Keep it Clean

Servicing lawn mowers and other small engine equipment always brings me to the same mystery.  People pay hundreds, even thousands of dollars for this awesome equipment; Husqvarna, DR, John Deere, Troy-Bilt...all great equipment.  What boggles me is all the money people put into there equipment but it looks like something that fell off the back of a dump truck.  Read on to get the full scoop  

All that gunk underneath your lawn mower may seem normal.  In fact, it is.  The grass you cut obviously flies around the blades in the process of being mulched and/or bagged.  That's perfectly fine and dandy.  The only problem is that this grass doesn't magically disappear.  Over time with every single blade rotation a layer of earth will begin to build up.  And yes, I am using the word EARTH here because for anyone that has taken the time to cleaned under their mower deck knows, after a long summer it's safe to say it's not just grass.  It's not just below the lawn mower, either.  You want to keep grass from under and on top of your deck.  Maybe not after every singe mow session but a least a few times a season you'll want to clean below the deck, around the spindles and shafts.  Compressed air works great if you have that option.  If not, a broom or a brush may work as well.  If you're cleaning a push mower be careful when cleaning your mower so you do not  flood the ever sensitive carburetor.  To avoid this it may be best to perform this when you're mower is out of gas unless you can get under the deck without flipping your mower completely over.  Keeping your mower clean will keep the blades rotating nicely, it will give you a better cut, and will, of course, cause less stress on the other parts in the machine.  The best time to do this is at the end of the season when you have completely cleaned out your fuel and oil.  I'll be sure to post a picture later on of the gunk I find on one of the next pieces of equipment we work on.  Any small engine repair shop can perform a winterization maintenance for you usually at a low cost to make sure your equipment is properly emptied, cleaned, and ready for winter storage.