Installing new lawn sprinklers might cause some worry when you have to mow the lawn. You want to cut your grass properly and evenly, but you also don’t want to harm the sprinklers in the process. Use the following guide to learn how you can protect your watering system from the lawn mower’s blades.

How to Avoid Damaging Your Irrigation System

1. Place Yard Flags

Walk around the perimeter of your lawn and locate every sprinkler head. Poke a little plastic yard flag into the grass next to each one so that you’ll see where to avoid while you mow. You can find these yard flags at your local hardware store.

2. Check the Height of Each Head

You also want to see how far each head comes out of the ground. Those that come up too high pose a more significant risk of being damaged than the lower ones.

If you still have the manual from the installation, you can read and find out how high the heads should poke out of the ground. If you don’t, you can most likely find your irrigation system online and see what the online manual says about head height. If some are too high, adjust them to the appropriate height before mowing your lawn.

3. Raise Your Lawn Mower’s Blade Height

Once you start mowing your lawn, be sure to slow down and turn the motor off when you approach the plastic yard flags. You can also adjust the mower’s blade height before cutting the grass around the sprinklers. This will let you confidently cut over the exposed heads without harming them.

4. Install Sprinkler Donuts

For extra protection, you can install donuts, which are plastic or concrete pieces that wrap around the heads. You can run your mower over the area, and the donut will protect the head from the mower’s blades.

5. Try Using a Head Trimmer

If you don’t want to risk mowing the grass near the heads, you can purchase a sprinkler head trimmer. You just push the trimmer into the ground over the component and twist. It will trim the grass that you don’t want to reach with your lawn mower. 

If you need help with lawn sprinkler maintenance, contact the experts at Metro Sod & Seeding in Lincoln, NE. As specialists in landscaping, lawn maintenance, and irrigation systems since 1994, their landscaping professionals can help you find the watering system or lawn mower for your garden and assist you with questions about mowing, mulching, seeding, installing sod, or other lawn care services. Call (402) 730-4421 to schedule an appointment or visit them online to learn more about their services.