Mowing Wet Grass

It seems a majority don't like mowing wet grass. With this in mind it brings up the question of what do "The Commercial" people, that make their main income from the mowing business, do about wet grass. Wait until 4:00 PM when the grass may or may not be dry? So lets hear from the commercial about how they handle this problem.

they wait for it to dry.. Like the people who earns money on snowplowing wait for it to snow

We are a professional landscape and lawn maintenance company. While we prefer to perform lawn maintenance when the grass is dry, we don't always have the luxury of waiting.

Let's first establish that the grass cannot be soaked. For example, if it has rained 3 inches in the morning, we are obviously going to postpone our lawn cuttings until the grass is no longer saturated.

When we do cut the grass when it is wet, we make sure to go slower than normal - especially around turns and trees so that we don't make ruts in the lawn with our lawnmower wheels. In addition, we will take the extra time to bag the clippings when the grass is wet. This will help reduce the clumping of clippings from the mower when cutting wet grass.

While both of these steps increase the time it takes to cut the grass, our customers appreciate the extra care. Their lawns are not filled with muddy ruts and there are not clippings all over the place.

It is our experience that our customers prefer to have their grass cut on their normal days as long as when we cut, we do a good job and do not damage their lawn when cutting.

I can understand if it has rained and the dirt is soggy/muddy but that really wasn't my question. I'm talking dew on the grass that often doesn't dry until noon or later on some days. My question was, how do commercial people that don't mow wet grass keep on schedule.

SandburRanch said:

It seems a majority don't like mowing wet grass. With this in mind it brings up the question of what do "The Commercial" people, that make their main income from the mowing business, do about wet grass. Wait until 4:00 PM when the grass may or may not be dry? So lets hear from the commercial about how they handle this problem.

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I think the answer to your question depends on your location. In certain locations where in the summer months it can rain on a daily basis rain doesn't bother the Commercial and Residential operators, 90% of the operators just keep mowing during and after rains heavy or light or just dew on the ground it doesn't matter. Most are under contract so they don't have the luxury of waiting. Rain or shine 7:30 to 8:00 am they start mowing.

I mow 45 lawns/week in Michigan and try not to start until its dry enough

I leave my house about 8:30 in the spring and drive to my farthest lawn each day and work my way back home by about 6pm

I see some guys mowing @ 8am but then i see them at the coin feed carwashes with the mower driven up on the trailer gate and trying to blast out the bottom with 3 guys standing around while I go cut another lawn, or i see them scraping the mowers with a paint scraper or something onto the cement in front of a lawn on the street while laying on their back

In fairness they have employees that have to start at 8 and I'm a 1 man show, so I'm different

I was always told not to mow wet grass because it wasn't good for the mower, is that so? I was never really told what it did to them, just that it was not good.

bret said:

I was always told not to mow wet grass because it wasn't good for the mower, is that so? I was never really told what it did to them, just that it was not good.

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Wet grass is heavier than dry... so there is a little more load on the spindles and all associated drive...
It can be harder on the mower deck, but the bigger issue on some mowers is the clogging and such that S_Perreault has referred to... :smile:KennyV

Mowing wet grass will also have a tendency to pull out any new grass shoots as you go. As mentioned, it will typically clog up lawnmowers and help rust out decks quickly. The commercial folks will typically just keep on mowing, with the caveats already so nicely mentioned earlier in this thread. My personal preference is to mow just at the end of the day, when I still have enough light to safely see what I'm doing. This is easiest on me and the grass, we can both recoup easier when it isn't blazing hot in direct sunlight.

I avoid mowing in the wet because it was slippery, which caused more lawn damage, and the thatch would always clump up. The grass caking up on the underside of the deck, as well as putting extra wear on the mower and spindles are also good reasons.