Going Green: Push Reel Mowers
Push reel mowers… you may have seen them in old television shows, or in old movies. You know those lawn mowers with a wheel at the bottom that cut’s the grass? Yup, that’s a push reel mower. But things sure have changed with regards to how these types of lawn mowers work! They aren’t your daddy’s or grandpa’s push reel mower.
There are many benefits of the push reel mowers, especially for those who are looking to go green. The first obvious benefit is that you don’t need to spend any money on gas! Since these are powered manually, you do not need to spend any money on gas, and with gas prices these days, that is a huge blessing. Push reel mowers, or manual mowers, also don’t pollute the environment, whereas their counterpart, pollute the environment releasing tons of emissions into the air. According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, mowing your lawn with a gas-powered lawn mower for just one hour produces as much pollution as driving your car for 4 hours. That’s a lot of pollution!
Another benefit of push reel mowers is the fact that you can get some good exercise, for free, without having to start up your car and go to the gym. This helps to save you money also, since it can be incorporated into an at home exercise program.
Push reel mowers are also quiet, allowing you to not disturb your neighbors. You can easily talk with someone, or just enjoy listening to music on your mp3 player while mowing. Reel mowers also leave the clippings on your lawn, which act as fantastic fertilizer, to help keep your grass healthy. (You can get a push reel mower with a clipping catcher bag attachment.)
Lastly, the push reel mower doesn’t need much maintenance at all. Blade sharpening only needed to be done every couple of years (up to 8-10 years for some of the higher end mowers.) Using some oil to lube up the blades every once in a while is all it will take maintenance-wise. And, to store it will take less space too!
If you want to takes steps to start going green, then getting a push reel mower and using it can be a great way to cut back on gas usage and to reduce your carbon footprint.
