Summer Lawn Care Tips

Roll the mower onto a level surface, like a driveway or garage floor. If it’s a battery-powered mower, make sure it doesn’t start up while you’re working by removing the battery and safety key. To take the same precaution with a gas mower, detach the spark plug wire from the spark plug; it’s typically on the front of the mower.

Lawn mowers come with notched adjustment levers that raise and lower the wheels, thus changing the distance between the deck and the ground. For walk-behind mowers, there may be one lever for each wheel, one lever for the rear wheels and another for the front wheels, or a single lever for all four wheels. With riding mowers, one lever moves the deck up and down, independent of the wheels.

We find that all configurations are easy to operate once you get the hang of it. But the notches don’t always provide a corresponding cutting height, so it doesn’t hurt to take a measurement with your ruler after making the adjustment to ensure your lawn mower blade is at the correct cutting height.

Grass clippings tend to stick to the underside of the deck, especially if the lawn is damp. If the clumps get bad enough, they can start to restrict airflow inside the deck, which will compromise cutting performance. Dried clippings and clumps are a pain to remove, so it’s best practice to clean the deck after each mowing.

Some mowers have a washout port where you can connect your hose, though a plain old rag will also do the trick. Just be sure to wear heavy gloves to protect your hands from getting cut by the blade. (Each time you do this, play it safe by again removing the spark plug wire of a gas mower or the safety key of a battery-powered machine.)

To help prevent future buildup when cutting grass, coat the cleaned, dried deck with silicone spray, available at home centers or hardware stores. And keep an eye on the blade’s sharpness. Ideally, have it sharpened—at a hardware store or lawn mower dealer—at the start of the season and at least one more time during the season, especially if you have sandy or rocky soil.

“Sandy soil acts like an abrasive and will dull the blade more quickly,” Galeotafiore says. “With rocky soil, there’s the possibility you can hit small stones and cause the blade to dull or chip.”

If the blade is very dull, you can replace it yourself without a lot of effort. (Watch "How to Remove and Replace a Lawn Mower Blade" for our guide to this essential maintenance.)

In the event you’ve let your grass grow to your shins or beyond—say, you went on vacation without a backup person to mow—you’ll need additional tactics to whip your yard back into shape. That’s especially so if you’re using a walk-behind mower, notes David Trezza, who oversees lawn mower testing at Consumer Reports. (A riding mower typically can handle higher grasses.)

• Dress against ticks. These disease-carriers thrive in long grass. Wear long sleeves, long pants, socks, and closed-toe shoes, all ideally in light colors. Tuck your shirt into your pants and your pants into your socks. Apply insect repellent to your clothes and exposed skin. Read more on other tactics, including what to do after you mow.

• Mow in stages. You very well may have to mow the entire lawn more than once to get to the desired height. Set your mower to its highest deck setting, and don’t mulch; instead, attach a bag to catch the clippings from that first pass. "You’re going to have to come back over the same area, and if you mulched before, you’ll have to cut what’s left to cut on your lawn, and cut through the mulch," Trezza says. "If you bag the clippings, you don’t have to deal with them bogging down your next cut."

• Mow in smaller strips. That will put less stress on the motor and blade, not to mention your back muscles. Instead of cutting a swath as wide as your mower’s cutting deck, cut an area that’s half the deck’s width—similar to the method used with snow blowers in deep snow. Position your mower so the cut grass is on the left side of the deck, and the uncut grass is on the right (or vice-versa, if that works better for you).

• Use other tools. In extreme situations, first use a string trimmer—or a scythe, if you know how to use it safely—to get through really tall growth first. "The cut probably won’t be like a carpet," Trezza notes, "but it’ll get your lawn down to a height your mower can finish."

All the recommended gas-powered walk-behind mowers in CR’s ratings can cut your grass at least 3½ inches high, and most of the electric (battery-powered) ones can, too. If you’re aiming for a more environmentally friendly approach, go for an electric mower; it won’t pollute the air and has the added benefit of being far quieter than a gas one.

CR members can read on to see a selection of the highest-rated walk-behind gas and battery mowers from our tests that can cut at 4 inches or higher. Keep in mind when looking at each mower’s product page that some brands and models are sold at a big home improvement chains, while others only are available at independent dealers. And check out our lawn mower buying guide for tips on how to find the right mower for your lawn.