How to Keep Leaves from Blowing Out from Mower Deck

A good lawn mower should be able to mow grass efficiently and easily bag them in a grass collector bag for easy disposal. 

Abrupt blowing out of leaves is not a good sign of a smooth mowing operation.

If you notice that leaves are blowing out from your mower deck, there are some simple steps to follow to prevent this issue from occurring while mowing. 

Tips to Keep Leaves from Blowing out from Mower Deck:

Lower the Speed of the Engine

The first step to reduce leaves from blowing out of the mower deck is to control the engine’s speed. In a self-propelled lawn mower, the speed is controlled by squeezing the lever. 

The mower’s speed of Toro mowers can be controlled by slightly pushing the handlebars. You can also add belt pulleys to proportionately slower the speed of the wheel.

This will help to maintain a constant momentum while carrying out a mowing operation, and the grass will be re-installed voluntarily in the mower deck. For an optimal experience and long-lasting performance, get your mower deck painted regularly.

Removal of the Spacers

Commercial mowing machines have about 3-5 spacers just above the horizontal blades. Each of them has approximately ¼ inches of space. To re-adjust the cut height of the grass, remove one or two spacers from your lawn mower.

Doing this will enable it to roll smoothly on the lawn, mow grass of variable heights and accumulate them in the deck.

Removal of the Excess Blades

A mower can have up to 3-7 blades. Full rotation of these blades creates wind that blows out the grass from the lawn mower.

If you mow the yard regularly, and the grass is not really high, you can work with 3 to 4 blades. You can use lawn mower blade removal tools to make this task fast and easy.

Choose a Lifted Deck Mower

This is also one of the easiest solutions to this issue. A lawnmower with a deck that is horizontal to the ground cannot hold large quantities of grass and debris within it.

Instead of getting this type of lawn mower, you can look for some mowers that have curved or cup-shaped cases. These types of decks have more depth and are capable of preventing the falling of leaves and debris.

Tools Required:

• Vise grip
• Socket Wrench
• Center Punch
• Corded drill
• Hammer
• Safety glass
• Gloves
• Blade removal tool
• Bolt extractor

Although they are not the must-have tools, you might need some of them based on the situation.

Why Do Leaves Blow Out?

Unadjusted blade height or a speedy engine might make it difficult for the deck to handle the discharge of leaves while mulching. The grass collection bag might also get jammed with debris and fail to collect the grass.

This will lead to leaves blowing out of the deck continuously. Some other prime reasons for this are:

Excess Wind Production by The Blades

A lawn mower can have up to 3-7 blades. Household mowers usually have two horizontal blades which are enough to mow tall grass and leaves. When they are rotated at high speed, a gust of wind is created that blows out leaves from the deck.

Installation of Inappropriate Gator Blades

A lot of lawnmowers usually come with razor-sharp gator blades. 

These mulching blades accurately mow leaf blades and re-circulate them in the mower deck. Installation of inappropriate gator blades can lead to leaves blowing out of the mower deck.

Dysfunctional Throttle

The mower’s throttle helps you to control the speed of the mowing blade. Improper functioning of the throttle will make the blades rotate abruptly,  making it difficult to bag grass and leaves.

Frequently Asked Questions