How to clean your lawnmower and keep it in great shape for summer!
May 15, 2024 | Gardening Tips | General Appliance Care & Advice | No comments
Mowing season might be here, but it’s important to remember that your lawnmower itself needs TLC as much as your lawn. So, it’s time to ask yourself the important question… are YOU cleaning and looking after your lawnmower correctly?
Like many appliances, lawnmowers require a certain degree of maintenance. Cleaning a mower properly will help prevent overheating and clogging and will keep it working as efficiently as possible. However, not all lawnmower owners necessarily know the best ways to keep their mower spick and span, so read on for our guide on how to clean your lawnmower safely and efficiently!
How to clean an electric lawnmower
There are two kinds of lawnmowers, electric and petrol, and both should be cleaned a bit differently for the best results – and, of course, the safety of yourself and the appliance. Let’s look at electric lawnmowers first.
The first thing you’re going to want to do is don a pair of safety gloves to keep your hands safe while you clean around the blades. You should also make sure your mower is safely unplugged from the mains before you start.
Then, with your gloves on and mower unplugged, you can get to work on cleaning the different parts of your electric mower!
- The chassis: The body of your lawnmower, also called the chassis, is fairly easy to clean. Just use a stiff, dry brush to brush away any caked on dirt and grass that might have accumulated on the mower’s body.
- The blade and underside: Cleaning the blade and underside can require a little more elbow grease. Using a wooden spoon or similar kitchen utensil, scrape away any caked on dirt and grass from the blade and underside of the mower, taking extra care on and around the blade. It’s also important to make sure you don’t use a metal tool or utensil to do this, as it could scratch your mower.
- Back to the chassis: Finally, you can give the chassis a final wipe down with a damp, wrung-out cloth to get it looking nice and clean. Just make sure you avoid parts such as the motor or switches when doing this. You should also make sure you don’t use any cleaning chemicals or detergents, as this could damage your mower!
How to clean a petrol lawnmower
Now let’s look at cleaning a petrol lawnmower! As is the case with electric lawnmowers, there are a few important safety steps to follow before you get stuck in with cleaning.
First, make sure you have switched the engine off and that you have given your lawnmower enough time to fully cool down. You should also make sure that you detach the spark plug cable on your petrol mower for your own safety.
And of course, once you’re wearing a pair of safety gloves, you can get started on giving your lawnmower a clean!
- The chassis: As with electric mowers, you can start by cleaning the body of the lawnmower with a stiff dry brush to remove any dried on dirt and grass. You will find this in and around the air intake, cooling fins, exhaust, oil, fuel filler caps, cables and links.
- The blade and underside: When it comes to scraping off any caked on dirt and grass from the underside of your petrol lawnmower, a wide-blade screwdriver wrapped in a cloth should do the trick. Again, make sure you take extra care when cleaning on and around the blade.
- Finishing touches: Finally, spray any bare metal areas on the underside of your mower with an aerosol lubricant such as WD-40 as a finishing touch. This will help protect your mower from any unwanted rust and corrosion. If your mower has already started to gather rust after prolonged winter storage, you can get rid of it fairly easily with a rust removal spray, gel or solution.
See, keeping your lawnmower clean and in working order isn’t so hard! As a final tip, we recommend cleaning your lawnmower before use at the beginning of the mowing season, at least twice during the mowing season, and then once more before you store it away for the colder months. Here’s our handy lawnmower cleaning video guide in case you ever need a refresher!
Now that your lawnmower is nice and clean, make sure you’re carrying out all the other necessary maintenance tasks too! Our blog on lawnmower spring cleaning chores will help ensure your mower isn’t just spotless but also kept in healthy working order, from changing the oil to checking the belts. Happy mowing!
Tags: Gardening, Gardening Advice, Gardening Tips, lawnmower advice, Lawnmower Care
