Dear Just Be: With the rain we have received I need to mow my lawn. What do I need to do to make sure my lawn mower is ready for the season

Maintaining your lawn mower prolongs the life of it. Today's lawn mowers can be pricy, as much as $499. Purchasing a mower should be something you do at most two times in your life time. In addition to prolonging the life of your machine, maintenance of your lawn mower makes life easier for you with mowing and maintaining your lawn. Whether you have a power mower (gas or electric) or a push mower the first step in maintaining your mower is to read your lawn mower's instruction manual. This seems obvious, but admit it, not many of us actually take the time to read over our tools and electronics manuals.

The second step in preparing your mower for the spring/summer season is to sharpen the blades of your mower. You can do this yourself or take it to a lawn mower repair shop. If you sharpen the blades yourself do it with a grinding wheel and file, but be careful not to ruin the balance. To determine which end of the blade is out of balance, put a nail in the wall and hang the blade from the hole in the centre of the blade. File more off the blade on the heavy end.
After getting your blades sharepened, for your power lawn mower, you need to check the spark plugs for dirt or signs of wear. If you see that your plugs are deteriorating, replace them – don't wait. Waiting can cause more issues down the road. Another item to check and replace if worn and deteriorating is the grass-catcher bag. Also for power lawn mowers, check to make sure the filter is clean. For push lawn mowers, lubricate all moving parts. When lubricating your lawn mowers do not use WD40 - it will evaporate too quickly. A white lithium lubricant is preferred because it will adhear to the parts and stay much longer. Both types of lawn mowers need to have their bolts and screws tightened. Be sure to replace the wheels if they seem shaky.

The first time you go to run your power mower, put fresh lawn mower oil as well as new gasoline in your lawn mower. Throughout the spring/summer season you need to check the oil level in your lawn mower. At least twice throughout the mowing season, clean the underside/blades of the lawn mower with a strong stream of water. When lawn mower season is over, and if you have a gas power mower, allow your lawn mower's engine to run until it is out of gas or drain the gasoline before storing. If you forgot or forget to run down your gasoline before storing you can put a refreshing agent into the gasoline which will allow you to use the gas again. You can find refreshing agents at your local home improvement stores. The most important step you can take in maintining your lawn mower is, at least once a year, take your mower to a knowledgeable service person to have them inspect your mower.