How to Mow Wet or Long Grass

Over the past 25 years, Etesia ride on and pedestrian mowers have become renowned for being able to cut and collect – all ALL weathers. Below you will find some useful tips on how to mow wet or long grass.

Tip one – Mow More Often

If your typical mowing interval is every seven days, reduce that to five days or even less. This prevents the grass from getting too long. Tall grass is more difficult to cut, and tall, wet grass is even worse.

Tip two – Raise the Mower Deck

Mowing height is a compromise between getting the superb looking lawn you want and allowing the grass enough leaf to be healthy. This means you can mow your lawn close but only when optimum conditions prevail; warmth, moderate sunshine, moderate rainfall and adequate fertiliser. This is also when the grass is healthiest and able to recover easily from regular low cutting. When it is wet and you still need to mow, raise the cutting height of the mower to at least two settings above what you would normally have the mower set at.

Make sure that you take your time and reduce your cutting speed to reduce the load on the mower blade and empty the grass box mower often – wet grass weighs more than dry grass after all and you don’t want to be pushing unwanted weight!

Tip three – Sharpen Your Mower Blades

A sharp blade produces a crisp cut, and this keeps the grass healthy. It’s particularly important during damp or wet mowing conditions, when the blade will have a tendency to shred rather than cut.

Tip Four – When All Else Fails, Rear-Discharge

If weather conditions are really bad, don’t forget that the Etesia DuoCut system allows you to cut and collect, mulch and also rear-discharge instead. Set the mower to the highest setting, remove the grass box (and mulching insert if this is in place) in place, and mow. This leaves rows of clippings on the lawn, of course. You can cross-mow (mow at 90 degrees to the first mow) in mulching or collecting mode to take care of the clippings; you can rake them up, or you can let them dry for a couple of days and mow again, this time in mulching or collecting mode.

Tip five – Clean After You Mow

Damp grass clippings cling to the underside of a mower deck and form a soggy layer that quickly turns into a moldy mess. If your mower has a washout port, then by all means use it to clean the deck. But even after you’re done, scrape the deck clean with a putty knife, being particularly careful to clean the lip where the deck edge curls under. Also, clean the mower’s tires / wheels with a wire brush. Finally, wipe down the top of the mower to remove wet clippings, and if required, give a light coating of a lubricant such as WD 40 to avoid and rusting.