Don't Waste Money On Pricey Lawn Aerators When You Can Rent One For Less At Home Depot

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Have you noticed that your lawn is looking a little worse for wear and could do with some TLC? Using a lawn aerator is an effective way of giving your backyard a new lease of life. There are a few methods when it comes to aerating your lawn, it can be as simple as using a garden fork to manually pierce holes into your lawn to encourage air circulation, all the way to using a heavy-duty electric aerator, which will provide a bigger lawn with a deeper level of aeration to encourage healthy new growth. Rather than investing in your own lawn aerator, consider renting a compact powered one from Home Depot instead for as little as $81 for 4 hours, or $116 for the full day to aerate your lawn for less.

You may not know if your lawn needs a helping hand in the first place, but there are a few easy ways to tell if you need to aerate your lawn before you commit to rental costs. If your lawn dries out quickly in the heat and becomes extremely soggy in the rain or snow seasons, this is a clear indicator that it lacks proper drainage and may need the help of a power aerator. Also, your lawn could benefit from this if it's heavily used, as high-traffic can lead to compaction. If your lawn becomes too compacted, it essentially can't breathe and won't be able to process nutrients properly. Breaking up the top layers of your lawn using an aerator will allow air and water to reach the grass roots and will remove any dead plant material that sits on top.

Keeping your lawn looking healthy and green requires maintenance, and aeration is a key part of this. However, even though this is an important gardening task to do, it doesn't need to be done that regularly, once a year will do; therefore, renting an aerator is a much more sensible option than buying one. 

To buy a heavy-duty, good-quality lawn aerator you're looking at a few thousand dollars. For example, a Classen 18-inch Compact Aerator will set you back over $4,000. However, you can rent the same model from Home Depot, aerating 23,000 square feet per hour, for just over $100 for the day. This is a far better option than buying a mediocre aerator that will do a below-average job, considering you only need to use it once a year. Plus, buying one would also mean you'd need to have ample space to store it, which a lot of homeowners do not have, and you'd have to maintain the machine, buying fuel and investing in repairs. 

If your lawn is a lot bigger than the average backyard, you may want to rent a larger model, like the Easy Steer Heavy-Duty Pro Aerator, which tackles 32,000 sq ft per hour. Home depot offers a 4-hour rental for just $84. There is also a towable aerator that attaches to riding lawnmowers and is best for larger properties. It can aerate 3 acres per hour and costs only $44 a day to rent. So save that extra cash for something you'll use more often, like a lawnmower or built-in sprinklers.