Maintenance for Safety Before operating your mower, familiarize yourself with its maintenance procedures. Study your operator's manual carefully. Look for loose nuts and bolts. Blade sharpness is a key to efficient mowing. Inspect the blades often, and when they become too dull for additional sharpening, replace them.
Dull blades can be dangerous.
Hazards increase when you are having problems with the equipment. Rotary mowers are often equipped with runners and safety chain guards. To avoid excessive wear on the runners, keep the mower just high enough so that it doesn't ride on the runner shoes. The chain guards reduce the possibility of objects being thrown from under the mower. Be sure chain guards are maintained and kept in place.