fail to hold any charge when you return to use it again.

If the battery dies permanently, you should be able to use a replacement to get the mower operating again, though the cost may surprise you.

In keeping with this, you should never buy a cordless mower with a non-replaceable or removable battery.

Regarding corded mowers, ensure your power cable is in good operating shape. Any obvious damage is a possible hazard, and the mower should only be used once the cord has been replaced or repaired in accordance with the user manual’s safety instructions.

Keep the mower blades sharp.

You’ll have to keep the blade nice and sharp for optimum performance. A dull blade is a pain to cut and might harm your lawn. If the blade is not sharp enough, it will rip rather than cut the grass, resulting in an uneven finish.

Examine your lawn once you’ve completed mowing. It indicates that your blades need to be sharpened if it appears rough and uneven.

If you intend to sharpen your mower blades, use extreme caution; you will need protective glasses, earplugs, and gloves.

Before you begin, make sure your mower is turned off. You should note that if the blade is severely damaged, replace it.

Work slowly along the lawn mower blade using an angle grinder. Because your mower blade has a natural angle, closely follow it with your angle grinder to avoid drastically changing the shape of the blade.

Keep the undercarriage clean.

Every time you mow your lawn, the underside of your lawn mower will become clogged and dirty from grass cuttings and debris.

This will have a detrimental influence on performance and may lead to the spread of grass diseases. Ideally, you should clean your lawn mower after each session, especially if you’re mowing wet grass, but at the very least, clean it once a month.

Scrape and spray away any debris clinging to your lawn mower’s deck with a wire brush, damp cloth, or airline.

Some petrol versions even include a ‘washout port’ where you can put a hose directly into to wash out the trash. Don’t use a garden hose on any electric mowers to stay safe because water can seep in and damage the electronic components.

If you have to turn your mower on its side to clean it, ensure the air filter is on top so no oil spills.

Be cautious when mowing.

Knowing how to cut grass correctly extends beyond the physical act of mowing. Before you pull the cord, inspect your yard for debris, blockages, animal nests, and anything else that could obstruct your mowing or damage your mower.

If you go over rocks, pebbles, standing water, and other barriers, your mower will be destroyed, so always look out for them.

Before you start mowing, review your yard and remove any materials that might damage your machine.

Although you should vary your mowing patterns, you should always mow forward. If you have a power drive push mower and try to mow backward without releasing the clutch, you may harm the mower, and you don’t want this, do you?

Even if you’re not using a self-propelled mower, mowing backward causes grass discharge issues and results in an inconsistent cut.

Walking backward can also put your life at great risk. If you misstep and fall back for whatever reason, you could pull the mower upon yourself and injure yourself. That’s why, unless you truly need to get away from something, you should always mow forward when mowing.

If your lawn is in a hilly area, you should be ultra-cautious to avoid injuries and damage to the lawn mower.

You should not mow your hill if it has a slope of more than 15 degrees. Instead, you should contact a mowing service because they have the best mowers for steep hills.

The method to mow smaller slopes differs depending on whether you use riding or push mower. To keep riding mowers from tipping over to one side, mow up and down a hill rather than side to side.

When using a push mower, mow side to side rather than up and down to avoid the mower sliding backward if you fall.

Trimming the edges with a mower is a futile endeavor you do not want to waste time on. However, if all surfaces are level, you should be fine to mow over the edge.

If the adjacent surface is taller than the grass, lift the mower blade to avoid injuring the grass on the surface. Similarly, if the grass is higher than the adjacent surface, raise the deck to avoid scalping the lawn.

Invest in a quality string trimmer or lawn edger to avoid using the lawnmower.