Cleaning And Maintenance Tips For Your Lawn Mower

The ability of your turf to have healthy and good-looking grass depends greatly on your lawn mower. Your turf will suffer greatly if you are using a poor piece of equipment when mowing. You will have a hard time as well getting the result you want for your lawn with a poorly performing equipment. To avoid such problems, it is important to properly and regularly maintain and clean your lawn mower.

Below are some of the key lawn mower cleaning, care, and maintenance tips you should follow:

Regularly check and change your mower's oil. Experts say that you should check the condition and level of your equipment's oil every eight hours of use. Fresh oil will have a golden or amber color and it will darken as it ages. At least once per season or after every 50 hours of use, change the oil. Also, always use oil that is recommended by the manufacturer for that model.

Add a fuel stabilizing product to fresh fuel. Adding the right amount of fuel stabilizer will keep fuel fresher longer. However, make sure you follow the equipment's manual for instructions on leaving fuel in the engine during storage since this usually varies depending on the brand or manufacturer.

Always clean the air filter properly in place. The air filter of a lawn mower prevents dirt, dust, and debris from entering the carburetor and engine. It should be cleaned or changed every 25 hours of engine operation or at least once per mowing season. Also, you need to replace the pleated, paper air filters regularly as well. You can clean the foam air filters with hot water and a small amount of detergent and leave it to air dry before being saturated with new engine oil and reinstalled.

Get rid of oil stain using a degreaser. Spray a good brand of degreaser on oil stains. Leave the degreaser on the stain for 10 to 15 minutes before wiping it off with a clean cloth and rinse everything off with a hose.

Regularly check the mower's tire pressure. If your lawn mower has pneumatic tires, use a tire pressure gauge to make sure they have consistent tire pressure. In general, tires with varying pressures will result in uneven or poor cutting of grass blades.

Check the blade regularly and replace it as needed. Lastly, be on the lookout for bends, dents, and other damage to the blade. A sharp blade is crucial to a proper cut. Dull blades tear the grass rather than cut them cleanly. Experts say that a blade should be sharpened every season and replaced every one to three years depending on the equipment's frequency of use. It is also important to replace the blade immediately if any damage is found to prevent any risk of injury.

For lawn mower parts, oil, fuel stabilizer, degreaser, blades and other supplies visit Martens True Value Hardware Store in Reedsburg today!

Our Service Center can also help you with parts, maintenance and repair of your mowers and other lawn and garden equipment. Stop by or call customer service for an appointment at: (608) 524-8999

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