Lawn Care Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Forums

Cutting in the rain

Jump to Latest
1 - 20 of 28 Posts
B

B16bri

· Registered
Joined
·
101 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hello all, I was wondering how you handle rain outs and rainy days. Obviously if it's pouring and has been pouring for hours Its impossible to mow but what about light rain do you mow ? I don't have many accounts at the moment but for you guys who have a full schedule week after week how do you handle it when it's been raining for 2 or 3 days ? What do you tell the customer, do you just power threw it? Or do you fall behind and make it up next week . I know when it rains that's a great day to do other things like advertise and PM on your equipment but at some point in time you need to get back out there and make money. So I would like to here all aspects do you mow in the rain? If so what are the do's and the dont's, what do you tell you customers if you can't now for a number of days how do you handle this? And anything else anyone wants to add would be great for example yards that have drainage problems that stay wet and soggy for 3 days after a big rain storm. What do you do
Thanks
Brian
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#2 ·
open up Google search.

Type in "mowing in the rain lawnsite"....

You'll get all the threads that already talk about this.

This works for all subject matter....

for blades...."best blades to use lawnsite"

for mowers "best mowers to use lawnsite".

etc. etc. etc.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#4 ·
Never miss a week on weekly lawn mowing.

this is why I teach n preach to schedule 4 ten hour days, that way if you have to, you still have two more days that week.

Never miss a cut that week. It will lose you more money and generate more complaints and angry customers than nearly anything else you can do.
 
#5 ·
Mowing in the rain in SW Florida is not only stupid but really dangerous, especially in the summer. If your customers don't or wont understand that mother nature rules and your life and safety are more important perhaps you need to better train your customers or find new ones that have an ounce of common sense.
easy-lift guy
 
#6 ·
I'll finish a lawn in the rain, but that's about it. If it's a real light rain we might try to do a few more, but usually the mess isn't worth it. I've went out with the 30" walk behind before and done some smaller lawns, clog city. I see guys here that go right out after a big downpour, even half a day of rain, they are out as soon as the rain quits. I prefer to wait at least till the concrete starts to dry, and even then I have to pick and choose what lawns I can get on when it's wet. Last season we had more rain days than I remember having in the last 5 years combined. Days where we couldn't cut for 1 to 2 days at a time. Even then it was a muddy mess for 2 days after. best thing I had going for me last summer was extra help. For about 2 months a friend of the guy I had working for me could come in and help us get caught up. Running a 3 man crew, with guys that know what they are doing, was crazy for me! I've always either been solo or with just one guy. With an extra mower and man it took no time to get caught up after each rain-out.
 
#8 ·
PCLAWN25 said:
Customers do not appreciate the mess from cutting in the rain. I cant leave a yard messy so I prefer to delay until it dries a bit. Most customers understand.
Click to expand...
It doesn't look messy if you don't cut it on schedule and leave it until next week?

If you plan 4 days a week, you have 6 days to actually get it done... as long as you are on schedule that week it usually isn't a problem.... if it rains ALL week long.... eh well at least everyone is sucking wind with you.

Little known fact, when lawn mowing first started being a "thing" it was required that the grass BE wet, they used to only do it after a rain or after a heavy dew; like cutting hair, it cut better when it was wet.
 
#9 ·
easy-lift guy said:
Mowing in the rain in SW Florida is not only stupid but really dangerous, especially in the summer. If your customers don't or wont understand that mother nature rules and your life and safety are more important perhaps you need to better train your customers or find new ones that have an ounce of common sense.
easy-lift guy
Click to expand...
Is that due to lightening or something?
 
#10 ·
TPendagast said:
Never miss a week on weekly lawn mowing.

this is why I teach n preach to schedule 4 ten hour days, that way if you have to, you still have two more days that week.

