Safety and Outdoor Spring Cleaning: Yard Makeover Edition

General Outdoor Spring Cleaning Tips

The exact plan and schedule you should follow for outdoor spring cleaning will depend on many factors, such as where exactly you’re located, if your lawn has cool- or warm-season grass, and your goals for your property. That said, we have some general tips to get you started with this seasonal switch:

Using the right tools for outdoor spring cleaning also helps keep you safe! Using the right tool for the job takes less effort and helps protect you—plus, taking good care of those tools helps you complete the work more easily. Read on to get some of our tips for safely using and maintaining spring lawn equipment.

Mower Safety and Outdoor Spring Cleaning

Mowing is a key part of spring lawn care, especially if your yard has been dormant and neglected over the winter! There are some early steps of lawncare that don’t even involve a mower, like clearing the area of fallen branches or debris and applying fertilizer, weed killer, and overseeding your lawn as desired.

Once you’re ready to bring out your mower, set the mowing depth to the highest height that works for your yard. Mowing high is easier on your mower and allows your grass to recover from the winter more easily by promoting deeper roots, which helps the grass grow in thicker. Then, depending on the style of your mower, you may have to do some basic maintenance tasks.

How much push mower maintenance you’ll have to keep up with will vary if you have a gas or electric mower. For gas mowers, there are many tasks you should take care of seasonally, or more often if you’re mowing a large yard or more than once weekly.

These include changing the engine oil every 50 hours or annually, by draining the old small engine oil into an oil-safe container or using an extraction kit. Then, you’ll need to refill the engine and recycle the old oil. You’ll also need to clean or replace the air filter, possibly using pre-cleaner or coating the new filter in engine oil, as specified in your owner’s manual. Treating your fuel and changing your spark plug annually will also extend the life of the mower. Similarly, you’ll want to winterize your mower before storing it at the end of the season to get the most reliable long-term performance.

For electric lawn mower maintenance, all this is unnecessary. Electric mowers don’t need oil, gas, air filters, or winterization. Simply sharpen the blade—and more on blade sharpening later!

Riding mowers, either gas or electric, are more complex machines and may require more maintenance. Electric mowers will still be easier to maintain, and a gas mower will still need standard small-engine maintenance—that means changing spark plugs, oil, oil filters, fuel filters, air filters, blowing out the engine cooling systems and transaxle cooling fins, checking drive and deck belts, and applying grease to fittings.

Spring Cleaning Safety: How to Sharpen a Lawn Mower Blade

No matter your mower style of power source, if it has blades, they will need sharpening. Here are some ways to know when to sharpen your mower blades: if the blades look dull or worn, if your lawn isn’t recovering well after mowing, if the grass height looks uneven after mowing, and if the blades of grass look torn instead of sliced cleanly.

Sharpening mower blades safely begins with disconnecting the power source. Disconnect the spark plug wire from a gas mower or fully remove batteries from an electric mower. If using a gas mower, you’ll want to drain the gas tank as well, as turning a full tank on the side can easily lead to leaks. Then, follow these steps:

1. Put on proper safety equipment, like gloves and glasses.
2. Turn the mower on its side; for gas mowers, face the air filter upwards.
3. Mark the bottom side of the blade to ensure proper re-installation.
4. Use a socket wrench or ratchet to remove the nut holding the blade in place.
5. Clean the blade of any debris or rust

Now that you have your blade ready for sharpening, find the cutting edge—most blades have a few inches on opposite sides of the blade for cutting. If your blade is obviously damaged, it is better to replace it than to try sharpening.

Lawnmower blade sharpening can use different tools—for example, metal files or abrasives, machine sharpeners, or grindstones. Your goal is to achieve a “butter knife” edge, not sharp enough to cut your fingers. Too sharp of a blade will dull quickly, so just sharpen until you have a shiny edge.

String Trimmer Maintenance for Lawn Care

String trimmers, often called weed whackers or weed eaters, are another key tool for getting your lawn ready for springtime soirees! Their maintenance isn’t too difficult, and knowing about safe operation is important to protect your property, yourself, and anyone else who comes nearby.

The biggest portion of string trimmer maintenance only applies to gas-powered tools, which require all the same small engine maintenance as we discussed above for mowers, like emptying the fuel tank and replacing spark plugs.

You may also need to change the string trimmer spool. This is a regular part of operating a string trimmer and is easy for any homeowner to do! First, ensure that you have an appropriate replacement spool which is compatible with your tool. Then, power down your tool completely and set it down so you can access the current spool.

Pinch in the release buttons (some models may require a pinch and twist) and remove the cover, then remove the current spool. The arrows on a spool show you which direction to wind the string, if you are inserting new line yourself. If you’re installing a new pre-wound spool, the process is simple; just feed the line through the small hole, place the new spool into place, and click the cap back down.

To maintain proper outdoor spring cleaning safety, ensure that your trimmer has a throw guard in place and that it is in good condition. Always cut away from yourself and watch where you are stepping. Falling while using a trimmer can be dangerous, but the main danger comes from throwing debris with the force of the spinning line. The guard protects you, but be mindful of people or animals within 15-20 feet of your working area; pause to allow them to pass for maximum safety.

Polesaws, Chainsaws, and Spring Safety

Rounding out the trio of essential spring cleanup tools, we have the mighty chainsaw! Polesaws and hand-held chainsaws need similar maintenance to ensure their longevity and maintain safe operation through the years.

Firstly, like other small engine tools, if you have a gas-powered saw, you’ll need to take care of the spark plug, filters, and fuel in the engine. Draining the saw after each use is ideal, especially when you’re putting it away for the season.

Regardless of your saw’s power source, your chainsaw will require lubrication to function at its best! The ideal option is a specialized bar and chain oil, and you don’t have to lubricate the chain manually—simply fill the reservoir, then start the saw and check for proper oil discharge. Keeping the chain sharp and tensioned properly are also important.

During operation, keep your chainsaw clean by removing sawdust, wood chips, dirt, and any debris in the engine’s air filter and cooling fins. Resin can also gather on the exterior of the saw and harden, causing problem in the future; clean it off with rubbing alcohol or commercial tar remover.

Aside from these cleaning tasks, there are some safety guidelines you’ll want to follow:

1. Always wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as chainsaw chaps, a helmet, ear and eye protection, gloves, and boots.
2. Inspect the saw before use to ensure that the chain is properly tightened and clean.
3. Verify that the chain brake is working correctly by using it a few times; the chain should stop immediately.
4. Always maintain secure footing when operating the chainsaw.
5. Avoid cutting with the tip of the chainsaw and avoid making plunge cuts down into wood.

Using a chainsaw properly can take years of practice, and starting from a foundation of safety is a critical first step in getting to those years.

Doing your chainsaw work early in the season has a distinct advantage; before a tree or shrub grows in its leaves, you can more easily see dead or diseased branches in need of removal. Especially for branches growing near your home or any power lines, cutting them out before they’re concealed can save you some serious trouble.

Outdoor Spring Cleaning Conclusions

There are other spring cleaning projects, like aerating your soil or trimming back hedges, that we won’t be covering today. No matter how many tasks you’re including in your outdoor spring cleaning plan, as long as you stick to that plan you’re guaranteed to find success!

Staying safe while doing yardwork begins with using the correct tools, and at Greenworks, we’re proud to carry some of the safest and most powerful battery-operated lawn equipment around. Browse our top-rated products to see some fan favorites for yourself and see if we can level up your spring cleaning game!