# mower hygiene



## ram82 (Dec 19, 2018)

saw some comments on another post from Greendoc on mower hygiene.i cut a couple of families yards .i wear servus boots up to knees to keep potential weed heads off my clothes.blow mower and spray alcohol underneath to kill anything.was gonna convert a hand held sprayer into a portable wash unit with a hose nozzle to spray underneath mower between yards.i also rinse off my boots and spray them with alcohol.also spray my trimmer.thought i may have been over exaggerating because i see no one else do this,but now I'm thinking i am right?hope to hear advice.thank you very much


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Not wrong at all. I remember servicing a customer that had a new puppy. Did not get all of its vaccines yet. My footwear, mower, and trimmer all got sprayed with alcohol. Parvo is carried by traces of fecal matter to an unvaccinated puppy.

On another front, contamination of lawns by different types of turf is a nightmare as well. Not everyone wants a mixed turf. I frequently have to spray out contamination by other grasses. Preventable by washing off mowers and drying them between lawns.


----------



## ram82 (Dec 19, 2018)

thank you Greendoc.do you recommend 70% alcohol,or a bleach mix?will a spray bottle like i use work or would a good rinse then spray solution work best?thanks again.


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I normally do not worry too much about pathogens. Other thing I do not do is mow lawns that are muddy or soaking wet. Water to remove traces of grass clippings and seeds is sufficient. Bleach. Never put bleach on steel because that will cause accelerated rusting.


----------



## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

This is the first time I've heard of this. I can understand washing the mower off and I like to to keep equipment looking nice but this is bordering on much bigger issues


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Moved this to the equipment subforum.


----------



## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

I think clientele matters too. My average customer is a 50/50 mix of centipede and chopped salad, and is a $50 mow.

If I were cutting with my GM1600 I would absolutely be washing it off after.

Although I'm slowly getting everyone on a regimen of Prodiamine.


----------



## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

SCGrassMan said:


> I think clientele matters too. My average customer is a 50/50 mix of centipede and chopped salad, and is a $50 mow.
> 
> If I were cutting with my GM1600 I would absolutely be washing it off after.
> 
> Although I'm slowly getting everyone on a regimen of Prodiamine.


Washing for sure if it's a greens mower but sanitizing it?? Good grief


----------



## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Art_Vandelay said:


> SCGrassMan said:
> 
> 
> > I think clientele matters too. My average customer is a 50/50 mix of centipede and chopped salad, and is a $50 mow.
> ...


Depends. If I ran through some soupy dog poop I might, just because I'm gonna be tempted to charge them for the privilege. Or if they have a fungal infection in the lawn, etc.


----------



## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

SCGrassMan said:


> Art_Vandelay said:
> 
> 
> > SCGrassMan said:
> ...


Yeah still not gonna sanitize it. Hose it off and rock on.


----------



## ram82 (Dec 19, 2018)

SCGrassMan if you are mowing for others i would definitely sanitize after dog poop.ive read somewhere that dog disease can travel from one clients yard to another.dont know if thats true but if your going from a dog yard to another dog yard i wouldnt risk it.especially because i know(assume from stories because i dont have dogs) most people spend more money on dogs than their lawn care provider.


----------



## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

One of the reasons I started mowing my own lawn. At my old place the same guy cut almost all the lawns and the asshole across the street got a fungus bad and had to redo his whole lawn. Very few operators are as conscientious as Greendoc. Nor as knowledeable.


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Pythium, Dollar Spot and Rhizoctonia can be spread by dirty mowers. If you have one or a combination of those diseases active bring money.


----------



## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

the jerk across the street probably got the fungus from overdoing chemicals too. He had an overpriced service that I could see was overdoing it. It was a franchise with a fancy seeder. But they ended up killing his lawn and reseeding it.
I was laughing.


----------



## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

gene_stl said:


> the jerk across the street probably got the fungus from overdoing chemicals too. He had an overpriced service that I could see was overdoing it. It was a franchise with a fancy seeder. But they ended up killing his lawn and reseeding it.
> I was laughing.


Did the fungus make this guy an a-hole and a jerk or was he that way before the fungus?


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I have met a couple of jerk customers in my lifetime. Key is to say "no lawn for you". "Next!!!!!" before they bully you into doing something that kills their lawn or attracts the attention of the chemical enforcement authorities in the state. Want too much Nitrogen at a time when it will cause disease or difficulties keeping up with mowing? No. Want a herbicide application under the wrong conditions. No.


----------



## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> I have met a couple of jerk customers in my lifetime. Key is to say "no lawn for you". "Next!!!!!" before they bully you into doing something that kills their lawn or attracts the attention of the chemical enforcement authorities in the state. Want too much Nitrogen at a time when it will cause disease or difficulties keeping up with mowing? No. Want a herbicide application under the wrong conditions. No.


Or the one who wants you to autoclave your mower before unloading it.


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

yes. More picky or paranoid than me. Next!!!!


----------



## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

I think his fungus was caused by over fertilization. In addition to the fancy service he was out there all the time himself doing stuff without really knowing what the hell he was doing. He wanted to be seen to be spending money.

He revealed himself to be a jerk the minute he moved in.


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I catch a customer spraying or spreading things on a lawn I am treating without asking. "No lawn for your" "Next!" When something goes wrong last thing that happens is someone fessing up and saying "I should not have spread that extra slow release urea on top of your balanced formula". Label limits such as x number of applications per year or no more than x number of oz applied per year or 365 day period are enforced regardless of who made the application and chances are, the commercial applicator is the one on the chopping block for exceeding that.


----------



## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

"No Lawn for You!!" in the voice of the Soup Nazi right? :lol: :lol:


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Yes and "next!!!!!"


----------



## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

I actually have never ever watched an episode of Seinfeld but I knew about the soup nazi for whatever reason and looked up the YouHooToob vids. He is actually based on a real New York City lunch restaraunt denizen.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soup_Nazi


> "According to Nora Ephron's DVD commentary, the first pop culture reference to Yeganeh (though not by name) seems to have come years before the Seinfeld episode, in the 1993 movie Sleepless in Seattle. In the film, a character playing a writer[13] pitches a story for the lifestyle section of the publication to their editor: "This man sells the greatest soup you have ever eaten, and he is the meanest man in America. I feel very strongly about this, Becky; it's not just about the soup."[12]"


----------



## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

deleted

What the hell with your signature links. I think my computer has aids now


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Art_Vandelay said:


> What the hell with your signature links. I think my computer has aids now


Sorry, that was a spam account from India that slipped through.


----------



## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

Ware said:


> Art_Vandelay said:
> 
> 
> > What the hell with your signature links. I think my computer has aids now
> ...


But he had 10/10 nut grass! Lol


----------

