Spring is here and depending on where you live, lawn mower season is rapidly approaching. It may be time to dust off the mower. Be sure to do a thorough check for any problems that may be fixed before you take it out on the lawn. You may even want to sharpen or replace the blade on your push mower. You want to be safe, so be sure to follow the right steps when removing the blade.

Do this before removing your lawn mower blades

According to Tractor Supply, after all the mowing you did last spring and summer your push mower blades may have dulled over time. Dull blades now mean you won’t get the perfect cut you want. You can either get your blade sharpened or you can replace the whole thing. Either way, you need to get the blade off first. 

Before getting started, check your push mower’s user manual. While most mowers follow the same steps for removing the blade, you need to make sure nothing is different. 

First, confirm the blade style. Most lawn mower blades are rather universal, but you need to make sure your mower doesn’t have its own unique blade style. Make a note of what kind of blade you have so you know what replacement blade to get. 

Check the bolt size. Most lawn mower bolts that secure the blade are ½ inch, ⅝ inch, or ¾ inch. Confirm what size the bolt is and that you have a socket wrench that will fit. 

Is your blade bolt regular or reverse-threaded? Some blade bolts don’t follow the seemingly universal “righty-tighty, lefty-loosey” rhyme. The bolt for your lawn mower may be reverse-threaded. Confirm which direction to turn the bolt when removing the blade. 

How to take off the lawn mower blade 

Once you confirm the previous steps to prep for the blade removal, follow the next steps to remove the blade: 

1. Disconnect the spark plug and ignition wire: Don’t skip this step. Stay safe and prevent any accidental ignition that could lead to major injuries. 
2. Siphon the gas: Remove the gas by siphoning it into an approved fuel container. You don’t want the gas to spill and cause a mess. 
3. Allow access to the underside of the mower: Carefully lay your mower on its side so you can access the blade easily. You can also use this time to clean out any mud or grass. 
4. Put on hefty work gloves: It can go without saying that lawn mower blades can be really sharp. You want to protect your hands from potential cutting. 
5. Put a wooden block under the blade: A wooden block will prevent the blade from moving around freely. 
6. Loosen the retaining bolt on the blade: Grab your socket wrench and turn the bolt based on whether or not it is reverse-threaded. 
7. Remove the lawn blade: Once the bolt is removed the blade should slide right off. 

How to put the blade back on 

Once you get the mower blade off, either take it in to be sharpened or replace it altogether. When it’s time to put the fresh blade back on you want to basically repeat the above steps but in reverse. 

Put the blade on. Be sure it is properly aligned by checking to see if the blade had directions such as “this side up” printed on it.

Replace the blade bolt and tighten it by using the socket wrench to turn it in the opposite direction of how you removed it. Make sure the blade does not wobble. If it does wobble, tighten the bolt. 

Turn the lawn mower upright and replace any gas that was siphoned out, replace the spark plug and ignition wire. Then your lawn mower is ready to start cutting your grass again.