10bestlawnmowers · Follow
12 min read · Feb 13, 2022
Although lawn mowers have advanced a lot recently, they are still likely to leave stripes of grass during mowing. In any lawn mower, the job of cutting is done by its blades, but it’s not the only culprit that makes streaking so common.
For those who don’t know what streaking is, it’s a term that defines the rows, stripes of grass, and patches of uncut grass after the mowing.
Most lawn owners face the problem of streaking during the time they’re learning to mow.
Others tend to make these mistakes even after mowing for years.
Wherever you see yourself, this guide covers all about streaking and why your mower leaves stripes of grass on how to fix it. Without further ado, let’s jump right into the article.
Whether you’re a self-propelled mower or a robotic one, the problem of why my lawn mower leaves a strip of grass remains there.
Sometimes it’s the fault of the mower and other parts of the mower.
While other times it’s the wrong approach of the operator when mowing the lawn resulting in uneven cutting, rows of uncut grass, cutting blade problems, etc.
Below is a list of common causes of the problem of why lawn mowers won’t cut grass properly.
1. Dull or Damaged Blades
If your lawn mower leaves rows of uncut grass, it’s probably because of the dull or damaged blades that have lost their sharpness.
Over time, it’s common for lawn mower blades to become dull, damaged, and worn out, making uneven cuts in the lawn mower.
The best way to avoid this problem is by regularly sharpening the lawn mower blades with a quality blade sharpener or beach grinder.
If you don’t know which one to buy, look through our suggested ones.
- AccuSharp Garden Tool Sharpener
- Smith’s 50603 Lawn Mower Bladev
- MK2 Knife & Tool Sharpener
- Oregon Precision Blade Balancer,
If the problem is serious, replace the damaged blade that has been severely worn out, rusted, warped, curled, or nicked.
As a good rule of thumb, make lawn mower blade maintenance a part of your routine and check the sharpness of the blades before mowing.
However, if any of the blades have been bent due to wear and tear or collision from heavy objects, follow the steps below.
- Unscrew the blade mounting bolt.
- Unbolt the mounting and turn the blades a little.
- Take out the damaged blades using a socket wrench
- Place the new blades in the same position carefully without hurting yourself.
2. Incorrect Blade Size
Blade size is another common reason why lawn mowers row uncut grass across the grass trail.
Therefore, it’s advised to note the size of blades you require and purchase the best fit for the lawn mower.
If you’ve bought a mow with either larger or smaller blades, simply refer to the user manual and find one that well suits your requirements.
Wherever the cause may be, there’s no way you can continue mowing with a dull, damaged, wrong-sized blade.
Using them is both a loophole to the beauty of your lawn and invites pests to enter grass blades and reside there.
3. Unbalanced Blades
Another cause of uncut grass during mowing is the unbalanced blades that were either not installed properly or have left from their position. Due to this, the blade doesn’t cut properly, resulting in shoddy mowing, uneven cutting. Hence, the lawn mower leaves stripes of grass.
How Do You Align Lawn Mower Blades?
Aligning lawn mower blades isn’t tricky at all, as there’s one proven way to do this job.
Simply turn the side of the blade that has moved from its place.
Bring it back to the original position in a way that one side of the blade faces upward while the other side faces backward.
If moving the blades requires heavy elbow grease, consider the hack of placing a wooden block in between the blades to move them slightly.
4. Overlapping
You can’t always blame your mower because you have rows of uncut grass after hours of mowing.
Have you ever drawn a diagram and overlapped the borders? Remember the difference it makes? The same applies to mowing.
Overlapping rows is one of the fundamental lessons of how to mow a lawn professionally, but unfortunately, most people do it wrong.
However, it has proved really effective at giving the cut rows a sharp shape and avoiding uncut rows on your lawn.
Moreover, overlapping the cut rows ensures that no area of the grass is left from cutting.
As per our 10 best lawnmowers experts, the best way to mow is in a straight direction unless your lawn has a lot of bumps and slopes.
Once you’re done cutting one strip of your lawn, overlap it again to ensure there are no marks left on the cut rows.
The golden rule to overlap is to keep a distance of at least 1–2 inches between two rows, so it looks nice and sharp.
Doing this, as mentioned, will also answer your question of why my mower is not cutting evenly.
5. Lack Of Power
Obviously, if the blades don’t have enough power, they will fail to pull the grass upward, resulting in the mower leaving stripes of grass.
Moreover, lack of power also makes it hard for the tires of the mower to balance their weight and push down to the grass.
As a result, the rows of uncut grass seem to overlap the mower rows, giving it an ugly look overall.
Therefore, it’s vital to have an equilibrium between the mower blades and tires in order to achieve a great cut.
