The Genius Lawn Mower Trick That'll Keep You Cool In The Summer Heat

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For many of us, mowing the lawn is a necessary evil — a marathon of endurance bolstered by a generous layer of bug spray, all done under the heat of the baking summer sun. It can feel like we're on the losing side of a competition, the heat of our frustration pitted against the powerful fingers of the sun's rays. The sun usually comes out on top in this contest. If only there was a trick that would allow us lawn warriors to enjoy the cool of our portable porch fan from the discomfort of our lawn mowers. As it turns out, there is.

With the help of a few batteries or USB chargers and built-in clip, brave grass soldiers have learned to make mowing the lawn a lot easier. Using the lawn mower's handle as a perch for the fan's clip, they're able to position a portable fan in the direction of the face and body. This creates a personal breeze-for-one for the person mowing the lawn.

Some of the fans are basic — just one or two speeds, a slot for batteries, and a clip on the bottom of the fan. Others, like the Koonie portable clip-on fan, boasts three speeds, USB charging capabilities, and an LED display. Many of the portable fans also come with an adjustable neck that allows you to position the fan in the direction of your face and body. And as far as power sources go, most of them either rely on batteries or a charge from a USB device to operate for up to 10 or more hours. (Hopefully, you're not mowing for that long.)

Many of the lawn warriors who have adopted this practice have MacGyvered a plain ol' clip-on desk fan. This allows it to sit on top of their lawn beast's handles as it munches on the grass. However, there's a better method for mowing the lawn and keeping cool. Enter the stroller fan.

This iteration of the portable fan doesn't have a clip on the bottom. Rather, there are three flexible tripod legs that can be adjusted to grip the lawn mower's handle like fingers. Originally made to attach to the handles of a stroller to keep the baby on board cool on a hot summer's day, the fan's design also works with the handle of a lawn mower. More importantly, as the vibrations from the mower jostle and jiggle the machine's handle, the wrap-around grip on the fan keeps it hanging on tight. 

Additionally, some of the fans of this style, like the PANERGY baby stroller fan, have oscillation mechanisms built into the piece's design. These move the fan side to side automatically, ensuring broader coverage on your body when the summer heat is at its worst. Finally, they're pretty small, which means you can fit more than one on the handle of the mower, guaranteeing you more cooling action as the sun's heat rises.

The coolest fans, like the Wavmill misting stroller fan, offer an additional cooling mechanism — tiny little water droplets. The problem with most fans is that they blow the available air around. While this might seem obvious, it's worth taking a deeper dive into this fact. Basically, if the air blowing through the fan's blades is hot, the fan will just blow hot air. 

Fans with misters blow micro drops of water into the air, which evaporate quickly. It's the quick evaporation action that makes the fan cool the air. The rapid evaporation rate is also why you don't get soaked to the bone when you walk by a mister on your porch, though in the battle against the most punishing summer temperatures, getting soaked may not be a bad thing.

For homes that have mister systems on the back patio, the air temperature can be reduced by as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit in warm, dry climates and as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit in more humid climates. But it isn't only stationary lawn misting systems that work this kind of magic. Misting fans, including the portable kind, are capable of significantly cooling you down as well. Short of mowing your lawn less, there are few ways as effective at keeping you cool as a portable stroller fan with a mister attached when you're out cutting the grass.