It is finally Saturday, the day you have been waiting for all week to mow your lawn. You know you must mow the lawn over the weekend, as there is no time during the work week. But, what happens? It rains on Saturday- the day you have been anticipating. Now, you wonder if it’s safe to cut the grass. Should you wait until it is completely dry?

One of the more frequently asked questions we receive here at Weed Xtinguishers is, “Doesn’t mowing while it’s wet kill the grass?” The simple answer to this is no, it does not cause a direct issue for the lawn when the grass is wet. However, depending on the amount of rain your lawn has received, there are circumstances where mowing is not advised.

Let’s address the more blatant reasons why you wouldn’t want to mow the lawn while the grass is wet or while it is raining.

It can be dangerous. If you have an electric mower, whether corded or battery powered, it poses a threat of serious injury or death. Many of the non-commercial mowers are electric at this time, so do not operate battery or corded mowers in the rain or if the lawn is still wet. Water and electricity do not make for a cocktail that goes down smoothly.

Another danger while mowing the lawn is the possibility of slipping and falling. It does not take much effort to slip on an incline and end up close to or underneath the mower. With that being said, it is imperative to practice extreme caution if you choose to mow the lawn while your grass is wet or during the rain.

It can affect the mower. Believe it or not, mowing on wet grass hurts the mower a lot more than it does the grass. Cutting wet grass puts a lot of stress on the mower and the blades due to how sticky the grass becomes. The grass sticks under the deck and causes the mower to stall. This sudden stop of the mower blades can put hundreds of G-forces on the mower blade, potentially causing it to warp.

Cutting wet grass will decrease the life of the mower blades by causing them to dull rapidly. Also, the internal parts of the engine could become waterlogged, destroying your mower. Being an almost completely metallic machine, the more contact the mower has with moisture increases your chances of rust eroding the parts. For a longer lasting lawn mower, try to keep it dry.

You can discolor the lawn. When it comes to Bermuda grass, the density of wet grass makes it hard for lawn mowers to chop through and may result in a slight browning in the areas that were not cut evenly. Usually, you will see this as a narrow strip of grass along the path of the mower. The brown discoloration or stress to the grass is not as easily seen in St. Augustine and Zoysia lawns on the day of the cut, so keep this in mind if you have a more unique grass. Rest assured that any minor discoloration will reverse itself over a week or two.

So, if you don’t mind the possible risks of damaging yourself, your lawnmower, or your grass, you’re probably asking, “Why are they still mowing my grass when it is wet?”

For one, if the blades on your lawnmower are brand new or have been recently sharpened, permanent damage to the grass is not likely to occur. Our mowing crews are required to ensure their blades are maintained weekly, and we provide all the equipment necessary to make sure they have those capabilities.

Secondly, we continue mowing based on the comfortability of the crew. They are most likely to cease mowing operations during rainfall heavier than a sprinkle. As well as when there are pools of standing water or when the soil is not sturdy enough to hold the weight of the mower or a person without sinking deeply. Moreover, the areas we service are in a variety of locations within DFW; scattered showers could be anywhere in the metroplex and surrounding cities. We rely heavily on our crews and on our members to tell us when the mowing needs to be pushed to another day.

When you mow your lawn after a rain, remember all the safety concerns related to mowing wet grass. If you are not comfortable operating a lawn mower, rely on us to get the job done. Our mowing crews have years of experience cutting thousands of lawns each year. They have all the tools at their disposal to keep proper maintenance on their equipment, and they have powerful commercial grade machines to take all the abuse wet grass can dish out.

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