Lawn sweepers are an essential tool for keeping your lawn neat and tidy. They can efficiently pick up leaves, grass clippings, and other debris, leaving your lawn looking clean and well-manicured.
Key Points:
- Lawn sweepers are essential tools for keeping lawns clean and well-manicured by efficiently picking up debris.
- Proper maintenance of lawn sweepers is crucial to ensure they last for years and function efficiently, including cleaning the brushes, emptying the hopper, checking the tires, lubricating moving parts, and storing them properly.
- Lawn sweepers come in different sizes and styles, and the type purchased depends on the debris to be cleaned, the size of the property, and the speed at which it needs to be cleaned.
However, like any other piece of lawn equipment, proper maintenance is essential for ensuring your lawn sweeper lasts for years to come. Neglecting these essential tasks can have direct consequences on the health and lushness of your turf.
Fortunately, these machines can easily be cared for to perform well on natural grass, a synthetic lawn, and a synthetic grass and natural turf blades combination, which gives your turf a natural luster. Sometimes, some extra care is needed to make sure our equipment can keep the grass clean and debris free.
Here are some tips on how to properly maintain your lawn sweeper for longevity and effortless lawn care.
How to Care for a Lawn Sweeper
A lawn sweeper can clean up debris from storms or instances of heavy foot traffic, and other instances where your lawn needs help. Proper maintenance of your lawn sweeper is crucial to ensure it lasts for years and functions efficiently.
Much smaller than a street maintenance sweeper, the power sweeping accomplished by these garden products is still impressive. With all the power required to give your lawn constant maintenance, many of the sweeper components need to be regularly cleaned and replaced.
Clean the Brushes
The brushes on your lawn sweeper can become clogged with debris, which can affect their performance. Use a wire brush or garden hose to clean the brushes after each use to avoid giving time for mud and rocks to grow hard and become fixed inside of the unit.
If severely stopped-up restorative maintenance steps need to be taken to disassemble the guard around the brushes until the blockage can be dislodged.
Empty the Hopper
Make sure to empty the hopper after each use to prevent it from becoming too heavy and damaging the sweeper.
The hopper holds the collected waste and can become ungainly as it becomes too full. Heavy debris like rocks and garden gravel can make the machine much heavier. Make sure to dump the lawn waste whenever it becomes too full or while cleaning the machine.
Check the Tires
Check the tires regularly to ensure they are properly inflated and in good condition. Often lawn sweepers can be pushed or towed behind a tractor, and having good tires can add many benefits to the sweeping process.
Deflated tires will be hard to move, and the extra weight can cause compaction ad other soil issues.
Lubricate Moving Parts
Lubricate any moving parts, such as wheels and bearings, to prevent rust and ensure smooth operation. Engine components and tanks, and valves need proper lubrication added to aid in cooling and prolonging the life of fluids and mechanical parts.
Check your user manual to see which areas need frequent lubrication and make sure they are getting the required amount.
Store Properly
Store your lawn sweeper in a dry, protected area to prevent rust and damage from the elements. If you keep it in the rain, it is likely some aspects will become damaged and not perform as well in the future. Rodents and other pests can also invade exposed equipment in search of liquid and protection from predators and the elements.
Keep your equipment stored safely to prevent these common issues.
What are Lawn Sweepers?
Lawn sweepers, also known as leaf sweepers or lawn vacuums, are gardening tools designed to pick up debris on your lawn. They work by using brushes or rotating blades to sweep debris into a hopper, which can be emptied when full.
Lawn sweepers come in different sizes and styles, and they can be towed behind a lawn tractor or pushed manually. The type of lawn sweepers you buy or rent for your yard work depends on what debris you will clean, how large your property is, and how quickly you need the job done.
Other Types of Lawn Sweepers and Their Benefits
Lawn sweepers are known by different names, depending on their style and function. Exactly how your lawn sweeper removes debris has a lot to do with what it is called and how it is referred to by lawn care professionals.
Most lawn sweepers will either suck, push, or press down the lawn debris, leaving you with a flat, clean lawn.
The table below has common names for various lawn sweepers and their benefits to your lawn.
| Type of Lawn Sweeper | Benefit |
| Lawn vacuums | Lawn vacuums are similar to lawn sweepers, but they have a more powerful suction feature that can pick up heavier debris such as acorns or pine cones |
| Lawn Rakes | Lawn rakes are manual tools that can be used to gather leaves and debris and are lightweight and easy to maneuver in tight spaces |
| Lawn Rollers | Lawn rollers are heavy cylindrical tools that can be used to smooth out and level the lawn after sweeping or raking and are useful for creating an even, professional-looking lawn |
How do Lawn Sweepers Work?
The mechanics behind lawn sweepers is similar to that of other engine-driven lawn tools. Lawn sweepers work by using brushes or blades to sweep debris off the lawn and into a hopper.
They are usually attached to a lawn tractor or pushed manually, and the brushes rotate as the sweeper moves forward. The rotating brushes pick up debris and sweep it into the hopper, which can be emptied when full.
Some lawn sweepers come with a mulching feature that chops up leaves and other debris before depositing them into the hopper.
If you have a large property with many trees, you will want to use a lawn sweeper capable of picking up and mulching larger diameter branches. On a lawn with only grass clippings to contend with, a power broom or other dethatching rake may be the only lawn sweeper you need.
To push out waterlogged soil and give a bumpy lawn a smoother look, a lawn sweeper that has a heavy roller attachment can be used in early spring when the ground is still hard and wet.