What is the best way to clean a lawn mower deck? {Insider Secrets 🤫}

It’s no secret, that having a clean lawn mower deck is a challenge.

Especially when it comes to removing the caked-up grass from the underside of the deck. 

So, what is the best way to remove caked-on grass from your mower deck?

Is there a product or method that works best to get rid of the grass?

That's exactly what we are going to get into today. 

After all, removing caked-on grass from your lawn mowers deck is part of regular lawn mower maintenance. 

Below you will find the INSIDER methods lawn care pros use to clean their mower decks.

How do you clean a lawn mower deck?

Well, a good place to start is using the leaf blower to remove the grass off of the top of the deck at the end of each day. 

But that will only get you so far. 

And if you want to prevent your lawn mower's deck from rusting out or failing prematurely. You really need to remove the caked-on stuff on the bottom of the deck. 

So how do you do that? 

Well, let’s find out!

Getting to Your Mower Deck's Underside

The first step to cleaning your lawn mower's deck is to get access to it. 

If you have a common residential riding mower, you can pull the deck off in about 10 minutes once you get the hang of it. 

And if you have a flip-up deck, you don't have much to figure out.

On the other hand, if you are trying to clean a commercial mower. Getting to the underside of your deck SAFELY can be a challenge, and may require a bit of innovation. 

You could build a ramp like the one pictured above, or you could purchase a jack to help you get to the underside of your deck. 

Using a Scraper to Clean Your Mower Deck

Here's the deal, when it comes to the underside, most lawn care professionals simply scrape their mower decks. 

That's it, that's the BIG SECRET.

And they typically don’t use any product when it comes to removing caked-on grass from the underside of the deck. 

So when it comes to cleaning the underside of your lawn mower deck, you may just have to get your hands dirty. 

You can use several tools to scrape your mower deck including a: 

• Lawn mower deck scraping blade,

• Putty knife, 

• Flat pry bar.

However, it may be a good idea to treat the deck after you clean it to prevent grass from caking on the next time. To learn more on that keep reading.

What is the best product to clean a mower deck with?

When it comes to cleaning the rest of the mower. Including the top of the deck, what product should you use?

According to our research, the resounding answer for the best product to clean your mower deck with is Purple Power. Which is a commonly available degreaser. 

41% of lawn care pros reported purple power as being their favorite deck cleaning product. 

Further, we found that Simple Green was a close second taking in 31% of the vote. 

Finally, the 3rd product recommended by lawn care professionals when it comes to cleaning a lawn mower deck was Ballard's Mower Magic which snatched up 7% of the vote. 

Ballard's products are not as commonly available as its competitors are, so they can be harder to get a hold of. And many lawn care pros simply have not gotten to try the product, but they work great.

Good news! If you want to give it a try we have partnered with Ballard to get you exclusive deals. Not only do they sell great mower cleaning products, but they also offer a great lawn mower deck scraper. 

One of the many benefits of being a GreenPal Vendor is access to exclusive deals!

“Just use a pressure washer”

20% of the lawn care pros that responded to our poll suggested that they don’t use ANY cleaning product. But simply use a pressure washer to clean their lawn mower. 

While others reported using one of the products mentioned above along with a pressure washer. 

Either way, a pressure washer is a much better way to clean your mower and mower deck than a garden hose. 

Whether or not you use a product. 

How often should I clean my lawn mower deck?

This is crazy but some lawn care pros find they NEVER have an issue with caked-on grass. 

While others need to clean their lawn mower decks 2-3 times a week. 

So really, how often you clean your lawn mower deck will depend on how often the need arises. 

For example, lawn care pros that cut lawns in sandy areas find that the deck tends to clean itself.

The most common answer lawn care pros give is that they scrape the deck each time they sharpen their lawn mower blades. 

And as we have covered in other articles, 75% of lawn care pros sharpen their blades at least once a week. 

Ideally, you want to scrape your lawn mower deck before any caked-on grass has time to dry. 

Due to the varying conditions you may experience, the answer to how often you need to clean your lawn mower deck can vary from after every lawn, to never.

Treating your Mower Deck After Scraping

Once you have scraped your lawn mower's underside, some suggest that it’s a good idea to treat the deck with a product to prevent caking next time. 

Simply using a product like WD-40, or even Pam can prevent grass from caking on your lawn mower deck in between cleaning. 

That's really all there is to it, scrape your deck, and wash with a product if you choose to.

And once the deck is dry, treat the underside with a quick spray to prevent buildup down the road. 

End of the Day

When it comes to cleaning the top of your lawn mower’s deck and underside. You will need more than a little bit of toilet paper. 

Here's the secret, most lawn care pros find that simply scraping the deck is more than enough to maintain their lawn care equipment.

But when you do wash the rest of your mower you may want to consider a product like Simple Green, Ballards, or Purple Power to really make your equipment shine.

Finally, don’t forget to post-treat the deck with a product like WD-40 to prevent build-up on the underside down the road. 

Looking for more to read? Check out our guide to starting a lawn care company.