Lawn Mowers
Lawn mowers are motorized tools with circulating blades that evenly cut grass. By regularly mowing your lawn at the proper times, you will stimulate grass growth to give your lawn a well-kept, healthy appearance. While lawn mowers are extremely helpful in maintaining healthy, beautiful lawns, they are only effective if used properly. Similarly, to get best results from your lawn mower, you will need to be sure that you select the right type of mower for your yard.
How to Properly Use a Lawn Mower
Depending on the type of lawn mower you have, you will either push it or drive it when using it to cut your lawn. However, while using a lawn mower may seem like a straightforward affair, when to use it and how much grass to cut can be a bit more complicated. In fact, cutting your grass too frequently or at inappropriate times can damage your lawn.
Here are some tips on when and how to properly use your lawn mower:
- Avoid mowing wet grass: Using your lawn mower on wet grass will cause its blades to dull faster, as wet grass is harder to cut than dry grass. Similarly, if grass is wet, then it's likely that the soil beneath is also wet. Using a lawn mower in these instances can cause the weight of the mower (as well as your own weight) to compress areas of the grass, causing unsightly muddy areas to ruin the look of your lawn.
- Keep the grass at a healthy length: Experts recommend keeping your grass between 0.5 cm and 4 cm high (depending on the time of year) so that it receives enough nutrients without looking messy.
- Mow lawns regularly during spring, summer and fall: During these seasons, lawns grow faster. Only mow during the winter season if you live in a warm climate that doesn't receive snowfall.
- Take droughts into account: Weather conditions, such as droughts, can seriously slow down the growth of your lawn. Avoid mowing your lawn when environmental stressors, such as droughts, are impairing proper growth.
Keep in mind that the type of grass that makes up your lawn will also determine the frequency with which you should mow it. As a result, be sure to do some research as to the typical growth rate of your type of grass so that you can figure out an appropriate mowing schedule. If you are unsure of the type of grass you have or how often you should mow it, talk to an expert at your local nursery for more specific advice and care instructions.
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Popular Lawn Mower Brands
Here is a list of some of the most popular brands of lawn mowers:
- Craftsman
- Cub Cadet
- Honda
- John Deere
- Lawn Boy
- Snapper
- Toro
- Walker
- Yardman.
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Types of Lawn Mowers
Depending on your lawn care needs, you can get anything from a smaller mower that you push across your lawn to a bigger mower you can drive over vast expanses. Similarly, mowers can also differ in whether they are powered by batteries or gas motors.
Here is a look at the four basic types of lawn mowers from which you can choose:
- Hover Lawn Mowers: Like hovercrafts, hover mowers are light machines that float over the grass due to the air cushion created by their turbines (fluid-filled, rotary motors) rotating blades. Although hover mowers tend to be cheap and are easy to move, they can have trouble cutting grass properly.
- Push Lawn Mowers: As the most primitive form of lawn mowers, push mowers are simple units with blades that rotate and cut grass as you push the mower. In addition to being cheap and easy to operate, these lawn mowers can offer you a nice means of exercising. Keep in mind, however, that these are best suited for smaller yards.
- Riding Power Lawn Mowers: These mowers consist of a seat and manual controls that sit atop cutting blades and a motor. While more expensive varieties come with automatic controls, the most riding mowers have manual transmissions. Riding lawn mowers are best for those with larger yards that need to be cut more frequently.
- Robotic Mowers: As the name implies, robotic mowers are types of battery-operated, chargeable lawn mowers that automatically cut grass. To use these mowers, you have to run a wire around the border of your yard, which the robotic mower uses to detect where it should mow. While these mowers can simplify your lawn care routine, they can be more expensive.
The cost of lawn mowers will depend on the type and brand of the mower you get. In general, lawn mowers can cost as little as $50 for a simple push mower to upwards of $2,000 for more sophisticated riding mowers.
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