The Worst Time Of Day To Mow Your Lawn (And Why It Matters)

When you're looking for the best methods to mow your lawn more efficiently, you might focus on things like sharpening your mower's blade regularly and mulching the grass clippings. Such techniques will keep the lawn healthier and allow you to finish the job faster. As part of maintaining efficiency in your lawn cutting routine, though, you should also avoid mowing the lawn at the wrong time of the day. 

There are a lot of reasons pointing to the fact that mowing first thing in the morning – just after sunrise — is the worst time to cut the grass. Not only might you anger your neighbors by mowing before 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., but the blades of grass are usually covered in dew or overnight rain that hasn't had a chance yet to evaporate in the sun. Cutting wet grass makes your feet wet and leads to stains on your shoes and clothing as the cut blades of grass release chlorophyll.

Mowing your lawn at the wrong time of the day could be bad for your mower, too. The clumped, damp grass can clog the machine, placing stress on the engine and leading to expensive repair bills. A mower deck that's constantly clogged with wet grass may rust faster, shortening the lifespan of the machine. Cutting grass at this time of the day is about more than stains on clothing and clogged mowers, though. Learn more about why an early-morning mowing session is bad for the health of your yard.

If you continue mowing the grass at the wrong time of the day, it could be one of the most common ways you're killing your grass without knowing it. Wet grass blades are more susceptible to tearing instead of cutting, which is similar to what happens when you have dull blades on the mower. The wet blades are more likely to tear instead of cut sharply because they tend to fold over when they're covered in moisture, which makes it more difficult for the mower to make a clean cut. Sharply cut blades heal faster and retain moisture better than torn blades. Torn grass is also typically more susceptible to stress from drought and damage from excess heat. 

Also, when you mow damp grass just after sunrise, you can leave tracks from the machine's wheels in the lawn, smashing down the grass. Wet grass blades are more susceptible to compression damage. If the soil is also damp in the early morning, the tires might compact it, creating unsightly ruts in your lawn.

Another problem that may occur well after you mow wet grass is the appearance of disease. The dampness helps diseases spread more easily throughout the yard. You may introduce fungal diseases and other turf diseases to the grass by regularly cutting it when it's wet. If you have these kinds of diseases, you might see a circle of brown, dead plants surrounded by a yellow-brown ring where the fungus is spreading.

Perhaps you go to work early in the morning (or like to sleep in), so you don't have to worry about cutting the yard at the worst time of the day. Another time to avoid mowing is at the hottest time of the day, which is 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in most locations. If you cut your grass during this time, you risk causing it to dry out. Grass naturally struggles to retain moisture during the hottest hours of the day because of the heat from the sun, and cutting it at this time can speed up this drying-out process.

Mowing in high temperatures is stressful for the lawn mower, too. High ambient temperatures alone don't generally cause the lawn mower to overheat. However, high temperatures pose added stress on the machine, which means the chances of possible overheating problems from low engine oil or clogged air filters become significantly higher. The overheated mower could also suffer broken and damaged engine parts, which could lead to a fire in the worst-case scenario. If you're operating a push mower during the hottest time of the day, it can be exhausting for you as well, as it would probably feel like you're working inside a sauna. You might expose yourself to heat stroke or sunburn.

So when is the best time to mow? It's simply better for your health, as well as your lawn's, to wait for lower temperatures in the evening before you start working with the mower. Generally, mowing between 4 and 6 p.m. will be the best time for most people.