Most Lawnmowers Have This Common Problem And It Can Be Easily Solved With Just Zip Ties

When it comes to lawnmowers, there’s a fascinating science that works behind the scenes. Unlike scissors, lawnmowers cut the grass using the principles of airflow and rotating blades. You pull the operating lever from one hand, the recoil starter from the other, and the motor starts whirring. The airflow explosion spurred by the motor provokes the blade of lush grass to lift upwards. As soon as it stands erect, the sharp rotating blade swivels around vigorously and rips apart the grass blade, as science content creator Destin (@smartereveryday) illustrated in a slow-motion clip.

Using a zip tie on your lawnmower

All of this happens all by itself. All you need to do is start the motor so the mower can do its job. But this is where the mower starts throwing a spanner in the works. At some point while the mower’s blades are ruffling through the grass, chopping its tippy edges, the shut lever and the recoil starter start raising a rumpus. Oftentimes, they abruptly change their alignment, recoiling to their resting positions, and stopping the mower altogether. Lately, many gardeners have discovered a clever trick to prevent this from happening. In a video, TikTok user Lisa (@lisamay72) shared how to use a “zip tie” to keep them fixated in their positions so the mower can happily cut the grass.

“You know when you are mowing the lawn and you have to squeeze the handle to keep it going, but you have to, like, bend down to pick something up to move out of the way, here’s your hack. Get a zip tie. And when you need to hold the handle down, it’s right there,” she explained and displayed a black zip tie hanging loosely on the top lever of the mower.

How to use a zip tie?

A zip tie is a plastic strip or cord that can be threaded at the end and tightened to fasten something, just like the clasping of a bracelet. As Lisa demonstrated, all you need to do is attach the zip to the operating handle of your lawnmower. Wrap it around in such a way that the zip tie grasps both the operational handle and the larger metal handle used to push the machine. Hold the handle down and slide the zip tie so it will stay in its position as long as the mower is cutting the grass. Once you’re done, you can slide the zip tie to the middle to loosen the handle once again and stop the mower.

Zip tie to the rescue

A zip tie is not just a brilliant add-on to make your lawnmowing effortless, but also an excellent solution to reviving an old lawnmower whose cables might be catching rust and dust in the garden garage. In a video, @HomeGaragechannel, a gardener, shared how the self-propelled cables of his lawnmower got stuck when he checked it after a long period. He checked his engine to see if it still worked, but he didn’t want to buy new cables for the mower to work. To figure out a way he could bypass the mower’s safety system, he experimented with a zip tie. It worked.

“All you need to do is use a zip tie to close the flywheel brake, which will also allow the ignition system to work. You’ll also need to use a zip tie around the spark plug wire. That way, you’ll have a safety stop for the engine. Then, once you know that the engine works, you can decide to buy a new cable,” the gardener explained to the viewers.

Zip tie - The all-time handy tinkerer for your lawnmower

The parts of your lawnmower are unpredictable. Any one of them, including the lever, operating handle, cables, or recoil starter, can throw a tantrum the moment you pull or push them to start the mower. In any case, your zip tie is a handy gardening tool that will propel these fussy parts to work for you, not against you.

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