Moreover, keep the engine speed normal on average to avoid cutting the same area twice and keep the tire tracks off your lawn.
However, you can also overlap the cutting with each pass you make to avoid mower leaving stripes of grass.
6. Mowing too fast
Mowing is an art, and it can’t be done hurriedly in order to achieve great results. If you’re short on time, it’s best to schedule mowing for some other day or get a robot lawn mower to do the work.
Mowing too fast often results in rows of uncut grass and clumps of grass, also the reason why lawn mowers leave tracks. However, mowing with a mower at full speed, repeating over the same area numerous times, also results in the mower not cutting evenly.
If you’re mowing in a hurry, there’s more than a good chance that you’ll miss grass blades and leave stripes of grass to complete mowing soon.
Because it takes less time, it’s good to consider overlapping techniques or take the time to mow one area at a time for a sharp look.
Therefore, it’s best to mow with a relaxed mind when you’re not short on time and always cut the grass in a straight line.
This will help you get the answer as to why my mower is leaving stripes of grass.
7. Choose A Mowing Pattern!
Deciding on a mowing pattern to go with it is as important as anything else. Some homeowners love the effect of stripes, while others go with cubes or straight lines. Whichever mowing pattern you choose, it’s important for you to stick to it and go with the flow.
In addition, the mowing pattern you choose should also help you hide the dry patches of your lawn and give a lush effect.
If you’re going with a striped mower, only mow the b a back and forth direction so that there are no rows of uncut grass.
Long story short, go with a specific mowing pattern, stick to it and make sure it sits well with your lawn.
In case you change your mind about the mowing pattern in between mowing, simply take a sigh or consider mowing straight until you find a new pattern to mow with.
As a good rule of thumb, it’s best to go with basic patterns such as straight lines, diagonal patterns, checkerboard effects, and others.
8. Slow down
We, at 10best lawnmowers, often come across homeowners who have a habit of mowing at high speed for no reason.
This often makes the lawn mower not cutting well an issue, and you find ways to make your mower cut better.
Most of the time, rows of uncut grass are also, as a result, mowing at high speed, which is what makes you leave one or the other row of grass.
Regardless of the type of mower you use, slowing down is the best and easiest way to avoid streaking made during mowing.
However, riding mowers are an exception to this rule as they’re well suited to mow at higher speeds with full throttle.
9. Clean Mowing Deck
Cleaning the mowing deck is one of the most neglected lawn mower maintenance steps.
Because of this, it’s common to suffer underlying problems such as lawn mowers leaving strips of grass.
Have you ever seen the underside of your mower after mowing? It’s full of dirt, debris, grass clippings, moisture, and other unnecessary material.
Whether dry or wet, mowing grass makes the blades dirty and exposed to moisture.
Because of this, the blades gather clumps of grass underneath the deck mixed with other dirt.
As a result, when you mower the new grass, the mower blades fail to cut the grass blades, resulting in rows of uncut grass.
Cleaning the underneath of the mower should be your regular lawn mower maintenance regimen to free the blades. To do this.
- Turn Off the Mower Engine
- Remove the Spark Plug
- Trip The Mower, Not Above 15 Degrees Incline
- Use Any Hard-Bristled Brush To Scrape Off All The Grass, Mud, Dirt, Debris Carefully While Avoiding Contact With The Mower Blades.
10. Wrong Airflow
Airflow plays a major role in determining the ultimate results of mowing. If there’s a vacuum imbalance in your mower, there’s a good chance that the airflow will take place in an outward direction.
To fix this issue, all you need to do is level the deck in the same position so the air flows in the right direction.
11. Deck Wheels
Have you ever heard of anti-scalp wheels before? These are the wheels present on the deck in the opposite direction.
Unlike normal wheels, anti-scalp wheels are a little above the ground, resulting in low tire pressure that lush in to grow and leaves stripes of grass.
Therefore, always set the deck wheels at the same height, so they are equally above the ground and don’t leave rows of uncut grass.
12. Clogged Deck
A dirty deck means a clogged deck which is also the reason why your mower leaves stripes of grass.
Not only can it affect your mowing but also cause engine troubleshooting problems, stemming from rows of uncut grass.
For this reason, clean the deck after every mowing session to get rid of dirt, debris, stones, grass in minutes.
13. Low-Quality Equipment
The majority of the time, the mower itself is the root cause of leaving stripes of grass.
Over time, the mower loses efficiency and gets exposed to external wear and tear.
Mostly, it’s the blades, motor, engine, wheels, belts that impact the efficiency of the whole machine.
Therefore, our experts at 10bestlawnmowers stress so much about lawn mower maintenance and regularly replace the parts of the mower when rusted, corroded, or deteriorated.
