Cleaning Your Lawnmower

To thoroughly clean your lawn mower at the end of the mowing season, follow these steps:

• If you've a drain inside of your garage, position the mower next to it, and turn it over on its side so that when you wash the underside of the mowing deck, all of the debris will wash down the drain. If you do not have a garage drain, choose a place outside, where the debris will not harm the local environment.
• Using a putty knife or flat blade, scrape the underside of the mowing deck to remove all of the grass buildup and clippings.
• Remove the grass chute and make sure that you remove all of the grass clippings from that area, as well.
• Use a solvent such as Simple Green or another all-purpose cleaner and spray the entire underside of the mowing deck and the grass chute. Allow the solvent to work for about ten minutes.
• Using the strongest setting of your water hose nozzle, thoroughly spray the underside of the mowing deck, blade, and grass chute.
• Dry the entire mower—inside and out—with old towels and rags.
• Using a lubricant such as WD-40, coat the mower's underside surfaces.
• Set the lawn mower upright and thoroughly wipe down every surface, including the engine cooling fins. Use a rag and shove it in the fins to clean the vents.
• Coat the entire outside of the mower with your all-purpose cleaner and allow it to work for about five minutes, then rinse thoroughly with your hose.
• Take care to completely dry your mower and you might even add a coating of car wax to protect the painted finish.

Once you're finished cleaning your lawn mower, drain the oil and fuel reservoirs, and then inspect and replace the spark plugs and air filters. If you see that your blade needs to be replaced, wait until spring to purchase and install the new blade. Store your mower away in your garage or yard shed, or cover it securely with a tarp during the winter.