There are are a few ways to approach repairing your damaged lawn, depending on what type of damage has occurred.  If the lawn is just slightly damaged, you can begin by following this advice to repair the grass over time:

1. If you neglect to mow your lawn for a long time, it can become over-run with weeds and moss.  This is damage; however, if it’s the only kind of damage that’s occurred, it should be relatively easy to fix.  Start by cutting only a few inches (at most) from the top of the lawn.  Let the grass start to repair itself over a few days to a week. Whilst it is, ensure that it’s properly watered.  After the few days is up, cut another few inches off. Continue doing this until the grass is at a good height.
2. Try to fertilise the grass a few times per year.  If you’ve been neglecting the grass’s health, you’ll need to intensify your fertilisation regime.  Go to any garden centre and ask for a “step system” – they’ll be able to advise you on the best kind for your soil.  These systems are useful for providing just the right nutrients at the right time to help the grass to repair itself.
3. Always kill off weeds completely (meaning to rip them up from the roots) as soon as you see them.  This helps to prevent them spreading and becoming a nuisance.
4. If any patches of grass have died and gone brown, dig up the entire area slightly (a rototiller can help with this).  After you’ve dug up the grass, spread fertiliser and seeds, cover with a thin layer of soil and water the area.  Keep the grass watered (but not drenched) every few days until the area is back to normal.
5. Of course mowing regularly, along with keeping the grass full of nutrients and well watered is the best way to keep it in its optimum condition.  When the lawn is back to a good condition, ensure you keep it that way!

• Sharpening the blade (very important for keeping your lawn in good condition).
• Changing the spark plug (if this fails your lawnmower won’t start until you change it).
• Changing the air and oil filters.
• Changing the oil.

In this post I’ll cover the general process for changing the oil.  This is really important for keeping the lawnmower running smoothly – imagine what would happen if you never changed the oil in your car!  It wouldn’t be as serious to a lawnmower, but could still cause some damage.

Before I begin, I should again note that you should also read your manual for guidance specific to your lawnmower; ensure that the mower is switched off with the spark plug out; and remember that PetrolLawnmowerSite.com can’t be held responsible for any problems that may be caused by following this advice.

That said, if you’re quite technically competent, this should be a fairly simple job.  It is an extremely dirty job, however, so wear old clothes and do it somewhere you could stand to be stained with oil for a while.

1. You need to buy the correct type of oil for your lawnmower.  A repair shop or the place where you bought your petrol lawnmower should be able to help.  Failing this, the user manual will say, or the manufacturer will almost certainly be able to tell you.
2. It’s always a good idea to care for your tools, so this is a good point to clean all around the oil tank.  In fact, if you have time, giving a good clean to the underside of the lawnmower can also be beneficial – fungus from the lawn can stick to the underside (especially if you mowed the grass when it was wet).  By cleaning this regularly, you decrease the risk of continually spreading the fungus around your lawn.
3. If the oil tank has an attached dip stick, remove this.  If not, you’ll need to ensure you have one available.
4. On the bottom of the oil tank there should be a plug to drain the oil.  If you unscrew this, the oil will drain out immediately, so ensure you have something underneath ready to catch the oil.  If the plug is connected too tightly, use a wrench to loosen it.
5. After draining the oil, screw the plug back into it’s slot.  (Do not just pour the old oil away because this is harmful to the environment.  In most European countries and in the US, there will be specific places in the local neighbourhood to dispose of oil.)
6. Now you should replace the oil by removing the cap at the top of the oil tank and filling the tank back up to the correct level (use the dip stick to check this).
7. Replace the dip stick and reconnect the cap on top of the oil tank.
8. Then simply reconnect the spark plug and start up the lawnmower.  It’s always a good idea to let the lawnmower sit whilst switched on for a few minutes so you can visually inspect it and check that there’s no leaking oil.

And that’s all there is to it.  If you have any advice or tips on changing the oil on different brands of lawnmower, please leave them in the comments.

Note: The image is for illustration only; your lawnmower may look different.

• Firstly, don’t forget to follow safety precautions when mowing.  If you’ve opted for a petrol lawnmower instead of an electric, you won’t have the worry of running over and breaking the power cord.  However, there are a few addition precautions you should use. Check out our article on safety when using a petrol lawnmower.
• If you follow basic lawn care guidelines, you should be mowing the lawn regularly.  If you’ve left the lawn to grow for too long, mowing it all to its normal hight in one go can actually damage the turf.  Instead you should cut just a couple of inches from the top of the grass.  Leave it to repair itself slightly (for a few day to a week) and then mow a couple more inches.  Clearly this means that it won’t be at its optimum height for a few weeks, but it also means that by the time it is, it’ll be in a better condition.
• Only mow the lawn when it’s dry.  Mowing when wet causes a few problems: (1) It’s a harder job for you to push the lawnmower through the wet grass; (2) If it’s very wet, parts of the grass will be flatter than others under the weight of the moisture. Mowing it in this condition can cause it to look uneven when it’s finished; and (3) mowing when wet can actually spread fungus and moss around the lawn, causing problems to the health of the grass.
• Speaking of fungus and moss – a lot of it will grow in just one direction.  This means that if you always cut the grass in just one direction you may miss some of the weeds when mowing.  So it’s always good practise to mow in different directions to ensure you hit as many weeds as possible.
• Grass clippings are full of nutrients (see our article on lawn health).  When you’re investing in a mower (petrol lawnmower or electric), consider choosing a model that leaves the clippings on the lawn.  This lets the nutrients get reabsorbed, and means that the grass won’t need to be fertilised as often, which can help to to keep it a great shade of green.  If you’d prefer a nice tidy lawn, however, lawn sweepers are always an option (they can also really help in the Autumn for clearing dead leaves).  If you do decide to use one, make sure you have a thorough fertilisation programme for the grass.