A few weeks ago, I had done a quick checklist for spring home maintenance. A key part of that was preparing your lawn mower for spring. If you haven’t had to do this before, it can be a daunting task. Here are some pointers on how to prepare your lawn mower for spring.
Preparing Your Lawn Mower
My husband and I are a bit behind on our spring maintenance. We’ve been busy with other projects. This weekend, we finally pulled out the lawn mower to start preparing it for spring.
This is one task that I did not have to do during our separation because we were reconciled before springtime. So, this weekend, I insisted he walk me through it all so I could learn in case I ever needed to know.
Turns out, it can be quite a bit of work. You’d definitely need a few hours of time to properly prepare the lawn mower before the first cut of the season.
Clean Up
If you didn’t clean up your lawn mower in the winter, you’ll want to do that now.
- Wash the outside off with soapy water. We use car wash cleaner on ours.
- Scrape the dried grass off with a putty knife or screwdriver.
In order to get all the dried grass off, you may need to remove your blades.
Typically, what you need for removing the blades is a socket, a socket wrench, and a regular open-end wrench.
There is usually one nut per blade to hold the blades on. Use the open-ended wrench to hold the bolt in place so you don’t spin the blades while trying to loosen the nut. Alternatively, you could also use something else, such as a piece of wood, to stop the blade from spinning.
Then you would put the socket on the nut and use the socket wrench to take it off.
Different types of lawn mowers will have a different number of blades that may need to be removed. For example, our push mower only has one blade, but our riding lawn mower has two.
Sharpening Blades
Most people will bring their blades to a local outdoor power store to be sharpened.
There are multiple ways to sharpen a blade if you decide to do it on your own.
Here are a few that my husband has used:
- A file
- A knife sharpening set (although he said it wasn’t the best method)
- A dremel
However, if you’d like more specifics on how to do this on your own, you can check out this article from The Home Depot on how to do so on your own.
Personally, if I were living on my own, I’d just bring them somewhere to be sharpened.
Checking the Oil
Here is a quick walkthrough on how to check the oil:
- Take the dipstick out of your lawn mower, wipe it off, then stick it back in.
- Pull the dipstick back out
- If the oil is light-colored, that means the oil is still good and doesn’t need to be changed.
- If the oil is dark, that means it needs to be changed.
Here is a picture of where our oil cap is located. It is in yellow in the picture below.
Our lawn mower has a drain plug that can be removed to drain the oil. Drain the oil into an oil pan.
Once the oil is drained, put the plug back in.
Refer to your lawn mower’s user manual to determine what kind of oil you need. Pour the new oil in.
If you have a riding lawn mower, you may also have an oil filter to change. Changing oil filters is pretty simple. You unscrew the old one and screw the new one back into its place.
Charge the Battery
After the cold winter months, your lawn mower battery may have lost its charge. Keep in mind that if your lawn mower is pull-start, you may not have a battery.
If this is the case, you will need to charge your battery using a battery charger.
Here is a link to a battery charger similar to the one we have for our lawn mower.
If you find your battery still won’t hold a charge, it may need to be replaced. Lawn mower batteries have a maximum life span of 5 years. However, typically lawn mower batteries do not last that long.
Our battery is located under the hood.
Some lawn mowers have push-on terminal clips, which you can pull off.
If your lawn mower has screw-on terminal clips, you’ll have to use a screwdriver or wrench to remove the clips in order to take the battery off. As you can see in the picture above, this battery would require a wrench to remove.
Then hook the battery up to the charger and let it sit until the charger indicates that it is full.
Grease Necessary Parts
Some lawn mowers have parts that require lubrication.
Here are some examples of parts that need to be greased from our lawn mower.
The bushings on the mower deck need lubrication. The bushings are any part that allows another part to spin freely.
Ball joints on our riding lawn mower also may need lubrication. The ball joints are pivot points on the steering. You would find these near the front tires, just on the inside of the tire.
To grease these parts of the lawn mower, you will need a grease gun and some grease. Again, it is best to refer to your owner’s manual to determine the best treatment for your lawn mower.
Check Tires
On riding lawn mowers, you’ll want to verify that your tires have enough air in them. Check the tires using a tire pressure gauge, just like you would on a car.
Fill them up if necessary, using an air compressor. To know the appropriate tire pressure for your lawn mower, check your owner’s manual.
If the tire won’t hold air, you may need a patch or to buy a new tire.
Check Belts
Belts are something that is typically specific to a riding lawn mower.
Our riding lawn mower has two drive belts. In order to find the drive belts, you will need to the deck off the lawn mower. Laying down on the ground next to the lawn mower, you should be able to look up and see the belts. They are located under the area you sit on the lawn mower.
The other drive belt is located on top of the deck where the deck would attach to the lawn mower.
Check the belts for signs of wear. This would include cracking and fraying. A loose belt is also a sign that you would need to get a new one.
Check your owner’s manual to determine what type of belt you would need to purchase to replace your old belts.
First Cut of the Season
Now that you know how to prepare your lawn mower for spring, you can enjoy your first cut of the season. There is not much better than enjoying that fresh-cut grass smell!
