The ideal conditions for strimming a lawn are when the grass is dry but the sun isn’t blazing. Mid mornings, when the dew has evaporated and the summer sun isn’t at full strength, are ideal.
But the weather sometimes can make you question whether or not you should use your grass trimmer. Heavy rain in the hours before you want to strim grass can spoil your plans – yet it’s still tempting to go ahead.
The risks of strimming a wet lawn
1. Slippery slopes
There will be less chance of you slipping when strimming level surfaces, but there is still a risk. Thousands of people each year suffer injuries while gardening. Check your lawn for your own safety. No matter when you’re strimming, you should always wear full protective gear such as gloves, eye protection, trousers and boots for safety reasons.
2. Damage to your cordless grass trimmer
Your cordless grass trimmer shouldn’t be exposed to water as it might suffer water ingress and damage over time.
While strimming dewy grass occasionally won’t matter, strimming grass in the rain is a risk to the tool and its 56V lithium-ion battery, and damaged equipment is a risk for the user too.
3. Clumping
Wet grass is harder to cut with grass trimmer wire - the weight of the soaked grass makes it difficult and, if the grass is very long and gone to seed, it will expel water droplets (see above). You’ll find after you’ve strimmed wet grass, it won’t be a level cut and you’ll have to follow-up with the lawn mower to even it out.
Plus, it’s sticky and makes your battery grass trimmer hard to clean. The wet grass will stick to the shaft and trimmer head, but it needs to come off to stop the grass from rotting.
4. Lawn damage
If you do slip, it’s possible you’ll scrape the top layer of turf with your footwear, which will need repairing with new turf or lawn seed. If you really must strim wet grass, you can. But make sure it’s only once in a while.
Cutting grass when it’s wet also increases the chances of lawn diseases taking a hold and damaging your lawn. Wet, mild conditions are a breeding ground for fungal spores and bacteria that cause lawn infections like Dollar Spot. They can enter through the cut grass ends very quickly and infect your lawn.
Ideal conditions for strimming grass
If it’s been a while since you were able to strim your grass, don’t worry. Leaving your grass looking more like a meadow is good for bees and other beneficial insects that come into your garden.
In fact, the best conditions to strim your grass are the same as when mowing your lawn. In summary the best conditions are:
- On a dry but not too sunny day
- When the air is cool
- When the grass is dry
- When there is still daylight left in the day for the grass to recover
Finally, before each use of your battery grass trimmer, make sure the tool and the battery have not been subjected to water ingress.
Our cordless grass trimmers come with exceptional warranties of up to 5 years but this only covers defects arising under normal usage and doesn’t cover exposure to water or rain, or improper maintenance or storage. If you’re planning to store a battery for more than 30 days without using it, make sure you’re keeping it in a moisture-free environment.