A bit of attention to your lawn mower a few times a year and you should have few major lawn mower problems.

Small Riding Lawn Mowers

Most gas powered mowers should give you a good 10 years before needing replacing. We bought our Toro second hand and have been using it for the past 6 years with only minor issues.

Small Riding Lawn Mowers

Since many mowers are being brought out of a long hibernation, maybe this information will help you from pulling a shoulder muscle on that pull cord.

The first thing that should be done, whether or not you are experiencing a problem, is to drain the fuel if you haven't already and replace it with fresh fuel. Old gas or an old gas/oil mixture can get thick or get contaminated with a bit of water and that can lead to problems. Best to just start over.

Just like a car, the oil should be changed every 3 months of so. Changing the oil on your mower though, is much easier than on your car. You will probably have to tip it on its side and drain it through the plug you'll find on the bottom.

If you're having trouble starting the mower, replace the spark plug and set the gap. Your manual should tell you what the gap needs to be. This is pretty simple to do as well.

After replacing the plug and gas and oil just a few weeks ago, my mower would start but would never fully "catch". That turned out to be a clogged fuel filter. In the 6 years since I bought it, I have never changed it. I wouldn't recommend waiting quite that long though.

Remove and sharpen your blade at least a couple times per mowing season. It isn't difficult to do. You'll need a metal file or a corner hardware store to do it for you and you will be rewarded with a clean and evenly cut lawn. A dull blade will tear the top of the grass leaf and in a large lawn area, that won't look great.

Lastly, use a stiff brush to get the clippings out of the undercarriage and off of the intake. This part helps keeps your garage floor cleaner too. I don't recommend using a hose to do this. Rust is something that will really shorten the life of your lawn mower.

If after all this, you are still having lawn mower problems, most towns have at least one good small engine repair shop that can have you fixed up in a jiffy. Happy mowing!

Having Lawn Mower Problems? You Can Fix These

Small Riding Lawn Mowers