Use These Tactics To Avoid Hitting Your Lawn Sprinklers With Your Mower
Having in-ground lawn sprinklers can help keep your lawn properly watered and looking its best, but you'll be in for a major headache -- and an unnecessary repair bill -- if you make the mistake of running over one of the sprinkler heads with your mower. It's easy enough to inadvertently hit a sprinkler head when you're mowing, especially if it's hidden by the long grass or you're momentarily distracted for any number of reasons. While being acutely aware of the location of each of your sprinkler heads can limit the risk of making this mistake, there are some other tactics that you can employ the prevent this issue from happening.
Adjust Your Mower Deck
A largely foolproof way to avoid hitting your lawn sprinkler heads with your mower and causing damage is to adjust the height of the lower cutting deck. Grab a measuring tape and measure the distance from the ground to the top of each sprinkler head in your yard. Note the largest number -- in all likelihood, the numbers will be very similar, but you need to note the biggest height so your mower deck will clear all of them. Then, follow the instructions in your lawnmower's manual to learn how to adjust the height of the deck. When you believe it's high enough, pass the machine over a sprinkler head when the blade isn't turning and make sure there's enough clearance. Now, when you cut the lawn, you won't cause any damage if you run over a lowered sprinkler head. If you do accidentally damage your sprinklers, talk with a professional, like Krupske Sprinkler Systems, for more information.
Trim Around The Sprinkler Heads First
An easy way to be able to always see the location of the sprinkler heads is to trim around them with a whipper-snipper-style trimmer before you use your lawnmower. With the former tool, you can accurately remove the tall grass around the sprinklers that might otherwise impede your ability to see them. Then, when you pass with the mower, you'll be able to clearly see the trimmed area of your grass and know to steer clear of it.
Add Some Color
Many sprinkler heads are black, which prevents them from standing out -- and, it might prevent you from seeing them during mowing. A simple way to increase their visibility when you're mowing the lawn is to add some fluorescent paint to the top of each sprinkler head. Provided you do so carefully, they'll be easily visible when you're walking around the lawn with your mower, but shouldn't be visible enough to detract from the beauty of your yard.