I have been in the lawn mowing industry for many years and am writing to share my experience on lawn mower maintenance and purchasing. For my personal/home mower, I do the following things:

1) Change the oil and filter at least on time per season (I always carefully read the owner's manual and follow the factories recommendations. At the very minimum, I change the oil and filter at least one time per season.)

2) Replace the factory blade with a mulching blade (I have had best results with a product called gator blade. By changing to a mulching blade, I have been able to eliminate the need for bagging grass and improve the look of my yard)

3) Replace the spark plug at the beginning of each season (spark plugs generally cost less than two dollars and often make the lawn mower easier to start, especially if the old spark plug is very worn)

4) Check and clean the air filter every 3 cuts (a dirty air filter can damage your engine and make your mower much harder to start. I highly recommend checking and cleaning your air filter on a regular basis)

Lawn Mower Repair

If you are uncomfortable repairing your lawn mower yourself or have a complicated problem with your lawn mower, you should consult a professional who works on lawnmowers on a regular basis. You may find a professional by typing your cities name lawn mower repair into Google (for example, you may type, "Downers Grove Lawn Mower Repair" into Google). Once you generate a list of people in your area who do Lawn Mower Repair, you should research the companies you find a bit to find out whether or not they are trustworthy and sufficiently knowledgeable to do the job. To do this, I often ask for the recommendations of my family, friends, and other people in the lawn mowing industry. Often times, personal recommendations are a great way to find a trustworthy business.

Furthermore, once you find a professional that you want to take your lawn mower to, I strongly recommend getting a clear estimate for the price to complete the work before authorizing them to fix your machine. Often time's repairs can exceed the value of a lawn mower and it makes more sense, economically, and it makes more sense to dump an old lawn mower than it does to invest a $150 dollars into an old one.

 In the case your lawn mower is old and not worth fixing, I strongly recommend investing either in a Honda Self Propelled Lawn Mower or Toro Personal Pace. In my opinion, Honda's are the best lawn mower for someone that is willing to pay $400-$500 in order to get a great machine that lasts a long time. However, if you have a smaller budget, $250-$400, I strongly recommend the Toro Personal Pace because it is very reliable, well built, and features a very unique self propelled system that makes it very easy to use. The personal pace system actually varies its speed based on how hard you push, the harder you push, the faster it goes. I have owned several Honda's and several Toro's and recommend both to my family and friends depending on their budget and unique needs.

There are many different reasons for someone to purchase a riding lawnmower. Perhaps their health no longer allows them to push a mower or maybe they have moved to a new house that has a much larger yard. Whatever the reason, deciding to purchase a riding lawn mower deserves some research. Before actually buying one, this article will give some tips to help you with such an important decision.

Naturally, you should know the actual size of your yard, which can help you determine what size lawnmower engine you will need and what cutting width is needed for the lawn mower blades. As a general rule, if the area you need to mow is from one half to one acre in size, then you should consider an engine that has a minimum of 14.5 horsepower and a maximum cutting width of 42 inches. If you have a yard that is one to two acres in size, then the cutting width should generally be from 42 to 46 inches and the engine between 14.5 and 16 horsepower.

As a general rule of thumb, a yard that consists of more than three acres might be better serviced with a garden tractor. While both the garden tractor and riding lawn mower complete the same basic functions, the garden tractor can also be used with a snow plow or snow blower. It can also pull a plow, tiller, disc harrow and a number of other lawn and garden tools.

Once you have taken care of the bigger decisions, the smaller ones are a little easier. You will need to choose whether you would prefer a gear driven or automatic riding mower. This is normally based on the number of obstacles, such as trees, patios or gardens that are in your yard. An automatic mower is great for yards that have a great deal of obstacles, while a gear driven one is perfect for a yard with less obstacles. You can then decide what type of accessories or attachments you want.

In order to avoid injury be sure that you understand the safety precautions fully and that you always follow them. Avoid allowing children to ride on mowers or to operate the mower, as it is very easy for them to fall off, which may result in a serious or fatal accident. Do not run the riding mowers around people if possible, as you may run over something that can be flung out and cause injury to anyone in the area.

Try to be sure that all potentially hazardous or dangerous debris, such as pine cones, rocks, toys or other tools are cleared from the lawn before you start mowing. Choosing the right riding lawn mower, such as one of the Toro lawn mowers, and following all safety precautions will help ensure that you will enjoy the mower for years to come.

Mike Selvon