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Manual Mowers

posted by Annie B. Bond Jan 13, 1999 9:37 am
6 comments

The gushing exhaust from lawn mowing equipment currently contributes to a
staggering 30 percent of overall U.S. vehicle pollution! By the year 2001,
emissions from residential lawn mowers and tractors will have been reduced by
40 percent due to an agreement between the EPA and manufacturers.
While an excellent step in the right direction, manual mowers reduce
emissions by a perfect 100 percent.

If the blades are kept properly sharpened and the machine is well oiled
(jojoba oil works beautifully), manual mowers work well. Even
if you have to push a little harder here and there, they cut down on noise
pollution, save money, and completely eliminate hydrocarbon and nitrogen
oxide. Not a bad trade-off.

More on Lawns & Gardens (134 articles available)
More from Annie B. Bond (3248 articles available)

6 comments

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6 comments

add your comment »
6 comments add your comment
Caralien S.

I just bought the Scott's 18" Supreme mower ($99; free shipping on Amazon). Put it together wearing carpenter's gloves (20 min) then mowed the lawn (in dress and flip flops). We have 1/4 acre and it took me 30 minutes.

Love it.

John Sullivan

I bought a "task force" 5 blade, 20" reel push mower from lowes and it works great! It was only $129, including a grass catcher. However, you are supposed to leave the grass clippings on your lawn -- they actually act as natural fertilizer. Of course, you can't let your grass grow too long or you will have to go over and over the grass to get it cut. Many people complain that they are too hard to push -- my comment to that is that it is easier to push a 30 pound push mower versus a 55 pound gas mower, and we all need a little excersize! Like the article points out, you cut out polution by 100% versus a gas mower, and your not walking behind a loud, fuming machine! I might add that my lawn is only 2000 sqaure feet, so everything is relative. It takes me 25 minutes to mow the lawn... a breaze. John

rhonda m.

thanks a bunch i will definitely check bot hof those options out.

Bertha Bikulcs

If you go to ConsumerReports.org (Greener Choices section), you'll be able to find ratings for lawn mowers.

Fel Rog
  • Fel Rog says
  • Jul 22, 2007 10:10 PM

From all my research Brill sells the best "reel mowers", Just make sure it cuts your type grass.

rhonda m.

does anyone know of any comparisons of manual mowers & how well they work? somehow i have a feeling that the cheapy we got from lowes is not the best one out there...

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