Never miss a cut that week. It will lose you more money and generate more complaints and angry customers than nearly anything else you can do.
Click to expand...
We do similar, But we use Saturday and sometimes Sunday as a bumper zone.

and I have experienced a months of rain, this was unreal......
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#13 ·
I use 30s in the rain. If you side discharge not really an issue. I cut my side discharge chutes tho. I trimmed a couple inches off the bottom. The chute used to ride along the grass and the it would scoop the clippings after I cut the chute. The clippings can't build up
 
#16 ·
Those days with just a light drizzle all day if you guys decide to mow what do you wear? I was thinking of finding the perfect outfit for mowing on those days, because being wet all day really sucks. Something like a water resistant, but breathable shirt or long sleeve which I prefer and pants. I haven't quite figured that out yet.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#18 ·
easy-lift guy said:
Lighting, rutting of the lawn due to the weight of nearly any piece of equipment to mow with, mowing ditches and swails along with lake banks is especially dangerious. No matter how much you plan and schedule Mother Nature calls the shots, always has the final say.
easy-lift guy
Click to expand...
Well you mentioned dangerousÂ…lightening and rain are two different weather conditions that do not necessarily happen in concurrence.

As far as rutting, perhaps you are more familiar with swampy or loose clay areas?

There are man areas that are well drained and are largely unaffected by even a full day of rain.
Certain soils wouldn't let a tank rut them if they drove over them and in Canada they aerate to get rid of the water because it sits on top of the ground and won't penetrate.

North America is a really big place with varying conditions.

However, not cutting in the rain because you might get killed by lightening is about as valid as not doing any gardening because you might get bitten by a snake.
Ive seen a video of an alligator taking a lawn mower right out of a man's hands, and it wasn't rainingÂ…. I would put that in my top 5 most dangerous situations while mowing, but mowing while raining is definitely not one of them.

I have been outside for more hours of my life than I have been inside.
Ive likely been out in the rain more than most people I have ever met.

In the military, when it rained no one saidÂ…that's it, pack it up, we're calling it a day.
When there was lightening no one said "holy cow! drop your weapons troops! you might get zapped!"
No one jumped off the tanks because they were metal.
We all just ignored it.

Im not talking about combat, I'm talking about situations where you had to do something because of X or Y mission, those are different storiesÂ….
this is just rain and lightening and nothing bad happening, everÂ…. to thousands of men for years and years in the same conditions.
Ive seen a lot of stupid and even horrific accidents in the military, most of them happened when it wasn't raining at all and none of the deaths had anything to do with rainÂ… usually something at night time.

My father mowed in the rain all the time when i was a little kid, wearing a suit that made him look like the gordons fisherman, because that's when he had time to do it.
Nothing ever happened to him and he didn't ruin the lawn either.

26 years in this industry, half of that probably spent mowing in the rain or working outside while it was snowing.

Last year we fixed two rut areas from riding mowersÂ…. not a big deal.
But we never miss a scheduled weekly cut.
 
#19 ·
Green-Man said:
Those days with just a light drizzle all day if you guys decide to mow what do you wear? I was thinking of finding the perfect outfit for mowing on those days, because being wet all day really sucks. Something like a water resistant, but breathable shirt or long sleeve which I prefer and pants. I haven't quite figured that out yet.
Posted via Mobile Device
Click to expand...
Talk to irrigation guysÂ…. there is no way to avoid wet and muddy.
the more you do it, the more you get used to it.

I'd rather be wet than drenched in sweat.

the lightweight "military style" clothing with the ripstop fabric is pretty tough (similar to denim) and dries fairly quickly.
Those wrangler cargo pants that look like lightweight carharrts (can't recall what they are called) do quite well in that regard.
They make shirt of similar fabric.

I don't think you're going to find "water resistant and breathable" without going for something that is too hot and uncomfortable to wear for most summer time work.
Go for breathable, durable, dries quickly and try to stay in the truck during cloud bursts.

It USUALLY doesn't rain ALL day, if it does 99% of people just call it.
 
#20 ·
I don't like cutting in the rain but it happens. Keep your blades sharp, raise the deck a 1/4", turn S-L-O-W!!!!

Rain and lightning are almost synonymous in Florida. I think Tampa to Daytona is nicknamed "Lightning Alley"!!! Sharpest, brightest lightning I've ever experienced! Every structure I saw has a lightning rod on it!
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
1 - 20 of 28 Posts
About this Discussion
27 Replies
14 Participants
Last post:
MowDaddy
Lawn Care Forum
posts
7.2M
members
230K
Since
1999
A forum community dedicated to lawn care and landscaping professionals and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Lawn Mowing Pesticide & Herbicide Application 🔧 Mechanic and Repair Business Operations Lawn Mowing Equipment