Mowing a lawn should be a fun chore to do instead of a battle of nerves where you’re constantly exposed to dangers.
Struggling with some dilemma, these 9 must-not-miss lawn mower safety tips by our 10bestlawnmowers experts. Every year, over 80.000 people lose their legs and limbs, and thousands while mowing incautiously.
Whether it’s your first time mowing or you’re testing a different lawn mower, these lawn mower safety tips are going to save you from injuries and accidents.
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Do I Need Lawn Mower Safety Tips?
Like any machine, lawnmowers also come with multiple dangers that you should be aware of while mowing.
From lawnmower engine explosions to flying blades, you’ve got to take care of several things to have a pleasant time on your lawn.
Scratching your head already?
Worry not, as our 10bestlawnmowers experts have summed up their years of experience by sharing 10 incredibly-effective lawn mower safety tips to mow safely.
12 Best Lawn Mower Safety Tips
First things first, it’s important to understand the basic working mechanisms of your mower before you use it. For this purpose, you can either read the operator’s manual or read the reviews of people who’ve used the mower before.
Once done, the next step is to follow these safety tips to look forward to a safe mowing experience.
1. Choose the Right Lawnmower
Once you’ve found the right lawn mower, study its working mechanism and the features you’ll need while mowing.
From the bail handle to the starting cord, take a closer look at the different lawn mower parts to use your mower in the right way. Also, check for all the safety features that offer ease to the user while mowing.
Whether you’ve a lawn mower with manual drive power or a fully robotic lawn mower, read the user manual to make small adjustments easily.
For your ease, here is a list of common safety features for a safe lawn mowing experience.
5 Common Safety Features In Lawn Mowers
- Directional Flaps: The role of rubber flap is used to protect the key components of the lawn mower by avoiding external interference. Such attachments are usually found in push mowers to cover the opening of the rear deck, preventing glass clippings from outrage.
- Discharge Outlet: Most lawnmowers come with a dual discharge outlet that helps cut the mower cut grass in a specified direction. In other words, it serves as a protective shield for the mower to limit the dust and debris coming in. The outlet opens and closes according to the direction the mower cuts the grass.
- Handle Lever: In any mower, the job of the handle lever is to take control of the mower, stop the engine, limit the blades and prevent accidents.
- Blade Brake Control: The blade-brake clutch is commonly found in petrol lawn mowers that prevent the unexpected shutdown of the engine due to any reason. This control system lets the operator disengage the mower blade in case of any mishap and reduces the risk of damage when mowing bumpy slopes,
- Safety Switch: As the name says, the safety switch in a lawn mower stops or prevents the mower from blades turning over to prevent lawn mower accidents. When you release the control bar, the safety switch reduces the speed and turns off the engine.
3. Operate Lawn Mower Carefully
Operating lawn mower safely is a key step to experiencing safe lawn mowing as well as helping keep the mower in great condition.
Reading the user manual isn’t enough to have all the know-how about your lawn mower during mowing. But, it also requires proper lawn mower safety equipment, safety devices and best practices to start the engine.
Once you’re all ready, sharpen the lawn mower blades to make the mower run smoothly across the yard.
Now clean the lawn from the objects, pick up the toys and level down the bumps. After, check all the knobs and screws on the mower to take care of all the loose adjustments on the mower.
2. Maintain Your Lawnmower
A well-maintained lawn mower isn’t only supposed to make mowing smooth but also safe by keeping it in good condition all year round.
From cleaning the cutting deck to storing the mower safely, lawn mower maintenance is an important aspect of lawn mower safety.
To read more about this, read our article on lawn mower maintenance. The more you take care of your mower, the better it performs on the lawn. For your ease, here are some lawn mower maintenance tips to start with.
- Clean the underside of the lawn mower
- Regularly add new fuel and oil to the lawn mower engine
- Clean the dirty spark plug or remove the damaged one.
- Replace and clean the dust from the air filter
- Sharpen and clean the lawn mower blades
- Use the right type of fluid in your lawn mower.
- Change the oil of the mower
- Lubricate wheels to reduce friction
- Tighten the starter cord
- Clean the motor’s housing
- Clean the top of the mower
- Drain the fuel and add fuel stabilizers to the mower.
4. Leave Some Length
Leaving a specific extent of length is a fundamental lawn mower safety tip to get desired cuts in small clippings. When mowing, adjust its cutting height to approximately 3 inches, which is the ideal mowing height to consider.
The shorter the length you choose, the more fine and precise cuts the blade makes. Always start with a quick sharp chop of the grass and then proceed with cutting the grass to other areas of your lawn.
