Just like any other vehicle or piece of equipment, you have to take particular care of your lawn mower. There are certain things that will shorten its lifespan and many lawn mowers are quite the investment.
That’s why it can be so anxiety-inducing when you accidentally leave your lawn mower out in the rain. That anxiety gets even worse when you realize your lawn mower won’t start now!
Don’t worry just yet, though. There are a few different problems and remedies that you can go through to try and start your lawn mower again.
A Note on Slightly Damp Lawn Mowers
If you only left your lawn mower out in a spring shower, you might have a bit of an easier time. After all, your lawn mower won’t get as waterlogged here compared to a summer thunderstorm.
If you aren’t sure what the problem is, you should try this quick fix first. It will let you know if you need to delve deeper for answers.
In this case, just remove the spark plug, completely dry it, and then reinstall it into the lawn mower. You can try to start it now but may need to repeat the process a few times for it to work.
Try to Dry Your Lawn Mower Out
The first thing to try here is to make sure your lawn mower dries out. Unlike your phone, though, you won’t have the chance to put your whole lawn mower in a comically large pile of rice.
While you can let your lawn mower parts dry as they are, it isn’t the most reliable option. Instead, you should take the time to disassemble your lawn mower partially to let internal parts dry out.
This includes pieces like the carburetor, air filter, fuel filter, crankcase, spark plug, and combustion chamber. Depending on how wet the lawn mower got and your lawn mower model, the steps to this can vary.
Contaminated Oil and Gas
The liquid components of running your lawn mower are important as well. If they get diluted, you may run into problems.
For instance, leaving a lawn mower out in the rain can contaminate the oil or gas. As such, you’ll need to know how to handle the problems.
For contaminated gas, start by removing both the spark plug and filters. Then, drain the gas from your fuel tank and carburetor and dry both components out.
Now is also a good time to both take a moment to disconnect your fuel hose and replace your fuel filter. You can help dry these out by using a can of compressed air.
Contaminated oil is particularly a risk in four-stroke engines. This can cause the engine to seize and incur damage if it isn’t properly lubricated.
In this case, start by draining and drying the crankcase. Refill the crankcase with fresh oil and drain it again to get rid of water and refill it again before replacing it.
You can go the extra mile and remove the spark plug and put a teaspoon of oil in the space the spark plug goes. Now, rotate your engine manually to lubricate it before trying to start it again.
To rotate the engine, throw on a pair of thick gloves and turn the cutting blades carefully.
Try each of these steps to try and kickstart your lawnmower that you left in the rain!
