Cleaning mower decks.

[prs]

Until recently, its been a snap. Long handled curved tire spoon ( I was going to post a link, but WOW have those gotten expensive - just cut a 3/8" strip off of a piece of framing lumber) made short work of it before. But, now the grass seems to have a lot of sugar in it. It matts and sets-up and sticks like glue. So, I used the tire iron and a putty knife and a pressure washer. Still quite a chore. At least my blades were still sharp. The contour mower has some nooks and crevices that are hard to clean. There are two ledges where the outer sections of the deck articulate with the inner that gets impacted and compressed. The build-up is like plywood. Really had to chip away at that.

I did notice that the heavy contour deck is MUCH easier to tilt back for service if the tractor is parked on a decent grade, rear end down hill. One hand to lift and the other to latch.

prs

 

[JackIL]

I have found it much easier to clean under the deck if I do it IMMEDIATELY after finishing mowing. If you wait a day or so later, the material is much more difficult to remove.

 

[davesl708]

My best luck has been by spraying the under deck with Wd40 after last cleaning for the season and first thing when starting in the spring. Gets the moisture out of the deck.
About mid season I clean with a spray gun. Seams to clean pretty easy.

Agree with JackIL on the cleaning after each mowing. I just use a garden hose to rinse it out.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I use a Harbor Freight lawn tractor lift and a regular spray nozzle after each mowing. Paid $80 for it, and love it. Having the tractor at a 45 degree angle makes it quick and easy to clean the deck. If I don't have time to clean it right after mowing, I have to use the pressure washer.

 

[prs]

In spring, I was careful to clean post each use. Then later in spring and early summer with fescue and bluegrass and dryer weather, not a problem at all to ignore. Now, the crabgrass invades and evening/morning dew combine to make the clips sticky and matt prone, so we clean often. This time, I mowed a couple of hours Saturday evening and finished with a couple of hours Sunday morning. By then it was hot, so I waited to later in afternoon to clean. Amazing how that sticky crud set-up. Crab grass is a wet gooey sticky mess.

prs

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

I have read that grass clippings release acids in the process of decay and that, for this reason, it is a good idea to remove the clippings promptly rather than to let them bed in next to a metal mowing deck.

 

[Will_C]

Just do immediately, as others have said.

Will