2. Lawn Scalping
Mowing on soft and flat ground is much easier, convenient, and quicker than on bumpy and unpaved grounds which calls for lawn scalping.
Put simply, scalping the lawn is the process to level down the lawn with specific lawn care equipment. When you mow on flat ground, chances are that the mower will easily work around without tripping over any bump.
3. Mow A Dry Lawn
Cutting wet grass is a significant cause of lawn mower accidents and rusting the steel blades of the mower.
No matter the type of lawn mower, never cut wet grass as it badly disturbs the stem of the grass. As a thumb rule, wait for at least 2 to 5 hours after rain or water the lawn until the grass gets dry to help you mow safely.
4. Switch Directions
Switching directions between mowing helps create multiple grass-cutting patterns around the perimeter of the lawn. From mowing across the boundary to mowing back and forth, it’s one of the best lawn mower safety tips to follow for safe lawn mowing.
The alternate patterns also avoid the ruts and unneeded growth of the grass, which means a pretty-looking yard all year round.
5. Sharpen the Blades
Want to get clear, clean and clutter-free grass cutting?
Sharpen the lawn mower blades every 25 hours of use. The best way to sharpen the lawn mower blades is by using a beach grinder or lawn mower sharpener and moving the blades to and fro direction.
The sharper the blades will be, the better, sharper, and precise it cuts through the cut, while taking care of lawn care.
With well-sharpened lawn mower blades, you can not only enhance blade sharpness but also have a healthy growth of the grass.
6. Set The Right Cutting Height
Nearly every lawn mower lets you adjust the cutting height to have the desired cutting of the grass. When you cut the grass to a specific height, chances are that the blade will reduce friction with the grass and result in healthy grass cutting.
As an ideal rule, set a cutting height up to 3 to 3.5 inches as the caller the height-the better will the cutting.
For example, Zoysia grass works well with a cutting height of 1/2 inch, whereas other cool-season grass types need at least 3 to 3.5 larger heights for fine and adjusted cuttings.
7. Create a Mowing Schedule
Mowing too much a week can badly damage the soil of your lawn, sucking up all the nutrients present in the grass. To prevent this from happening, it’s best to set a mowing schedule so you can create a consistent lawn mowing pattern to derive efficient results.
As a best practice, mow at least twice a week or every week depending on your ease and convenience. Whatever lawn mowing schedule you choose, make sure it doesn’t put unnecessary stress on the lawn.
8. Clean The Yard Before Mowing
Mowing on a messy lawn full of objects, toys and scrapes is most likely to put you under lawn mower accident threats. Therefore, spend a few minutes cleaning the yard so you can mow easily without the risk of tripping over due to any object midway.
If you have pets or children, avoid them coming over the lawn while you’re mowing.
9. Fill In The Tank Full
If you’re using a petrol lawnmower or gas lawnmower, nothing is more important for lawn mower safety than filling the tank full with the best-quality oil.
A filled tank is likely to offer uninterrupted mowing, which means nothing can stop you from mowing. The lesser the barriers during mowing, the easier it will be to mow around safely.
However, make sure to fill the gas to a specific level in the mower and suck up the moisture in between the air spaces.
10. Set Highs
To ensure safe lawn mowing, let the grass grow at least 2 1/2 inches long before you cut it short. Cutting taller grass may come at a higher risk of accidents than short grass as you won’t have to exert much pressure or lift the roots.
To ensure your lawn mower safety, adjust the mower deck by levelling it up to 1/8 for maximum and 1/2 for minimum inch length.
11. Trim The Edges First
Experts say trimming the edges before lawn mowing reduces the chances of lawn mower accidents by more than half. When you trim the grass prior, it gets easy to cut them with a slight touch of the blades.
Common Lawn Mower Injuries
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 85,000 children under 18 are injured from lawnmowers every year in the U.S.
The most common reason for increasing lawn mower injuries is that many people don’t take the time to wear protective gear or use their mowers correctly.
In this section, we’ll discuss some of the common dangers of using a lawnmower that results in lawn mower injuries, requiring immediate treatment.
1. Lacerations
Lacerations are common lawn mower injuries associated with lawn mowers. They occur when the blade or other parts of your lawnmower come into contact with you, causing bleeding.
They may also occur if you’re struck by the rotating blades of a riding mower or trimmer and get injured by flying debris from those machines.
2. Cuts
Glass can be dangerous and sharp and may cut your skin badly, which is why it’s important to keep your lawn mower out of harm’s way.
Cuts from glass can cause infections in your body, which can lead to serious injuries like amputation or even death. If you have broken glass on the ground, make sure that you don’t step on it with your naked feet.
