Generally speaking, most home owners often overlook the essential role a lawn mower plays in keeping their landscape clean and tidy. One of the secrets to keeping your lawn mower functioning longer is regular preventive maintenance. Failure to provide the necessary maintenance is a sure way of inviting expensive repairs for your lawn mowing equipment.

If you'd like to know how to maintain your ride-on lawn mower, continue reading on below.

Replace or clean dirty air filters.

A dirty air filter is detrimental to the normal functioning of your lawn mower. It is important to inspect the air filters on your mower on a regular basis and have them replaced if they're dirty. This will ensure your lawn mower achieves optimal performance and lasts longer. Accordion-style paper air filters may only need cleaning. Simply use a pressurised air hose to blow off the dirt on the air filter. When the filters get too dirty, the best option is to replace them.

Protect the mower's engine by changing its oil.

Over time, dirt and other impurities can contaminate the oil in your lawn mower's engine. This leaves your engine susceptible to damage. The simple fix is to ensure you change engine oil at regular intervals. Refer to your owner's manual for information on when and how to change your engine oil.

Ensure your mower's blades are sharp all the time.

To realise better cutting performance from your lawn mower, you need to keep its blades sharp. The blades on your lawn mowing equipment can become blunt over time due to coming into contact with hard objects such as rocks. If not sharpened, the mower will struggle to provide a clean cut. For the most part, sharpening is done during tune-up of the mower at a mower repair shop. 

Drain gasoline when storing your mower.

One possible reason why your lawn mower won't start over a long period of storage is the old gasoline in the tank. It is proper to use fresh gas at the beginning of each new mowing season. It is, therefore, imperative to empty your mower's gas tank or alternatively running the gas out at the end of the mowing seasons.

The above tips can go a long way in keeping your ride-on lawn mower working at peak efficiency when you need to use it. For further information on maintenance, you can visit the professionals at a local lawn mower service.