How to prepare your lawn mower for the spring
The grass is a foot high. It is mid-May and you have been meaning to cut your grass the past two weekends, but you just haven’t gotten around to it. Between work and the kids you just haven’t had the time. “This Saturday I am getting it done!” By this time your grass is already a foot tall, if you don’t do it this weekend is going to be a tick-infested jungle! So you get out your mower from the garage,pull on your mower’s pull cord. And pull and pull. And pull. You are in quite the pickle.
This scenario is not uncommon for many of our clients, and is the cause of many desperate phone calls we receive in the middle of May. Luckily, our commercial, high-powered equipment makes tasks like this much easier. But what can you do to prevent finding yourself in this unfortunate situation?
It all starts with properly taking care of your equipment. In the fall, your equipment should be winterized. This means at a bare minimum either draining the fuel or putting in a fuel stabilizer. This is the most important thing you can do. Not performing this step causes the fuel to gum up in the system which creates most of the fail to start problems we see. Removing your battery and putting it on a trickle charger will ensure your battery does not die over the winter. Most small mower batteries will fail in one winter if left in the machine out in the shed. Ensure that your mower is in a sealed area where mice do not have access. Mice like to build nests inside of sitting engines.
Secondly, a fresh oil change performed either in the fall or the spring will ensure the longevity of your equipment. Grease all grease fittings, change the spark plug, and clean or replace the air filter. Sharpening your blade will ensure it is in top notch shape and ready to roll in the spring.
Lastly, before the spring rush comes, make sure you test out your machine. If there are any problems, you want to make sure you know about them so you can address them before he season starts. Plan to fuel up your machine and have the battery in by April 1st. This will ensure that if you do have problems, you won’t be the desperate homeowner on the other end of the line trying to figure out what to do with your foot tall lawn. But if you do, you know we will still be there to pick up the phone and take care of you 😉
