As you work on making your lawn look beautiful, it is important to make sure the lawn mower is not going to break or run into troubles. One common problem that may show up when you’re mowing is that grass will get stuck up under the mower deck. This is a common problem, but is still one that can lead to some issues while mowing your yard.
If you’re tired of having to hose off the grass from under the mower deck after each time you mow the yard, then you’ll want to check out some of these tips for preventing it from happeing.
How To Keep Grass From Sticking To The Mower Deck
Some of the best ways to keep the grass from sticking under the mower deck includes using vegetable oil, cleaning it out often, repainting the deck, and even using special solutions that will keep the deck from holding onto the grass clippings. Picking the right time to mow, such as not mowing your yard right after it rains, can make a big difference and will help you to not run into this problem.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the different steps you can use to make sure your grass is not going to stick under the mower deck any longer.
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Best Ways to Keep Your Grass from Sticking
It’s usually not considered a good idea to allow the grass clippings to accumulate under the mower deck. If you don’t remove them, the clippings will continue to build up making the mower less and less efficient. Especially if you’re using a bagging system to collect the clippings.
Unless you’re mowing thick wet grass, you’ll probably notice that the grass accumulates slowly over time, and is not something that becomes a problem after just one session of mowing.
Having a few methods at your disposal to help prevent the grass from sticking to the bottom of the mower deck is an important part of the process. Some of the different steps that you can take to help with this include:
Use a Wire Brush
Grass is really good at clinging to any other grass that may be stuck in your mower. If you can prevent any build-up from happening in the first place, then you will be ahead of the game when it comes to the deck staying clean as it should. One way to do this is to use a wire brush to clean things up.
Take the wire brush and use it to thoroughly clean up the mower after each time that you mow. This will do a wonderful job of keeping dried clumps of grass from accumulating on the top, saving you a ton of hassle along the way. Try to do this as soon as possible after you are done with your mowing session. Waiting too long allows the grass to harden and it becomes even more difficult to remove.
Apply Vegetable Oil
One suggesting that is often given is to use some motor oil on the bottom of the mower deck to make it harder for grass to stick to it. While using this kind of oil can act as a barrier that will make it hard for grass to stick on the wheels, blades, or the deck, motor oil can potentially lead to problems in the yard as well.
The problem is that the motor oil is going to destroy your lawn as you use the mower. The oil can drip into the grass, killing it off as you do this chore, which is something that no homeowner wants.
A good solution is to use vegetable oil. Vegetable oil has the same protective properties that you will find in motor oil without causing any damage to your lawn when you get to mowing.
Purchase a Mower Specific Spray
This can be another way that you take care of your lawn mower and ensure that the grass is not going to stick to the bottom of the deck. There are several products available that are designed with the idea of preventing grass from clogging up the mower, all while keeping your lawn safe at the same time.
The goal with these sprays is to coat the bottom of the mower deck with a slick layer that will not the grass clippings to accumulate. Some will have a Teflon kind of material, though each company is a little bit different and may try to make their own proprietary blend to get the work done and make their spray “the best”.
Repaint the Mower Deck
When you purchase your lawn mower, the manufacturers will apply a baked-on enamel kind of paint to the entire mower deck, both on the top and on the underside. This is an essential part of the mower because it prevents grass build-up from the get go.
Your goal when mowing is to have the blades of grass just slide right off the deck of the mower, and either into the bag or out the side and into the yard. Anything that impedes that task will cause the grass to stick.
If you take a look at the bottom of the deck and notice that the paint is not in good condition, then it is a good sign that you need to repaint the lawn mower. You can choose to do this work on your own if you feel up to it, or you can hire a professional to get that paint on and make your lawn mower work as good as new.
Raise the Mower Deck Up
Sometimes the grass is sticking because the deck is too low for the height of the grass that you’re cutting.
If you’re worried about the grass getting stuck under the deck, see if raising it to the next level higher is enough to help prevent this problem. It might be just as easy as that.
Sometimes when the deck is down too low, it will cut the grass nice and low, but it also makes it easier for the grass to catch on to the bottom of the deck and just sit there. Choose a deck level that will cut the grass nicely while also keeping it from having extra grass.
Mow More Often
When the grass starts to get really long, the blades of grass that the mower cuts are going to be longer. This can make it easier for the grass blades to connect with each other and get stuck under the deck you are using.
The longer the grass is when you decide to mow it, the harder it is to go over the grass without getting it to clump up on you.
It’s best to mow your grass on a regular basis. Doing so at least once a week is the best option. This will help keep your yard looking nice and can prevent a mess later when the grass gets too long. If you are not home and can’t do the mowing on time, see if there is someone who would be able to do it for you.
Do Not Mow Right After It Rains
Mowing after it rains or right after the sprinklers have gone off is almost a guaranteed way to make grass stick to the underside of the mower deck.
When grass gets wet, it makes it easier for one piece of grass to attach to another, and often it will do this right at the bottom of your mower deck. You will find that it is more difficult to mow your yard after it has rained for this very reason because of all the grass clumps that form, clogging the bagging system and clogging the underside of the mower deck.
Rather than doing the lawn mowing right after it rains, give your grass some time to dry up. If the sun is hot enough, it may only take a few hours for it to dry and you will be good to go.
Any time the lawn is wet though, you will run into trouble and it is more likely that the grass will start to stick to the bottom of the mower as well.
Keeping Your Mower Safe and Clean
Having grass stick to the under part of the mower deck can be a big pain. It can also cause lead to potential damage to your mower. It’s just not the best thing to leave grass sticking to your mower.
Follow the steps above and you will be able to keep grass from sticking to under the mower deck, making mowing and the upkeep of your lawn mower that much easier.
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