Dusty yards SUCK!!!

I am a one man operation and I live in the deep south....Georgia. We are in the middle of a very dry summer. One of the yards I cut today was real dusty. It really annoys me because I get covered in dust from head to toe. And no tellin how much of that crap I breath in. What do you guys do? I am seriously thinking about dropping them. How do you guys cope w/ dust? I cannot wear one of those allergy covers.... I don't see how anyone breathes through those things.<p>Rick Wallace<br>LawnWorks

 

Try a bandana like Jesse James and his boys wore . Just keep it around your neck , maybe keep it damp . You can pull it up quick when a dust cloud stirs up. Drawback : now your customers know you are robbing them.

 

Who said this was all fun and games. Why in the heck do you think your client wanted you to mow?

 

Don't forget your mowers air filter! Clean often, make sure there is a plan in place to plant grass soon or see ya!

 

I have a large industrial plant that I mow that is a dustbowl. In April we had over 3&quot; rain in the 2 days previous to me cutting so I thought alright no dust this time. Somehow the laws of nature were against me. I always come home super dirty and with brown snot. Ah the joys of self employment.

 

If you come the same day every week and the owners are home and know what time you're comin' they could take a hose and dampen the dirt a little before you came. It works good for me anyway.

 

I have two that are very dusty durning the summer. I try to mow them on a windy day and in a direction that the wind blows the dust away from me. The strips don't look right in configuration with the property but it makes people ask questions when they see me.

 

See if they'll run a sprinkler for a bit before you come to cut. You can call to say you're on the way. Or, do it early when there's dew on the ground.

 

I have several of these yards. it's worse since I changed to high lift blades. the thing sounds like a huge blower when I kick in the blades. right now I hold my breath when I hit a bare spot and use eye drops. by september, I'll be using one of those dreaded white paper masks.<p>I'd love a damp fall.<p>GEO

 

This is your chance for a sale! If you have bare spots, then do your necessary soil amendments and tell your customer that you can give him nice lawn in these spots. If it's not bare but just dusty, try cutting a little higher to keep the rhizomes shaded out of more hours of the day. And ALWAYS keep in mind that dirt is the WORST enemy of your blades.