How Can I Cut Without Lines?
Cutting without lines is one of the deepest fantasies of every homeowner, and it’s not tricky at all.
If your mower leaves grass clippings while cutting, the chances are that the grass is either wet or the blades are too dirty to cut.
As a result, the clumps of grass do not get an adequate amount of soil and hide behind the mowed rows.
Therefore, it’s important to clean the lawn first from clumps of grass, toys, unnecessary material, and others.
To clean the lawn, browse through the options in our suggested best leaf blowers and have a powerful assistant to do the cleaning job of your lawn.
Below is a list of possibilities that you may cause stripes of leaves on the lawn.
1. Wet Grass
Mowing on wet grass is the biggest mistake first-time homeowners make while mowing their lawn.
As the blades touch the wet grass, it attracts moisture and sticks all the clippings together, forming clumps of grass.
On the other hand, mowing wet grass also makes the blades dull and damaged, exposed to external wear and tear. Avoid mowing when it’s raining or after you’ve watered the lawn.
2. Tall Grass
If you’ve ever read mowing guides, you would know that there’s a certain height to mow at for better mowing results.
When you think the grass has grown tall enough from its length, it’s best to cut it off when it’s dry.
However, the best practice is to wait at least a week or two before mowing the next time.
How Does A Lawn Mower Blade Cut In The Middle?
Not all lawn mowers cut in the middle because of their specific blade shape that is designed to cut more swaths of grass in the least passes.
However, reel mowers are the exception to this case as they have a cylindrical blade that gets immense power to cut the grass in a scissor action.
This means the blade with cut in the middle but has less speed than regular lawn mower blades.
Why Does My Honda Mower Leave A Strip Of Grass?
Honda lawn mowers are extraordinarily powerful when it comes to cutting the grass, but it still doesn’t avoid the question of why my Honda mower leaves a strip of grass.
The best way to avoid this problem is by taking care of the mowing blades, choosing a mowing pattern, overlapping the right way, mowing at full throttle.
If this still doesn’t solve the problem, try a lawn mower from any other brand and perform regular lawn mower maintenance.
Why Does My Mower Cut Better When I Pull It Backward?
As per observation, lawn mowers cut better when they are moved in the reverse direction instead of forward. It is because of the reverse movement of the blades that continue to spin unless the grass is sliced perfectly.
Should Mower Blades Overlap?
Overlapping blades is actually good in order to avoid rows of uncut grass and gives a sharp cutting.
As a good rule of thumb, overlap as many rows as you can with at least a distance of 7–10 centimeters, which is ideal for having a sharply mowed lawn with no rows of uncut grass.
How Can I Cut My Grass Without Lines?
The best and easiest way to cut your grass without lines is by having two blades in your mower.
Having two blades will help you mow in a straight line and not go out of the boundary. In this way, you can also use the overlap technique and have a lawn with no rows of uncut grass.
Why Is My Push Mower Cutting Lower On One Side?
If your push mower causes uneven mowing, it’s probably because the front of the mower deck isn’t lower than the back. As a result, the blades do not get levelled and cause uneven mowing.
What Does A Lawn Mower Blade Spin?
Except for the push mower that has cylindrical blades, almost every lawn mower blade moves spin in a clockwise direction. However, you can also adjust the direction in which the blade moves as per the required cutting height.
What Are the Best Lawn Mower Blades?
The best lawnmower blades are those that cut well, remain sharp, last longer, and don’t lose their efficiency over a large span. Below, our experts have compiled their recommendations for lawn mower blades. Check it out.
How do I Keep Tire Tracks Off My Lawn?
Tire tracks look very ugly on the lawn, but you can avoid them with a few handy tips. Always now try with near medium to high tire speed, so you have an easy time mowing the exact pattern.
How Do I Know If By Mower Deck Is Bent?
A bent mower deck is of no use, which is why it’s important to regularly check the underside of the mower to see the condition of the deck.
If you’ve seen a bent lawn mower deck, slip it over to bring it back to its place. All you have to do is place the mower on a flat surface, straighten it and enjoy a smooth mowing.
Lawn mowers leaving stripes of grass can be a thing to worry about as it’s an underlying threat to the beauty and health of your lawn.
Whether you’ve had this problem before or maybe not, the guide will help you bring the easiest ways to fix rows of uncut grass and avoid streaking.
The secret to a good mowing that gives a bare-worthy lawn is none other than the best lawn mowers of 2022.
Therefore, we would like to end this guide with our experts recommendation of the 7 best lawn mowers that has eased the lives of hundreds of homeowners and helped them master the art of mowing. Here you go.
