Just like every other piece of machinery in your household, your lawn mower requires some routine maintenance. Without performing these simple tasks regularly, your lawn equipment is susceptible to major damage and even total breakdown. Check out the guide below to learn more about lawn mower damage and how you can keep this important machine in perfect shape.

How Lawn Mowers Get Damaged

1. Using Old Gasoline

When fuel sits in a mower from season to season, it collects a great deal of moisture. Because your mower’s engine can’t burn water, this can prevent the engine from starting and even cause long-term damage. If your lawn mower hasn’t been used for months on end, be sure to change the fuel before starting it.

2. Disregarding Vibrations

A vibrating lawn mower points to an imbalanced, bent, or loose blade. If you feel any shaking coming from your mower, don’t ignore it. It will lead to a poorly cut lawn and could even damage the crankshaft, making your lawn mower unusable.

3. Skipping Oil Changes

Dirty oil can grind against the moving parts of your lawn mower and cause it to run poorly while low oil can burn out the engine entirely. Change your oil every three months or after 25 hours of use to ensure everything continues to run smoothly.

4. Letting Clippings Accumulate

Your lawn mower is bound to collect its fair share of debris and lawn clippings, specifically in the cooling fins and air intake screen. These components can become blocked and cause the engine to overheat. Remove all clippings after every use to keep your lawn equipment in good shape. 

5. Neglecting the Filter

An air filter prevents dirt from making its way into the engine. Because of this, dirt will eventually accumulate on the filter, blocking the oxygen that needs to flow into the engine for internal combustion to occur. If you don’t change your filter once every year or after 100 hours of operation, your engine will start to sputter or cough and eventually shut down entirely.