Mowing After lawn mowing

[raykos]

Hi all,

Was reading in another forum about cleaning the mower deck after mowing the lawn; so, as a tip for those who don't already know, you can use a leaf blower to clean up the deck and tractor after mowing the lawn. Works great not only for blowing up underneath the deck, but also for the dust that can accumulate under the hood and every where else.

 

[scuvnut]

Been doing that for years. How about this one for your blower - after I wash my car or truck, I use the blower to dry the car. Not one streak!

 

[PAB_OH]

How about this one for your blower - after I wash my car or truck, I use the blower to dry the car. Not one streak!

A friend showed me that trick about 7 years ago. I had a motorcycle and it was a PAIN to dry because of the nooks, crannies, and crevices. He whipped out his leaf blower one day while I wa over there and proceeded to dry his bike off. Great idea.

When I lived in Albuquerque a few years ago and did this I got some STARNGE stairs from the city-folk around me. I can assure you though, they were the whack-jobs.

 

[Ford850]

I use the blower on my mower engine and radiator too. Same goes for my tractor after bush hogging. Works great and only takes a minute. It sure is easier to get it off as soon as you finish compared to after it sits for over a day.
My old boss used to open all 4 doors of his car and blow across the floor. The floor mats flap up and down and all the dirt goes out the door on the other side. I've tried it and it works quite well!

 

[Bird]

A leaf blower is one of the few tools I've never owned. I've not used the air-compressor to dry off the exterior of my cars and pickups, but I've used it to blow the excess water out of the engine compartments and I've used it on my motorcycles. In fact, I just washed the engines on both of my vehicles this past weekend. And after I blow out the excess water with compressed air, then I drive them far enough to get up to normal temperature to finish drying under the hood.

 

[RobJ]

Yep use a leaf blower to. Never understood blowing out the underside of the mower deck. I mean if its dry, there is nothing but polished steel under there. :d

 

[L4400]

Thanks for the tips, hadn't thought about using the leaf blower for either of those purposes.

 

[slewisma]

Yep. Leafblower here too. Also works for "sweeping" out the garage though the wife doesn't like how some of the dust settles afterwards.

I like the leafblower a lot for the tractor and mower. No worries about possible bad reactions to cold water.

 

[JSharp]

This one more reason to have an air compressor. I clean the mowers up with an air nozzle after I use it then blow the grass off the approach to the shed.

 

[sixdogs]

Yep use a leaf blower to. Never understood blowing out the underside of the mower deck. I mean if its dry, there is nothing but polished steel under there. :d

That's because you mow dry grass in a dry climate. In the wetter areas the wet grass sticks to the underside of the mower like glue. Then moisture wicks inderneath the grass and rots the deck. And, presto, before you know it the bottoms rusts through.

 

[Gravdigr]

That's because you mow dry grass in a dry climate. In the wetter areas the wet grass sticks to the underside of the mower like glue. Then moisture wicks inderneath the grass and rots the deck. And, presto, before you know it the bottoms rusts through.

You got it. A trick we have used for many years is to coat the underside of the mower deck with oil, this makes it easier to scrape the wet caked grass off and it protects the metal from moisture underneath. Every mowing when we take the blades off to sharpen we generally scrape at least a 5 gallon bucket worth of grass clippings from our mower decks (52" mulcher and 54" side discharge).

 

[Mr. Green Jeans]

That's because you mow dry grass in a dry climate. In the wetter areas the wet grass sticks to the underside of the mower like glue. Then moisture wicks inderneath the grass and rots the deck. And, presto, before you know it the bottoms rusts through.

I was thinking the same thing. A trick that works pretty well if you are dealing with sticky grass is to park with the deck over a sprinkler for a few minutes. Blade off of course!

I also like the oil idea, I haven't done that yet, but I bet I will after the next oil change.

 

[Gravdigr]

I was thinking the same thing. A trick that works pretty well if you are dealing with sticky grass is to park with the deck over a sprinkler for a few minutes. Blade off of course!

I also like the oil idea, I haven't done that yet, but I bet I will after the next oil change.

Have you seen the new john deere mower decks yet? They have a place you screw a garden hose onto the deck, turn on the water and run the blades for a few mins to clean it out. pretty slick if it works.

 

[8nownerinky]

Hey guys,

I'm new to the forums, but no stranger to mowing. I have a mower that has the garden hose attachment on the deck (a troybuilt from Lowes I picked up last year after I set my Murray on fire), and I personally would not trade it for anything. It doesn't do quite as nice of a job as hand cleaning, but, I guess that is to be expected. It does well enough for my needs though, and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who has joint and back problems like myself.

 

[RobJ]

That's because you mow dry grass in a dry climate. In the wetter areas the wet grass sticks to the underside of the mower like glue. Then moisture wicks inderneath the grass and rots the deck. And, presto, before you know it the bottoms rusts through.

Ohio is pretty dry at times isn't it? Can't wait? The deck on my FM is pretty thick, by the time that sucker rusted through it'd be a good excuse to get a new one.

water sprinkler...good idea, I'd leave the blades on and spinning, can't be worse that wet grass and you'll get that nice agitation.

 

[Bird]

Have you seen the new john deere mower decks yet? They have a place you screw a garden hose onto the deck, turn on the water and run the blades for a few mins to clean it out. pretty slick if it works.

My Toro ZTR had that system and I used it. I think some of the Toro walk behind mowers also had it. But the manual with my current walk behind Toro shows to park it on pavement, with the blade spinning, then direct a stream of water from your garden hose to the pavement right beside the mower and just in front of the back wheel on the right side. Theoretically, at least, the water will splash up and/or be sucked up by the blade to wash the bottom side of the mower. I happen to have a heavy piece of "L" shaped steel that I put on the handle to tilt the mower back and hold the handle on the ground, then I can see what the bottom side looks like and what I'm doing when I want to wash it.

 

[srjones]

Thanks for the car drying tip

Leaf blowers also work well to turn wet/green brush piles into roaring hot fires.

 

[Mr. Green Jeans]

Have you seen the new john deere mower decks yet? They have a place you screw a garden hose onto the deck, turn on the water and run the blades for a few mins to clean it out. pretty slick if it works.

No, I haven't seen that, but it sounds like a great feature. That is another one of those, "why didn't I think of that" ideas.