How to Mow a Lawn Professionally

Co-authored by Grant Wallace

Last Updated: January 12, 2023

A well-maintained lawn improves the look of any house. A simple, cost-effective way of keeping a lawn looking healthy is it to use a lawn mower. In addition to keeping your lawn well maintained, a lawn mower also requires maintenance in order to make it effective at mowing the lawn.

Steps

1
Try to mow before it gets too hot outside, in the hot season. While you do not want to mow when there is morning dew still on the grass, it's a good idea to avoid the hottest times of day if you live in a warmer climate. Heat exhaustion can be incredibly dangerous and should always be taken into account.^{[1]
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2
Make sure the lawnmower is set at the correct height. Different types of grass require different heights of cut. Identify your type of grass before you set your mower height. People can be very picky about how their grass is cut. Traditionally, you want a 3 in (7.6 cm) blade height for a professional cut.

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3
Check all the equipment to make sure its not low on gas and/or oil. This should include a lawn mower, weed whipper, edger, and leaf blower.
4
Choke the mower. Most mowers require you to choke it (let air flow travel by pulling a handle). Choke it once. When you’re done push back in and turn up the speed. Also don't forget to take the brake off when ready to move.
5
Drop your blades to the height and turn the blades on.
6
Begin to outline the premises, reminder that the grass shoots to the right side of the mower so start on the left outline and try not to spray anything with the grass (House, cars, sheds, statues). This is done so when you make your lines you can turn around and not worry about missing any patches.^{[2]
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7
Use a variety of cutting styles. When mowing it's suggested to use a different direction each time. Switch up how you are cutting, whether it's vertically, horizontally or overlapping rows, until you are sure that all the grass is even. One thing that's important to remember is to always push your mower forward not backwards. Mowing backwards could be dangerous and unsafe. When beginning the cut, for quality preference, make your lines in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.
8
Remember, when making one strip you cannot turn around right away or you will tear up some of the grass. You have to come into turns whatever way your next strip is, back up and then follow through so there is no rough turning. When making your lines, stay as straight as possible to make it look good.
9
Check for any debris. Before mowing it is important to check for any debris that may be on the lawn, any debris can damage the lawn mower. Firstly, make two passes around the edge of the lawn. Remember to overlap the passes, there will be uncut areas of lawn if there isn't enough overlap.^{[3]
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10
Keep your mower in great condition. Even when you are not using your lawn mower it is important to keep your mower well-maintained all throughout the year. Just like your car you need to be sure that all of the parts of your mower are working correctly before you start the cutting process. If the blades of your mower are not sharp, it could damage you lawn; leaving areas brown and susceptible to disease.
11
Alternate directions as you mow the lawn. After 2 passes go back and forth in any direction, it is important to alternate the mowing direction each time the lawn gets mown. If you do not alternate the direction you can cause excessive wear, or damage the lawn.
12
Edge as needed. Once you have cut your area(s), just to make sure, take a look to see if it may be need to cut twice if there are clumps of grass or doesn't look good, put the mower back on the trailer and grab an edger (If not blacktop because blacktop does not get edged). An edger is a tool that cut the grass that comes over the concrete on the sides of the driveways and walk ways. It also needs to be choked when started along with the rest of the tools.
- Cut the grass around flower beds, trees, and any areas the mower was unable to mow at approximately the same height as the mower. Be careful not to damage the bark at the base of the trees, and do not cut the grass too low or damage will occur.
13
Swap out the edger once finished and get the weed whip. Weed Whip over the edged grass because after you edge it, the grass tends to stand taller, which becomes noticeable. Also weed whip areas which the mower could not get which could be: sides of houses, around trees, sheds, beds, etc.
14
Clean up. Grab a leaf blower and begin to blow off any unwanted grass and remaining dirt from the street, sidewalk, drive way, walk ways, or beds. Place all the equipment back properly so nothing gets broken or any fluids don't spill over.
- It’s okay to leave the clippings in the grass. You aren’t going to do any harm by leaving the clippings out.

Expert Q&A

Question

What should you charge to mow a lawn?

Grant Wallace
Landscaper
Grant Wallace is a Landscaper and Owner of Grantlanta Lawn in Atlanta, Georgia. With over seven years of experience, he specializes in lawn maintenance and landscape installation. In 2012, he earned his BA from the University of West Georgia. Grant has been profiled in Shoutout Atlanta, Canvas Rebel, and Voyage ATL.

Grant Wallace

Landscaper

Expert Answer

Typically, you charge more to mow a lawn in the city than you would in the suburbs. In Atlanta, for instance, a $100 price tag in the city is closer to a $40 price tag in the suburbs. Ideally, you want to focus on what your competitors are charging so you can keep up with what the going rate is.
Question

How much money would I get to mow peoples yards?

Community Answer

It depends on the size of the yard. You can make a deal with them to mow their yard with the price that you want, but don't make it too expensive. For normal size yards, $10 or $20 dollars would be a good price.
Question

In addition to fertilizer and weed control treatment what else can I do for a great looking green?

Dark Rose Music

Community Answer

Use lime. You can buy bags of it at any box store or wherever you get your fertilizer. It is very cheap. It helps regulate the pH of the lawn keeping it green and healthy. You can apply it any time of year and even with other treatments. If the lawn is very acidic, then don't apply it. Also, cut your lawn a little higher in the spring/summer, especially if you live where cool season grasses are. The grass will stay more green in droughts, stripe better, and choke out more weeds. In my area its mostly fescue/bluegrass so I cut it usually 3.5”, then 3” in fall. A lot of landscapers cut as low as 2.5” and they end up with burned lawns in summer, no business for them! These 2 are very easy/low cost.

Warnings

When weed whacking ALWAYS wear eye protection, debris exits head of the weed whacker at speed.

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Make sure bystanders are at a safe distance when mowing or weed whacking the lawn. Debris may injure a bystander if they are too close.

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If the mower blade stops spinning for any reason, first shut the mower off, and then remove the spark plug lead before attempting to fix the problem.

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Do not refill the mower or weed whacker while the engine is still hot. There have been incidents of fire and explosion, which can cause injury or damage. Always allow the mower to cool first.

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