Mulching Mowing Tips

OPERATION

MOWING TIPS

CAUTION: Do not use de-thatcher blade attachments on your mower. Such attachments are hazardous, will damage your mower and could void your warranty.

•Under certain conditions, such as when mowing very tall grass, raise the mower height on the ﬁ rst cut to avoid overheat- ing the motor, and to avoid leaving clumps of grass clippings. Make the second cut to the desired height.

•For extremely heavy cutting, reduce the width of cut by overlapping previously cut path.

•When using a rear discharge lawn mower in moist, heavy grass, clumps of cut grass may not enter the grass catcher. Run the lawn mower over the area a second time.

•If a trail of clippings is left on the right side of a rear discharge mower, mow in a clockwise direction with a small over- lap to collect the clippings on the next pass.

•Pores in cloth grass catchers can become ﬁ lled with dirt and dust with use and catchers will collect less grass. To prevent this, regularly hose catcher off with water and let dry before using.

IMPORTANT: For best performance, keep mower housing free of built-up grass and trash. See "CLEANING" in the Main- tenance section of this manual.

•The special mulching blade will recut the grass clippings many times and reduce them in size so that as they fall onto the lawn they will disperse into the grass and not be noticed. Also, the mulched grass will biodegrade quickly to provide nutrients for the lawn. Always mulch with your highest motor (blade) speed as this will provide the best recut- ting action of the blades.

•Avoid cutting your lawn when it is wet. Wet grass tends to form clumps and interferes with the mulching action.

•For best results, adjust the lawn mower cutting height so that the lawn mower cuts off only the top one-third of the grass blades. If the lawn is overgrown it will be necessary to raise the height of cut to reduce pushing effort and to keep from overloading the motor and leaving clumps of mulched grass. For extremely heavy grass, reduce your width of cut by overlapping previously cut path and mow slowly.

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•Certain types of grass and grass conditions may require that an area be mulched a second time to completely hide the clippings. When doing a sec- ond cut, mow across (perpendicular) to the ﬁ rst cut path.

•Change your cutting pattern from week to week. Mow north to south one week then change to east to west the next week. This will help prevent matting and graining of the lawn.