Toro DH 220 - Effective Operating Tips for Mowing

OperatingTips
•Forthebestperformance,operatetheengineat
themaximumspeed.Themowerrequiresairto
thoroughlycutgrassclippings,sodonotsetthe
height-of-cuttooloworcompletelysurroundthe
mowerinuncutgrass.Alwaysleaveonesideof
themowerfreefromuncutgrasstoallowtheairto
bedrawnintothemower.
•Cutthegrassslightlylongerthannormaltoensure
thatthecuttingheightofthemowerdoesnotscalp
anyunevenground.Whencuttinggrasslonger
than6inches(15cm)tall,cutthelawntwiceto
ensureanacceptableappearance.
•Itisbesttocutonlyabout1/3ofthegrassblade.
Donotcutmorethanthatunlessthegrassis
sparseoritislatefallwhengrassgrowsmore
slowly.
•Alternatethemowingdirectiontokeepthegrass
standingstraight.Thisalsohelpsdisperse
clippingsandenhancesdecompositionand
fertilization.
•Grassgrowsatdifferentratesatdifferenttimesof
theseason.Tomaintainthesamecuttingheight,
whichisagoodpractice,mowmoreofteninearly
spring.Asthegrassgrowthrateslowsinmid
summer,mowlessfrequently.
•Ifthegrassislongerthannormal,orifitcontains
ahighdegreeofmoisture,raisethecuttingheight
higherthanusual,cutthegrassatthatsetting,
andthencutthegrassagainatthelower,normal
setting.
•Ifyoumuststopthemachinewhilemowing,you
mayleaveaclumpofgrassclippingsonyourlawn.
Toavoidthis,dothefollowing:
–Engagethebladesandmovetoapreviously
cutarea.
–Dispersetheclippingsevenlybyraisingthe
mower1or2height-of-cutsettingswhile
drivingforwardwiththebladesengaged.
•Usethewashoutportstocleanclippingsanddirt
fromtheundersideofthemoweraftereachuse.If
grassanddirtbuildupinsidethemower,thecutting
qualitywilleventuallybecomeunsatisfactory.
•Maintainsharpbladesthroughouttheseason.
Sharpbladescutgrasscleanlywithouttearingor
shreddingthegrassblades.Tearingandshredding
thegrassturnsitbrownattheedges,whichslows
itsgrowthandincreasesthechanceofdisease.
Every30days,checkthebladesforsharpness
andledownanynicks.
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