Mowing Made Easy: Learn the Basics for a Beautiful Lawn

It's easy and important to mow your lawn correctly. Proper mowing and trimming are your first lines of defense against weeds, pests and lawn disease. While you may think you are just cutting the grass you are actually creating a healthy environment for lawn growth every time you mow correctly.

First, a few words about mowing safely: Every piece of outdoor power equipment comes with an operator's manual. Refer to this manual before you use your equipment to make sure you are operating it correctly and safely.

Never start any outdoor power equipment in a garage, shed or other building.

Also, be cautious when adding fuel. Only add fuel when the mower is turned off and cool, and only do this outdoors.

Before you start your mower, remove any potential hazards such as toys, branches and debris from your yard.

Also, keep children and pets out of the mowing area and under the watchful care of a responsible adult other than the operator. Never allow a child to ride on a riding mower or walk along side with you even with the blades shut off. They may fall off and be seriously injured or interfere with safe machine operation. Children who have been given rides in the past may suddenly appear in the mowing area for another ride. For this reason, use extreme care when approaching blind corners, shrubs, trees, or other objects that may block your view of a child. Be alert and turn off the machine if a child enters the mowing area. In general, never allow a child under the age of 16 to operate any type of outdoor power equipment.

Wear appropriate clothing when you mow long pants and sturdy shoes never sandals or tennis shoes. Work gloves and safety glasses are recommended.

Remember to only mow when you have enough daylight, and don't mow when the lawn is wet.

For more lawn mower safety, please visit our Lawn Mower Safety Tutorial

Let's Get Mowing

If you're using the mower for the first time, be sure to check the oil and add it if needed. Many new mowers are shipped without oil in them, and running a mower without oil will severely damage the engine.

Most walk-behind mowers require priming and choking to start the engine. This provides the right mixture of fuel and air for combustion when you pull the starter cord.

Refer to your operator's manual for instructions on how to prime and choke your mower.

A new mower, and a mower that is tuned up each year, should start quickly. If it takes many pulls to start your mower, review the starting procedure in your operator's manual.

Stale gas is the number one reason a mower won't start. You can keep your gas fresh by adding a fuel freshener to the gas tank or by using a FreshStart gas cap which automatically drips freshener into the fuel.

To keep your mower running right and starting quickly, be sure to tune up the engine once a year.

When you mow your lawn, follow the one-third rule: Cut only one-third of the length of the grass blade in any one mowing. If your lawn is three inches tall, this means you will only want to cut off one inch. If your lawn has gotten very long maybe you were on vacation or it's been raining for days you may have to mow twice within a few days, cutting no more than one-third the length of the grass each time.

You can easily adjust your mower deck so that it only cuts the amount of grass you want to cut.

Be careful that you don't scalp your lawn. Scalping means cutting the grass too short. Some people mistakenly do this thinking they will then have to cut the lawn less often. But scalping actually injures and stresses your lawn, making it easier for pests and disease to take hold.

Change your mowing direction from week to week. If you cut the lawn from north to south last week, mow east to west this week. This helps you achieve an even cut and prevents wheel ruts from forming.

Finally, always be sure your lawn mower blade is sharp. A dull blade tears the grass rather than cutting it cleanly. Damaged grass blades are always more susceptible to pests and disease. The easiest and safest way to assure a sharp mower blade is to have a professional sharpen it once a year.