Mowing your lawn may seem like a basic part of caring for your home, but it can be dangerous if the proper safety precautions are not taken. Check out our top eight tips for staying safe while operating your lawnmower.
Choose Proper Footwear
There are a lot of moving parts on your lawnmower, including extremely sharp blades, so it is essential to keep your feet protected as you are working with it. Never mow your lawn in sandals or any other type of open shoes. Choose closed shoes or boots that will protect your feet from blades and hot engine parts, as well as provide extra stability and reduce the risk of tripping or stumbling.
Keep Kids Safe
Before you start mowing, ensure all children have cleared the yard and are safely out of the way. Generally, kids should be at least 12 years old to operate a push mower and 16 years old to run a riding mower. It is also not safe to let a child ride a riding mower with you, as they were designed for one person.
Avoid Gravel
If your home has a gravel driveway or footpaths, avoid driving your lawnmower over these areas while the blades are engaged. Not only will this dull your mower blades, but it can launch tiny pieces of gravel at passing cars or nearby buildings.
Clear Potential Projectiles
When mowing your lawn, any items in the grass can become a dangerous projectile if accidentally launched through your mower. Before you begin mowing, check your yard for objects such as rocks, tree branches, sprinklers, and toys, and move them to avoid broken windows or injury to your family.
Don’t Pull, Always Push
When navigating with your lawnmower, always try to push it forward rather than pulling it back towards yourself. If you are pulling it towards yourself and accidentally slip or trip, you risk pulling the mower over the top of you and causing severe injuries to yourself. This is also relevant if you have an especially hilly yard. Mowing straight up a hill puts you at additional risk for the mower rolling back on you with a push mower, so mow in a side-to-side pattern. However, the opposite is true for riding mowers. They are more likely to tip to the side, so mow up and down with these mowers.
Stay Clear of Moving Blades
One of the most dangerous parts of your lawnmower is the mower blades. They are sharp and move extremely fast, basically a recipe for injury. To keep yourself safe, always stay clear of moving mower blades. If you need to perform any maintenance near the blades, such as clearing the chute or adjusting the blade height, wait until they have completely stopped spinning to keep your hands and fingers safe. Always maintain control over the blades by never tying down the safety lever or disabling the kill switch.
Remove the Spark Plug
You always turn off the power before working on dangerous appliances in your home, and your lawnmower is no different. If you are working on a dangerous part of your lawnmower, such as replacing the blades, remove the spark plug first. If you don’t remove the spark plug and the pistons happen to be in the right position, touching the blade could set it into action and cause injury to your hands.
Protect Your Hearing
Lawnmowers are loud, with most producing more than 100 decibels while in operation. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends avoiding sounds over 85 decibels for extended periods of time to prevent hearing loss or damage. Always wear ear protection when operating a lawnmower to prevent long-term hearing problems.
Call Mobile Mower Techs
For your enjoyment and safety as well as the health of your lawn, it is important to make sure your lawn mower is working its best. We make that easy. Just contact us and we’ll come to you to perform maintenance, including blade sharpening, and repairs.