It’s generally a good idea to mow a lawn when it’s dry. That said, the length of grass should still not be too long so as to not allow it to overgrow during wet seasons.
Aside from safety issues, as grass becomes slippery when wet, mowing wet grass can also cause damage to your property.
Wet clippings may clog your mower, which is also unsafe. Additionally, wet grass may be torn up more than when dry, lawn diseases may be spread, and everything may get stained with wet grass.
Wet grass can be mowed using a zero-turn mower, if you take the proper safety precautions. Be sure to lessen your speed, make certain your blades are sharp, slow your throttle, and rounding your turns.
Risk and Tips of Mowing Wet Grass
| Risk of Mowing Wet Grass | Tips/ Solutions |
|---|---|
| Losing control of the mower could result in slips and falls. | Decelerate the zero-turn mower |
| Ripped lawns. | Sharpen mower blades before you begin mowing. Slow your throttle for gentle mowing. Moving up and down a slope. |
| Sharp turns cause divots which are irreversible even after drying. | Round your corners as possible when moving. |
| Skidding on hills. | Avoid mowing on hills with over 15 degrees incline. |
Tips for Mowing Wet Grass with a Zero Turn Mower
Slowing Down
Among the top reasons for moving from a regular mower to a zero-turn mower is the speed.
On a hot, dry day, you can mow your yard in pretty short order. If your yard is moist, the race is on, but you’ll want to be careful!
If you go too fast across the wet grass, you will lose control of your mower because the tires won’t grip very well on the wet ground. This is exactly why lowering the speed is a smart way to mow the yard safely and in a timely manner.
You should also consider turning your mower to mow in different directions, not just mowing one direction like you may have when the grass is dry.
Try to go horizontally and vertically to cut the bent wet grass blades.
Mowing the damp grass at a slow, but steady speed will decrease the risk of slipping and falling, but it will also save your mower from pushing the blades through the wet grass excessively.
It will also decrease the danger of damaging the grass resulting in uneven cut patterns, or worse, damaging the grass roots!
Sharpening Mower Blades
Cutting grass that’s wet is difficult enough, while also requiring more power than normal for your mower.
To add to that, blunt blades can oftentimes tear the grass, which results in a fuzzy cut, or in the downright worst cases, lawn damage that you can’t repair.
A sharp blade is one of the keys to cutting wet grass, as you can make the job easier by having blades sharp enough to cut through the grass.
Be Careful: Sharpening your mower blades is easy and it’s something you can learn how to do pretty quickly. The important thing is to make sure they are sharp before you start.
Rounding Your Turns
If you have been using a zero turn mower for a while, here’s what you need to know for the best, quickest cut on dry grass is square turns.
A square turn will make you come to a complete stop, pivot and turn. Any pivoting action on dry grass increases the chances of ripping it up.
So you can avoid sharp turns to cut well on damp grass with your zero turn.
Doing these sharp turns will start to dig tiny divots into your wet grass.
Once the grass dries the divots will still be visible, and you will still see the markings.
When the grass is wet, round your corners as much as possible; they may not look as good as it usually does but the rounded turns are better and will minimize the chances of ripping up your yard.
Slowing Your Throttle
Reduce the engine throttle to cut wet grass as slowly as possible.
Pulling back the engine throttle, slows down your zero-turn mower as well as the tips of the blades.
This is more beneficial than not pushing the sticks as fast forward as it makes the hydrous less sensitive so you can slow down to cut the grass well: less likely to tear up the yard.
Mowing Up And Down Slope/Hill
Zero-turn mowers equipped with GT Trac are equipped to deal with slight slopes and hills through traction and outfitted balance.
Mowing slopes and inclines when it is wet is a completely different story altogether. Soggy conditions make it very difficult for any piece of equipment to navigate slopes.
When mowing landscapes that contain several hills, if you get stuck mowing them when wet you had better pay careful attention—the incline is not only stressing the turf in soft ground when cutting up a slope but wetter ground may also result in tractor blades pulling turf out of the blade bed.
Best Practice: Mowing up and down the slope will alleviate some stress that is a benefit to turf health and also results in a better cut.
Mowing On Moderate Slopes/ Avoid Mowing On High Hills
When the grass is wet, it is much easier to slide down the hill which is flawed.
Additionally, sharp turns may cause the mower to skid and you may fall down the hill and become injured.
Due to the amount of damage falling down hill can do, it is best to be patient and wait for the grass to dry when mowing hills, especially on an incline of steepness over fifteen degrees.
However, when it comes to mowing mild slopes, this could be manageable.
Before mowing slopes, check your tires. If you have frequently under-inflated tires, it would be best to properly inflate them before starting to mow the dump lawn.
Designed for mowing up and down slopes, mowers loaded with under-inflated tires may cause a series of issues.
Final Thoughts
There are some conditions under which it is permissible to operate the mower on wet grass after a rain.
It is not wise to mow at that time. It is never a good idea to mow the lawn in wet conditions since you might accidentally damage the mower or damaged the grass. However, we all will mow a lawn that is unsafe to mow someday.
If there is an absolute reason the mower must go across the lawn before it has dried out, there are a few practical adjustments one can make given that the grass is wet! and the mower has no idea that you are about to mow wet grass.
These tips help make the certificate of wet grass functioning on the mower process easier and keep the lawn tidy during wet periods.