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How to Mow the Lawn When it Won’t Stop Raining
Don’t Let Your Lawn Get Out of Control
As you undoubtedly know, it’s important to avoid mowing the lawn when it’s wet; however, it can be difficult to find a dry day in Central Florida through the month of August. According to Weather and Climate, Orlando residents experience an average of 17 days of rain every August, which means that more than half of our month comes with cloudy skies and soggy ground. We’ve all been there before - you watch out the window day after day for sunshine and blue skies, and all of a sudden, your grass has grown past your knees.
We’re willing to bet that every Central Florida resident has had to mow a wet lawn at least once in their lifetime lawn-mowing careers. While it’s not ideal, you may not be able to avoid it when you encounter multiple stormy days in a row. Mowing wet grass can cause issues in a number of ways:
It can cause the grass to tear instead of making clean cuts because the water weighs down each blade of grass
It can leave your lawn vulnerable to fungal infections like leaf spot and brown patch
It can damage your mower by clogging the blades and causing the blades and body to rust when wet grass clings to the undercarriage
It poses a greater risk to you because wet grass can leave you vulnerable to slipping and falling which is incredibly dangerous when you’re behind a mower in motion
But the lawn won’t stop growing for anyone! Here are a few of our top tips to keep you safe and help you successfully cut a wet lawn.
Tips to Prepare You and Your Mower for Mowing a Wet Lawn
Prepare Your Mower
Give your mower a leg up on difficult terrain by carrying out a few easy maintenance tasks before you get started.
Sharpen the blade
Your mower’s blade needs to be ultra-sharp to cut through grass when it’s soggy and folding over. For best results, bring your mower to your favorite local lawn mower maintenance service shop to sharpen and balance your mower blade before the rainy season starts. They’ll make sure all the other parts of your mower are in their best shape for the ultimate performance boost when it needs it most.
Be smart with your mower fluids
If too much outside moisture blends with your mower’s fuel, it can cause damage to your engine. Do your best to only use as much fuel as you need for a single mowing session, and consider adding fuel stabilizers to your tank. Additionally, some mower pros recommend spraying your mower’s undercarriage with a silicone lubricant, like WD-40, to help prevent grass from sticking and facilitate easy cleanup.
Raise the deck higher than usual
If you keep your mower deck close to the ground, the grass is more likely to clog up the blade and prevent you from going any further. It’s a good idea to raise your mower deck height to one of the higher settings to allow the cut blades to pass freely out from the machine.
Change Your Methods
Once your mower is primed and ready for tough conditions, it’s important to adjust the way you approach your lawn mowing session as well. Here are just a few things to keep in mind.
Take your time
Be prepared to spend a little extra time mowing the lawn when it’s wet. Rushing through it can only leave you prone to injury and cause your blade to rip through your grass instead of cutting it cleanly. Walk more slowly than usual, and take on half as much grass as usual in each stripe.
Don’t worry about your usual striping pattern
When the grass is lying down as much as it does when it’s saturated, it can be difficult to create those neat, even stripes we all crave. Don’t worry about the striping for a wet mowing session. You may find you need to attack the lawn from multiple directions to cut each section evenly.
Try to mow more frequently to begin with
If you let your lawn get overgrown before the heavy rains start, you’ll have an even more difficult time cutting it back down to size when the storms come. Adjust your mowing schedule all through the heavy growth season so you can maintain even levels throughout the summer.
A Well-Maintained Mower is Your Best Tool
Your best bet for tackling long grass in any kind of conditions is to keep your mower in its best shape, whether you’re a homeowner and lawn enthusiast or a landscaping professional. The Longwood mower parts professionals at Gator Mower Parts are here to be your trusted partners for all your mower needs. To learn more, call us at 407-260-1292 today.
