Lawnmower reviews: FAQs
Which is best, a powered lawnmower or a hand-push lawnmower?
Powered mowers are less work and more convenient for large areas of grass. Hand cylinder mowers come into their own on small, frequently cut lawns. They don't need a power socket and don't produce any fumes, because you provide the motive force. They can be hard work on damp or thick grass and may not be able to cope with grass that is allowed to grow long. Hand mowers are often quieter and lighter, too.
How can I get the best from my lawnmower?
Mow regularly - weekly if possible
- Mow little and often – weekly unless it's too cold or dry for grass to grow.
- Mow when the lawn reaches half as long again as the height you want it, to avoid cutting too much at once. For a typical family lawn, mow when it reaches about 40mm. Cut it to about 25mm (find the nearest height setting on your lawnmower).
- Cut a show-piece purely ornamental lawn composed of fine-leaved grasses to about 12mm.
- Don’t mow when it's raining. Ideally, wait until the grass is dry, although most lawnmowers will cope with damp grass if you can’t.
- If the grass is very long, at the start of the season or after a holiday, set the mower to its highest cutting height. Gradually reduce it weekly until you're back to the usual setting. Mowers rated four stars for long grass should have no problem cutting long grass back to 25mm in one go if necessary.
- Cut as close as you can to the lawn edge – this saves having to tidy uncut tufts with a grass trimmer.
- Collect the clippings at the start of the season or if the grass is long. Lawnmowers with a mulch option allow you to recycle the clippings back into the lawn to help feed it. This is best when you're cutting frequently. If dead grass starts to build up in the turf, revert to collecting the clippings.
- In hot, dry spells, raise the cutting height to avoid stressing the grass and leave the clippings on to help conserve moisture.
- If you usually mow up and down in the same direction, try mowing occasionally at right angles to cut clumps flattened by the mower. Raking with a wire lawn rake before mowing will help to raise uncut clumps.
How do I look after my lawnmower?
Always use an RCD with an electric lawnmower and check regularly that the cable and connections aren't damaged.
On electric mowers, regularly brush dry grass from around the motor housing and air intakes. A build-up of dry grass can cause the motor to overheat.
Clean the blade enclosure after use. This prevents a layer of dried grass building up, which will impede performance. Use a stiff brush for electric mowers (unplug from the mains first), or a hose or pressure washer for petrol or hand mowers.
When you’ve finished using a petrol lawnmower for the season, drain the remaining fuel. The following season start with fresh petrol. Check the spark plug and replace if necessary and check the oil level. Have a petrol lawnmower serviced by a specialist dealer at least every other year.
With all rotary mowers, sharpening the blade will improve performance considerably. Use a metal file or take it to a specialist dealer. If it's badly burred, you should be able to buy and fit a replacement easily.
Check the blades on cylinder mowers regularly and reset them if necessary. They should cut even along the whole length of the blade. You can do this by eye, by listening to the sound (with contact mowers) or by trying to cut a sheet of paper.
Any tips for a perfect lawn?
A crisp edge improves any lawn. The ideal tool to cut an edge against a border is a lawn edging iron (or half-moon cutter). Once you’ve got a decent edge, cut any overhanging grass occasionally with a pair of lawn edging shears.
If the surface feels springy, this could be due to a build-up of moss and dead grass. Rake vigorously with a wire lawn rake or a powered lawn raker to get rid of this.
If the surface is hard and compacted, spike the lawn with a garden fork or a hollow-tine aerator when the soil is moist. Brush sharp sand into the surface to help improve drainage.
If your lawn is patchy or sparse, especially after raking out moss or killing weeds, scatter lawn seed evenly over the whole lawn. Bare patches can be treated in the same way. Brush it into the soil surface and water if it’s dry, then use netting or bird scarers to keep birds off for a week or two.
If you don't want to do more than mow the lawn once a week, you can pay specialists to do jobs such as weed-and-feed treatments, raking and improving aeration. We found that the two largest lawn maintenance companies, GreenThumb and TruGreen, offer a good service at a reasonable price.
How should I dispose of an old lawnmower?
If your old lawnmower is cutting poorly, replacing the blade might do the trick. It may be possible to have a broken lawnmower repaired or renovated, especially a petrol one, so it’s worth checking at a garden machinery dealer.
With electric lawnmowers, it usually isn’t economic to replace the motor, and many of the components are plastic these days and therefore difficult to repair.
Take old lawnmowers to the council tip and put them with the electrical appliances or metals if they contain a significant amount of metal.
