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How Often Should You Inspect Commercial Mower Blades?

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Commercial mowers are efficient, effective tools that many businesses use to care for professional landscapes, lawns, and farms. One of the keys to their effectiveness is their blades. Keeping your mower blades sharp and in good condition will help you continue to landscape and cut as needed. Keep reading to learn about how often you should inspect your commercial mower blades and how to care for them in general.

Inspection Frequency

The frequency of mower blade inspection partially depends on the quality of the blades you use and how frequently you use them. If you have medium- or low-quality blades that you use frequently, you’ll want to inspect them every 10-20 hours of use, as they could have dulled or been damaged in that amount of time. If you have higher-quality blades that you don’t frequently use, you can wait to inspect them after about 50-70 hours of work.

Replacement Frequency

If you notice your blades are dull or damaged during your inspection, then you need to either sharpen or replace them. Professional landscapers and those with plenty of lawn care experience should have the means and ability to sharpen and replace blades themselves. For those who’ve only recently invested in a commercial mower for their business, you may not know how to sharpen and replace blades yet, and that’s okay. Take your mower to a professional who can perform this service for you until you can learn how to handle the job and feel confident doing it yourself.

Additional Blade Care

Before someone reinstalls your sharpened blades or you do so yourself, make sure to check the balance. Failing to properly inspect, replace, and balance your blades are common mowing mistakes you need to avoid so you can focus on getting the job done instead of worrying about the equipment. You can easily check that a blade is balanced by placing a screwdriver through the center hole and letting the blade go. If the blade doesn’t stay level, you’ve accidentally sharpened one side more than the other. Shave off the heavier side, which is the one closest to the ground, and check the balance again before reinstalling.

Knowing how often you should inspect commercial mower blades, as well as how to replace and care for them, is an important part of owning a lawnmower. No one can know everything, though, so be willing to learn more about lawnmower maintenance and care from other professionals who can help you learn more about caring for your tools.

Awesome Lighting Ideas for Your Backyard

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Don’t let the sun going down stop you from enjoying your backyard. Installing lighting for your yard allows you and your family to play and grill out safely as well as deter prowlers. But before you choose outdoor lighting, you’ll need to assess what your needs are.

Are you looking for lighting to keep your home safe? Do you want lighting to keep a walkway lit? Or would you like lighting for entertaining?

Check out these awesome lighting ideas for your backyard and see which one fits your concerns!

Security Lighting

Homeowners use security lighting to light up a lawn for playing catch or scaring off prowlers and even nocturnal scavengers like raccoons. Typically, security lighting lives in high spots to illuminate larger areas, garages, or the eaves of a home to cast light onto walkways and backyard entrances. Motion sensors are beneficial for scaring off potential burglars.

Wherever you choose to put your lighting, you’ll need access to a standard 120-volt outlet.

Path Lighting

Security lighting can be harsh, but if you want to keep a walkway lit during the evening, path lighting might be what you need. They are soft to bright lights that can line walkways from the backyard to your deck or even around flower beds to act as accent lights. You’ll find path lighting in both low-voltage and solar LED options encased in a decorative housing unit with stakes, making installation relatively easy.

String Lighting

String lighting is essential if you’re looking to improve your outdoor space for entertaining! String lights create a warm ambiance that will make your deck or backyard more inviting. Outdoor spaces like decks, patios, and even fences are great for string lighting. You’ll have your choice between battery operated or solar, eliminating the need for any cumbersome extension cords.

Lanterns and wall lighting can also help to create a festive environment to keep the party going long after the sun has set. Which of these awesome lighting ideas for your backyard will you choose?

The Ultimate Fall Landscaping Checklist for Your Yard

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Fall is the perfect time to get some yard work done. Instead of relying on professional landscapers, the jobs listed here in the ultimate fall landscaping checklist for your yard are easy, laid-back projects that won’t take forever to complete. Here’s our guide for the ultimate fall landscaping checklist for your yard.

Ventilate Your Lawn

If your lawn easily floods from downpours, it’s time to consider aerating it. This will help the soil pull in water and nutrients reach the roots. You can do this with garden tools if you have a small yard. If you have a big yard, consider using a walk-behind aerator which will break down water molecules naturally.

Give Your Grass Nutrients

Once late summer approaches, cut back on the fertilizer. This can help prevent wasting energy on lead production in perennials. Even though grassroots continue to grow until it hits forty degrees outside, it’s still an excellent time to feed your grass one last time before cooler temperatures set in. Use a high phosphorus mix on your lawn to yield a greener turf come spring.

Mow One More Time

After you feed your grass, mow one more time before cool temperatures hit. By cutting your grass one more time, you prevent diseases from harming your landscaping. When grass is cut, fallen leaves won’t attach themselves and cause your grass to become ill.

Pro Tip: don’t cut too low since grass makes its food from the upper blade.

Gather Leaves

If you’re having trouble collecting leaves, consider raking them onto a tarp. This will make it easier to transport them into waste and compost bins. If you’ve got a compost bin, ensure you flip the leaf pile every week with a garden fork to ventilate the compost.

Get New Shrubs and Plant Them

If you have a green thumb, then you probably know planting a shrub in early fall will give your plants a head start in establishing roots in excellent, moist soil. All you’ll need to do to plant your shrubs is dig a hole, position the shrub, fill in the gap, and then water and place dirt on the root.

Cut off Dead Limbs

Dead tree branches can cause harm to you and your home when winter snowstorms and winds strike. Conserve your house by cutting off dead tree limbs when fall comes around. Make sure to cut loose and cracked branches that are close to the trunk as well.

This fall, ensure you have the right equipment when you’re working on your landscaping. Get your yard prepared for the fall by following our guide on the best landscaping you can do this cold season.