Nothing says curb appeal like a beautifully groomed lawn! Anyone who has a house and landscaping to take care of appreciates the fact that the right tool for the job makes all the difference. When it comes to trimming your lawn, you have a few choices available in terms of which tool you embrace.
While it’s easy to cling to a habit, and just use what you’ve always used, we want to make sure you know that there are a variety of types of mowers out there. Each one has its pros and cons, its fans and its haters, and that’s ok. What everyone has in common is this: They want attractive results without too much work or a lot of headaches. What people don’t have in common is the size and shape of their property, the degree of perfection they seek, and the time and physical energy they want to put into the project.
Here’s a brief tutorial on your options, so you can be an informed buyer next time you are in the market to get something new for your arsenal of lawn maintenance equipment. Please check out our selection at Country Lawn & Garden in Galveston, IN, where we serve the entire community as well as the folks in the Kokomo area.
Push Mowers
Push mowers, also called reel mowers, are fully manual. They are simply built, affordable, and require little maintenance. You’ll want to lubricate it and get it sharpened periodically, but you will never have the frustration of it failing to start up for you! These are quiet, they’re zero-emission, and they are safer than powered mowers because the blades only move when you push them. Because they’re human-powered, a push mower is the right choice for someone who appreciates a little workout. It’s also more likely to appeal to people with relatively small lawns. It delivers a very clean cut, but it is not good for tall grass or uneven terrain.
Walk-Behind Mowers
This category includes any kind of powered mower that you walk behind to control and possibly push. In fact, some call them push mowers, to distinguish them from riding mowers. These are your classic residential lawn mower and are available powered in three ways: Gas, electric, and battery-powered cordless. A gas mower will have more power, and you aren’t limited by an electrical cord or a battery dying. However, they are loud and they emit exhaust. An electric model requires you to have a long cord with a place to plug it in, and not run over it and cut it too often. Battery-powered mowers are nimble, quiet, and easy to use. Ideally, you will have two batteries, so if one dies you’ll bring the second, fully charged, battery into play and mow onward! This category of mower can be self-propelled or be propelled via front-wheel or rear-wheel drive. They are good for uneven surfaces or moderately steep terrain.
Riding Mowers
Riding mowers are great for those who have a really big expanse of grass to tend to. They are fast, comfortable, and don’t take much strength. Options include rear-engine riders and zero-turn mowers. Cutting-deck widths on riding mowers range between 26” and 66”. A big cutting deck lets you cover the area a lot faster, but it also means that you have less access to narrower spots, so you might need to have another mowing tool to supplement those hard-to-get-to places. These machines require more maintenance because they’re actually small vehicles with lawn mowing capabilities.
Stand-On Mowers
Commercial landscapers like stand-on mowers because they have the speed and power of a riding mower, but they are more maneuverable. The standing operator has a better view, and can perform intricate work around landscape beds or trees more easily.
Lawn Tractors
If your lawn is enormous, a lawn tractor might be the right call. These beasts have strong engines and wide cutting decks, so they make quick work of broad expanses of lawn. They have the benefit of PTO (Power Take Off) functionality, which enables them to run powered attachments such as dethatchers.
We hope this introduction to the types of lawn mowers has helped you understand your options. Please bring your questions to us at Country Lawn & Garden where we serve residential and commercial customers in Galveston, IN. We also welcome those from Kokomo, Peru, and Logansport. Thanks for shopping with us!
