So, now that you’ve figured out the best option for a lawn mower for your Lazy Lawn, you’ll need to make sure to keep it up and running, and in good condition. Since we’re lazy, we want the easiest types of maintenance that produce the best results. Today we’ll look at five quick, easy types of maintenance that won’t take up much of your time, and will keep your mower up and running.
Keep it Clean
Turn your mower on its side. See all that junk built up under the deck? That needs to be cleaned out on a regular basis. Use a hose, a trowel, and an old paintbrush to clear out all of the debris, and scrape away anything that may be caked on. Sure, it’s a little bit of effort, but it’s less effort than getting a new deck – this debris can cause rust and corrosion, shortening the life of your lawnmower or necessitating expensive, time-consuming repairs later on. 15 minutes now versus hours of running around and hundreds of dollars to fix or replace the mower? Easy decision.
Even Fuel needs Stability
Traditionally, people have drained their mowers over the winter, emptying fuel that would go stale. Unfortunately, this fuel also goes stale on the shelf, in a fuel container. Instead of going through all of this work, use fuel stabilizer. Only a couple of bucks, it will save time and effort and keep you from having to toss stale gas in the spring.
Five-Minute Once-Over
Take five minutes and poke the tires, tighten the nuts and bolts, make sure the safety guards are in good shape. Check the belts for wear and tear. Replace anything that’s missing, give a couple of shots of grease here or there. This short amount of time and effort can make sure that nothing bad happens while you’re trying to get your lawn done. A wheel falling off halfway through your mow day will just make more work, and it will make your day longer.
Read Up
You can do this sitting in your hammock with a beer in your hand, so you’ve got no excuses. Read your owners manual thoroughly to get an idea of the ins and outs of your machine, whatever quirks or model-specific features you might need to pay attention to. It should also have a section in the back of the manual giving some tips for troubleshooting any common problems or special maintenance it may need.
DIY Engine Maintenance
Getting a full tune-up can be done every so often, but it can be a bit expensive – depending on turn-around time and repairs needed, it could be hundreds of dollars. A little bit of engine maintenance can avoid the need for a full tune-up, and keep your mower going pretty nicely. Mainly, check your air filter and spark plugs before you mow. Clean both of them, and pull out your spark plug, clean the plug and housing, re-connect it, and tighten it down. These two pieces are the most common source of engine issues when you’re trying to mow.
