One of the most essential practices for your lawn is mowing. It is one of the best ways to keep your gardens in excellent condition. There are two ways to go about this. The first is to buy the appropriate equipment and law the maw yourself. The other is to look for a reportable professional and pay them to take care of the servicing for you. If you have been asking, should you hire someone to mow your lawn? What is the cost? Is it better to mow by yourself or seek a professional? Then this is the perfect piece for you.
Process of Lawn Mowing:
Mowing is the process of clipping tour grass with the help of either a Scythe or a mower, which are machines created specifically to perform this task. Other than these two, there are other equipments that you can call upon to help with the overall process of lawn maintenance. These are:
- Leaf rake
- String or grass trimmer
- Soil Rake
- ‘Landscape tool
- Lawnmower
- Spreader
- Soil knife
- Snow shovel
- Spade (long-handled)
Despite their size, be they small or big, Scythe machines are rather expensive to own and maintain. They are thus a rather substantial investment for something that is used either occasionally or periodically. Buying one would cost you as much as a refrigerator or a dryer but doesn’t come with the added advantage of daily use. They also need proper storage space, maintenance, servicing before and after use, and regular cleaning. You also need to budget for other things like oil, coolant, grease, and fuel. After each use, they also need to be properly cleaned in a very specific manner and can’t be hosed off as you do to your car after a muddy drive. It requires a specific amount of water pressure to not sustain damage during the cleaning. The cleaning also needs to be precise and deep to remove any bits that get stuck to the machine after the mowing. Each of the components needs to be checked for damage and dirt as it cannot be stored with either. Some of these components include
- Belts
- Pulleys
- Blades
- Tires
- Sheet metal
- Bolts
- Levers
- Radiator
- Fuel pump
Mowing by yourself
If you are considering taking care of the lawn by yourself, then there are a few things that you need to put into consideration before mowing by yourself. The most important thing is buying the right fuel for your specific equipment, instruction of which usually comes with the manual, the fuel needs to be clean as any impurities in the fuel will degrade your mower every time you use it. You can either buy the fuel and fill it at home or transport the mover to the gas station, fill it then transport it back before you can begin using it. The oil needs to be changed on a regular schedule depending on how much you use the mower and the waste oil needs to be responsibly taken care of as it is a heavy environmental pollutant. It has tires whose pressure needs to be both checked and refilled if need be. Flats need to be taken off and the tires need to be replaced periodically as the firm grip of the machine is vital to the safety of the user.
While discharging it from the chute, its vital part can be damaged. Other parts like steering, wheels, tie rods, belt, bent blade, etc. can also be damaged. Then you will have to diagnose these issues by yourself deeply. After their identification, you have to fix them properly. They can also damage while you are installing them, and the cost of acquiring spares of them is rather high.
Costs of Mowing
The mower needs seasonal maintenance and the cost of these is as follows:
- The First Season
- The shed – $1000
- Support and cutter – $125
- A dozen cuts – $22.50
As the first season draws to a close, mowing your lawn will have cost you on average about $116.25 per cut or a total of $1395 for the entire season.
- Every season after
- Support and cutter – $125
- Shed – $1000
- A dozen cuts – $22.50
Each season after, for mowing alone, you will have to fork out $116.25 per cut or $1395 per season, not including the cost of maintenance of the machine as the effects of use take their toll and any other miscellaneous cost that may arise.
Mowing by Professionals
The other alternative is opting for a professional to do the job for you. This option offers you a high relief as far as stress and responsibility are concerned while offering you the option of letting someone with professional experience and an eye for detail take care of the task for you. Professional mowers also offer a range of other services including professional washing and landscaping ensuring that you take care of more than one bird using the same stone. Other benefits include:
- Reduced Time
Taking care of the lawn by yourself is time-consuming, even for a small lawn. This is because you may lack the experience and skills to do the job both effectively and fast. This is however not an issue for professionals they know how to subdivide the work efficiently, have experience with the right tools, and have built an arsenal of techniques from years of experience. A job that would have taken you half a day to finish would take them no more than 2-3 hours to de perfectly and to your satisfaction
- Mowing on Time
Professional comes with the added advantage of knowing when the lawn needs to be mowed in such a way that the aesthetic of your lawn is always maintained. There are times when the lawn may look ready for mowing but it is not. Mowing at the wrong time disturbs the ecosystem. They also know the best plants for the various seasons and the best fertilizers for each. This way, your lawn is always plush and pleasing to the eye.
- Less costly
Mowing by yourself is usually more costly than going for a professional. This may not seem the case at first but as time goes by and the machines require more and more attention and maintenance cost, it proves more cost-efficient to go with a professional. The internet today has also brought everting to your fingertips and you can always find the best mower for your specific lawn within your vicinity simply by looking them up online at no extra cost. Generally, a professional mow will cost you about $17.50 which averages about $210 each season.
- Pressure Washing
Experts know the exact water pressure that a certain lawn can tolerate. Too much pressure and the water ends up causing damage to your lawn, leaving patches of soil where the lawn has cracked or has been chipped away by the water pressure, something t that will cost you more to replace and landscape again. They also ensure that watering your lawn does not cause water damage to your building in the process.
- Chances of mistakes
Professionals can gauge your lawn for even the smallest of problems before they become worse. They can resolve issues like weeds, fungus, and moles quickly before your whole lawn needs replacing, they also have sharper blades that cut the grass properly without killing it to ensure that your lawn remains green.
Recommendation
We recommend that you opt for a professional instead of taking on the task by yourself as this is more cost-efficient and safer for your lawn. Self-mowing will cost you about $320 each season while a professional will only cost you $210. This is while preventing yours from incurring the cost of maintenance. Other than the lawn, professionals can inspect your whole yard and ensure that the lawn is not adversely affecting its surroundings or anything in the exterior of the house. Most mortgage holders need pressure washing administrations just a single time or two times per year, so it bodes well to enlist an expert in compelling washing administrations to deal with everything.