# how to stop my mower from 'mulching'



## Sammy (Mar 11, 2007)

Normally no special setting needed for mulching.. Just take the bag off and the side chute for discharge.

Key thing with mulching mowers is to keep the bottom of the mower clean. 
Knock off the big hunks of grass underneath if there are any from the mower deck with a PLASTIC putty knife.. A water hose will work if its not too bad and for more frequent clean ups.

Try to mow when its not as wet and dont let it get too tall between mowings. .. Mulching is great for your yard and helps save yard waste in landfills.. If you you have to bag, consider composting. 

Sur wuch I cud tipe aftur all of dis hliday cheeeer!


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## timber (Nov 30, 2007)

Mower height could be an issue, whenever you want to mulch mow, plan on mowing more often and set your height up considerably. This way you'll have less clogging and less clumpage. It is more beneficial though, micro-organisms in the cut grass left on the lawn help break down thatch layers so you don't have to aerate or de-thatch as often, plus keeps nutrition in the soil.


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

joeyboy said:


> I cannot even tell how to set it for 'mulching', unless they want you to just leave the bag off and remove the springed flap or something.
> 
> 
> 
> Anyways, as I mow (with the bag on), the mower accumulates a ton of moist grass inside the blade's area/casing. It drops big chunks pretty randomly, so that after I mow I need to go back through my yard with a bucket and manually collect all the chunks!!


mulching means that the grass clippings are kept circulating under the cutting deck until they get cut up multiple times into very tiny pieces. When you remove the pickup bag, there should be a plate that will come down and close off this discharge chute. Also the side discharge should be kept blocked off, by leaving the spring loaded plate closed. Also, look at the shape of the existing blades under the mower, then go to HD, Lowes, or power equipment supplier, and look at the shape of a new blade designated as a mulching blade. They typically have an odd looking offset in the blades as oppossed to just a flat blade with a couple of sharpened edges; this shape helps to circulate the cuttings under the deck. 

Two main keys to success:
dry, dry, dry....for successful mulching the grass must be dry when cut, 
as damp grass will clump under the mower deck and not circulate.
you must cut at reasonable time intervals, so that you are doing more 
of a trim job, than actually cutting three or four inches of grass.


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## Robert131 (Feb 11, 2008)

Rule of thumb for mowing grass is no more than 1/3 of the blade cut off in a mowing. So if you are mowing 4 inch tall grass down to 2 inches, that's 1/2 the height. If it's 4 inches, cut at 3 inches, then cut again down to 2.


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## terri_and_jj (Feb 24, 2008)

sounds like you are mowing wet grass, causing it to clump up on bottom. A buddy of mine used to spray the bottom of his mower deck with cooking spray ( PAM) to keep the grass from sticking. He swore it made a huge difference


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## Taipans (Feb 19, 2008)

terri_and_jj said:


> sounds like you are mowing wet grass, causing it to clump up on bottom. A buddy of mine used to spray the bottom of his mower deck with cooking spray ( PAM) to keep the grass from sticking. He swore it made a huge difference


 
Thats an interesting idea!


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

I'd be a little concerned about doing that unless I knew for sure it wouldn't hurt the grass, wouldn't wanna poison your lawn lol. <<can't imagine it would, wouldn't wanna be the tester tho haha>>


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## Taipans (Feb 19, 2008)

I doubt PAM or something would kill the grass. Most things we can eat wont kill fauna. I would hesitate to cover it with crude oil though!


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## terri_and_jj (Feb 24, 2008)

cooking spray won't hurt your grass. even if it would, if you were simply spraying the bottom of your deck and bagging the grass there would be so little of it coming into contact with the actual lawn that you'd never even notice the differance


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## tribe_fan (May 18, 2006)

Mulching mowers also have a special blade - if you want to eliminate mulching - look for a replacement blade that is not "mulching".


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## terri_and_jj (Feb 24, 2008)

Honestly, it doesn't sound like the mulching is the problem, it's clumping. If you put a NEW MULCHING BLADE on it, it should cut the grass finer, and actually help resolve the clumping issues, but as others have mention, you need to mow the grass when it's dry, cut at a high setting, and don't wait too long between mowings


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