A Lawn Mower Safety Tip You Should Know Before Changing Blades

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Perhaps you've starting seeing signs it's time to sharpen your mower blades or maybe even completely replace them. If so, taking care of this task expeditiously is essential for the health of both your lawn and lawn mower. While changing or sharpening mower blades isn't necessarily a high-risk activity, there is a lawn mower safety tip you should know before changing the blades on any kind of mower – kill the power source!

This should actually be the first step you take before doing any work or maintenance on your lawn mower. However, it is especially important when taking off the blade. Whether you are removing the blade or sharpening the blade without removing it, the fact that your hands will be on the cutting surface increases the likelihood of severe injury should the mower accidentally start. In fact, hundreds of thousands of mower-related injuries are reported every year. To be on the safe side, it's best to take this step before grabbing the mower in any way that will put your hands near the blades, even if you are just moving it into a suitable workspace. 

In order to safely sharpen your mower blade by hand and reduce the risk of injury while replacing it, you have to remove or disengage the mower's power source. That applies to all mowers — gasoline, electric, and cordless. To prevent power from reaching a gasoline-powered mower engine, simply remove the spark plug wire. If you want to take extra precautions, you can remove the spark plug itself, although this is typically not necessary if your plug wire is in good shape. When working on an electric mower, unplug the cord. On cordless models, removing the battery does the trick. 

While disconnecting the power source will prevent the mower from accidentally starting while you're working on it, there are a few other steps you should take to remain safe. For one, if you are working on a gas-powered mower, allow the engine to cool before you even attempt to remove the spark plug wire or perform any other work. You should also always wear eye protection, like DeWalt DPG82 anti-fog safety googles, and gloves, which are especially important when handling a sharp blade.