Before storing your mower for the season, follow these easy steps to winterize your lawn mower. When your machine starts right up come spring, you'll thank yourself.
Winterize your Lawn Mower
Clean the Cutting Deck
You've been cleaning your deck regularly all season, but now it's time to do it once more before you store your machine away. A clean cutting deck means a cleaner cut of your yard. If you don't clean the deck before winter, excess moisture in the stuck-on grass clippings can cause corrosion and rust on the deck. If your grass clippings are still recent, you can take a hose and spray the deck clean. If it's been a while since your last mow, the clippings might be more difficult to remove. If so, use a bristled pot scrubber or a plastic paint scraper to remove the clippings.
Remove and Sharpen Blades
Routine maintenance should be completed at the start and end of every season. After removing and sharpening the blade, apply a light film of oil and reinstall.
Spark Plugs
Remove your spark plug and spray oil into the cylinder. Pull your recoil handle five to six times so that the oil distributes evenly on the cylinder's wall. When you've finished oiling up the cylinder, replace the old spark plug with a new one.
Stabilize the Fuel
Leaving excess fuel in the tank over the winter is terrible for the wellbeing of your mower. Condensation and ethanol, over time, will cause corrosion, clogs, and other costly problems in the fuel system. At the end of the season, run the tank dry if possible. If you're storing your mower indoors, in the basement, for example, all of the fuel must be emptied out, or your mower will quickly become a fire hazard inside your home. If your mower will be stored in the garage or a shed, fill the tank with fresh gas, and then add a fuel stabilizer. Before storing, run the mower for a few minutes so the fuel stabilizer makes its way through the carburetor.
Finishing Up
Clean or replace your air filter. Wipe down the top of your mower deck. Oil and/or lubricate all of the exposed moving parts of your mower. Change the oil.
Find that you need new parts while winterizing your lawn mower? Search for mower parts with our easy-to-use Parts Lookup tool.
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