How To Clean Your Lawn Mower

Cleaning the mower deck and the engine

A friend of mine asked me to prepare his Murray Push Mower for the upcoming season, including careful cleaning and some small repair. I took the opportunity to take some photos for this article.

His mower is a '94 model Murray Yard King with 20" cutting width and to tell the truth, it wasn't in a very good shape. The mower has been standing in the garage, collecting dust since last season and he didn't clean it at all last fall.

I use car shampoo or similar soft detergent to clean the upper part of the deck and the engine. Using any strong detergent can harm the paint and should not be used on the upper side.

A lawn mower is built to withstand heavy rain, so flushing gently ower it with a garden hose does no harm. Just be carefull not to hose it from the side, as the water could enter the air filter. Leave the mower to dry for an hour or so after washing.

To prevent the engine from accidentally starting when I work under the mower deck, I always remove the wire from the spark plug and bend it away so it can not come into contact with the spark plug. Manually turning the mower blade could ignite the engine, even with the fuel valve in OFF position.

There was a lot of grass buildup under the deck that had to be removed. I tried to flush it away with water but it did not work. Even hot water and soap did not remove the dried grass.

When it happens, I use a piece of wood to remove all the dried grass buildup and then brush the underdeck with hot water and finally flush it with the water hose.

What happens when You don't clean Your mower at least at the end of the season, is that the mower deck corrodes and becomes thin eventually destroying the mower.