After the intense few weeks of cold weather we’ve had, it finally seems like the vast majority of the winter season is now behind us and milder days are ahead.

You might be noticing your grass is starting to grow longer and could be thinking about the first mow of the year. Having your lawn mower ready to go for spring will help you stay ahead of your garden maintenance for the year ahead.

After being kept in storage over the winter months, post-winter maintenance can help to improve your mower’s efficiency and prevent any costly repairs later down the line.

Don’t be daunted! We’re here to help. Read on for our 7 top tips on how you can easily upkeep your mower with minimum effort and minimum tools required.

Before you even think about starting any maintenance, remember to disconnect the spark plug.

To do this, you need to find the spark plug on your specific model of mower – it’s usually located at the front of the machine at the front of the engine (see image).

The next step is to remove the HT plug cap by firmly giving it a tug.

Once you’ve done this, it’s time to move on to mower maintenance!

1. Cleaning the mower

Although it’s our recommendation to give your lawn mower a clean before it’s put away for the winter months, if you have forgotten to do this step, it’s time to do it now. Build-ups of grass clippings, weeds, dirt and other debris can get caught up in the underside of the mower and can cause corrosion over time.

Use a garden hose and soft brush to get rid of any debris and keep your mower functioning as it should. We recommend checking the underside of your mower every few weeks and repeating this step regularly in peak grass-cutting season.

After cleaning, dry and spray with a light oil like WD40 to prevent corrosion - avoid spraying oil on the drive belts.

2. Checking the air filter

Your lawn mower’s air filter is inside a covering and can usually be found towards the front of the engine on the side – for reference, it’s usually located on the opposite side of the mower’s exhaust.

To remove the air filter covering, unclip it gently to expose the air filter. Check the filter inside, being careful to not allow dirt into the air intake, to see if it needs replacing. Then either replace the old filter with a new filter, or if it is a foam air filter, wash in soapy water and allow it to dry. Then, clip the filter casing back on and you’re all sorted for this step – simple!

3. Changing the lawn mower blade

To check or replace your lawn mower’s grass-cutting blade, you’ll have to tip your lawn mower onto its side, Make sure the carburettor and air filter are on the up side. Also, ensure that the oil filler cap is tight.

Safety tip: do not replace the spark plug cap at all whilst carrying out any maintenance as you could risk accidentally starting the engine by rotating the crankshaft.

Before handling the blade, ensure you’re wearing heavy-duty gloves. To remove and replace the cutting blade, undo the centre bolt by turning it anti-clockwise and safely pull the blade off. Once you’ve done this, take your new blade and screw the bolt back on clockwise, ensuring it is firmly attached with the correct torque as stated in your lawn mower’s manual. Voila – all done!

4. Changing the oil

To change your oil, you’ll need a syphoning syringe to hand to remove the old oil or you can use our handy oil changing set. Once you’ve got this, the next step is to locate the dipstick which can be on the top, side or back of your lawn mower.

Remove the dipstick and stick the syringe inside the oil chamber until it can go no further. Simply pull up on the syringe plunger to drain the lawn mower of the old oil. Once you’ve removed all of the oil, you’ll need to replace it with new oil. Use SAE30 or 15w40 for all Hyundai lawnmower engines. Depending on the engine size, you will need between 400ml and 600ml of oil.

Use the dipstick to check whether the oil reaches the correct marker. Once you’ve done that, screw the dipstick back into place and your oil has been changed!

5. Replacing the lawn mower’s spark plug

The final lawn mower maintenance point on our list is to replace your lawn mower’s spark plug – this should be done once every 25 or so hours of use, or once per season.

To replace the spark plug, remove the old plug by unscrewing it anti-clockwise, place your new spark plug into the spark plug hole and begin to tighten it by hand until it is quite tight. It is important to first tighten the spark plug by hand to ensure that it’s being screwed in correctly and won’t cross thread. Once it’s tight, continue to tighten with your deep socket until firmly tightened and replace the HT cap.

6. Drain the carburettor float bowl of stale petrol

This should have been done before putting away at the end of the winter season, but if not, you can do this now. 

With a small cup-size container placed under the float bowl, unscrew the 10mm drain plug and release any petrol in the bowl (this is the size of an egg cup). Replace the drain plug and you are ready to go.

7. Charge the lawn mower's starter battery

If you have an electric-start mower, recharge the 12v battery for 6 hours with the battery charger provided.

Once you’ve completed these steps, your lawn mower will be prepared for the season ahead, and you’ll be back to mowing your lawn in no time.

If it's time to treat yourself to a new model, click here to see our full range of lawn mowers.

We hope you’ve found this guide helpful and remember: if you need any further advice, our team of experts is on-hand to help you, so just get in touch! If you have any difficulties with starting your lawnmower, visit www.hyundaisupport.co.uk

For expert advice or any questions you may have, you can give us a call on 01646 687880, fill out the contact form here or drop us a message on any of our social media pages - Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.