Cleaning Your Lawnmower

by April Reinhardt
(last updated October 5, 2015)

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.

Author Bio

April Reinhardt

An admin­istrator for a mutual fund man­age­ment firm, April deals with the writ­ten word daily. She loves to write and plans to author a memoir in the near future. April attend­ed More­head State Uni­ver­sity to pursue a BA degree in Ele­men­tary Edu­ca­tion. ...

MORE FROM APRIL

Quick and Easy Nail Care

Keeping your nails perfectly groomed doesn't require a trip to the salon for a manicure or pedicure. Whether you're male ...

Discover More

Solar Lights for Exterior Accents

If you've been contemplating accenting your yard with lighting, you may want to consider using solar lighting. Easy to ...

Discover More

Should I Re-shingle My Roof?

It can often be difficult to decide when you should re-shingle your roof. If you find yourself asking the simple question ...

Discover More

Remove Stubborn Stains Quickly Get everything looking clean again: Walls, floors, baseboards, counters, blinds, appliances, and more. Micro-scrubbers easily reach into surface grooves, lifting dirt away. This low-cost 8-pack is great for stubborn stains and touble areas. Check out Mr. Clean Magic Eraser 8-Pack today!

More Cleaning Tips

Cleaning Dirty Pool Water

Have you ever noticed that there are times that, no matter what you try, you just can't seem to get your pool water ...

Discover More

Yard Management

Everyone knows that first impressions are important, and nothing makes as much of a first impression as your yard. If you ...

Discover More

Removing Iron Stains from Vinyl Fencing

One of the more difficult types of stains that you will occasionally need to remove from vinyl fencing is an iron or rust ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in Cleaning Tips from Tips.Net. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 2 + 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in Cleaning Tips from Tips.Net. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.