3. Eye Infection
While you’re mowing, keep an eye out for dirt and rocks that might be dislodged from the mower’s blade. If you get hit in the face by any of these objects, it’s possible to damage your eyesight permanently. To prevent this from happening:
- Wear goggles or glasses if you wear glasses (to protect your eyes)
- Wear a helmet if you aren’t wearing a hat or other headgear (to protect your head)
- Don’t wear loose clothing, as it can get caught in the mower’s blades.
- If you’re operating a riding mower, make sure to wear long pants and closed-toe shoes to protect your legs and feet.
3. Ear Injuries
Lawnmowers produce a lot of noise, which can cause hearing damage.
The louder the noise, the more damage it can cause. Damage can be permanent and hard to repair if you don’t seek medical attention immediately after hearing loss occurs.
It’s important not to ignore this issue as prolonged exposure to loud sounds can cause serious hearing issues.
- Wear earplugs when using power tools like hedge trimmers or snowblowers to prevent damage by dampening their noise levels.
- If possible, use earmuffs instead of regular headphones so that even more sound gets blocked out!
- Don’t drive around while wearing earphones—not only will this cause distraction but also decrease the risk of accidents!
- If you don’t want to wear ear protection, be sure to take frequent breaks during your mowing session.
4. Open Injuries
If you’re going to use a lawnmower, it’s important to take safety precautions. Wear protective clothing and gear, such as earplugs or hearing protection.
Make sure that the area is clear of people and pets. If your child or pet is playing near the lawnmower, consider keeping them away from it until after the job is done.
FAQs: Things To Know For Your Lawn Care And Lawn Mower Safety
How To Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades?
The best way to sharpen lawn mower blades is by removing them from the lawn mower. Follow the steps below to easily sharpen the blades.
- Disconnect the spark plug and turn off the outlet.
- Bring the mower to a flat surface and trip on one side.
- Remove the blade and clean it with a cloth.
- Mark a proper angle, weigh the blade and place it on a flat surface.
- Now use a lawn mower sharpener tool or bench grinder to sharpen the blades.
- Make at least 4 to 5 strokes until you can see sparks coming from the blade.
- Do the same thing on both the cutting edges of the blade so you leave them sharpened.
- Balance the sharpener blade on the same scale and check its sharpener by cutting something tough with it.
Note: make sure to wear proper safety equipment when sharpening the lawnmower blade.
How Do Things Break On A Lawnmower From age?
Over time, lawn mowers are more likely to wear and tear with broken lawn mower parts due to external factors. On average, lawn mowers work well for up to the first 10 years of your purchase and might need proper lawn mower service for your lawn mower safety.
Before mowing, check these important pointers in your mower.
- Troubleshooting problems in starting the mower
- Screeching sound coming from the lawnmower
- Oil Leakage from the Lawnmower engine
- unpleasant knocking sound from the lawnmower
- Excessive need for lawnmower oil and gas
- Frequent Engine Vibrations from the Lawn
- White smoke blowing from the lawnmower
Can Lawn Mowers Run Over Small Twigs?
Though lawn mowers can mow over small twigs, they may dull the blades and hard to balance over the ground. The more you mow on small twigs, the better it adapts its mechanism to handle tough mowing jobs.
What Is The Lowest Outside Temperature To use A Lawnmower?
The lowest outside temperature for a lawn mower is somewhere between 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit when you shouldn’t mow the grass. At this temperature, the grass freezes and can’t be cut by the blades.
Therefore, it’s best to stop mowing by early winter and store the mower through the mower.
How Do Ground Conditions Affect Mowing Operations?
Oftentimes, it’s the condition of the lawn that contributes to lawn mowing accidents. disturbing the overall mowing experience. Flat yards with grass areas that are cut are often easier to mow than large and bumpy slopes with uneven grass growth.
How To Stop Lawnmower?
Though every type of lawn mower has a different stop mechanism, usually turning off the spark plug is enough to disconnect the mower.
Make the mower standstill and unplug the spark plug so your mower stops safely. Some other ways to shut off the mower are:
- Turn off the lawnmower switch to break the supply of electricity
- Move the throttle in a straight downwards position into a cold start
- Pull the trigger down to stop the lawnmower engine
- Unplug the spark plug by pulling it out of the socket
- Check the ignition switch and clean it properly
Conclusion:
With all these lawn mower safety tips, you can prevent hundreds and thousands of lawn mower injuries that happen almost every year. Whether it’s cleaning the yard or taking care of the mower, this lawn mower safety tips list will always keep you ahead of the game.
Above all, we also mentioned some common lawn mower injuries and their treatments
