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Best Mulching Lawn Mowers for 2024 – Buyers Guide

Are you planning to purchase a mulching lawn mower? Then familiarizing yourself with what is a mulching lawn mower would help you make the right decision.

In this way, you will know if you need this kind of equipment for your lawn.

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What is a Mulching Mower

Best Mulching Lawn Mowers for 2024

1. Honda HRX217VKA Self-Propelled Mulching Lawn Mower

Honda HRX217VKA Self-Propelled Mulching Lawn Mower

Honda HRX217VKA

Honda’s engines have been used in lawn mowers for every brand under the sun over the years, but the fact remains that if you want a truly reliable lawn mower that’s built exactly to the specs of the engine you’re using, Honda makes the best. 


This simple but powerful mulching lawn mower from Honda is without a doubt the best walk-behind mulching mower you’ll find on the market.


With durable blades supplied as standard, and options for side, base, and bag discharge, you can easily cut and mulch with minimal effort, while being truly proud of the garden machinery you’re walking behind.

Pros

  • 21” cutting width

  • Simple maintenance

  • Most reliable lawn mower

  • brand

  • Self-propelled

  • Fine mulch

  • Well built

  • Easy to clean

  • Bagging options

Cons

  • N/A

2. Sun Joe MJ403E Corded Mulching Mower

Sun Joe MJ403E Corded Mulching Mower

Sun Joe MJ403E

Sun Joe is a fantastic budget brand for lawn maintenance. Their mowers are reliable, sturdy, and easy to clean and even boast some of the most intuitive designs on the market.


This corded electric mower isn’t without problems, but they are largely down to size and the simple fact it’s corded, which makes cutting your lawn a little bit less relaxing as you’ll need to stay aware of the wire at all times.


However, for the savings, compared with other petrol or cordless electric mulching mowers, it’s well worth a try, and the mulching capabilities are surprisingly good for this sort of price bracket.

Pros

  • Easy to clean

  • Stores well

  • Easy to remove bag

  • Effective mulching

  • Great value

  • Trusted budget brand

Cons

  • 17” cutting width

  • Corded electric (trailing wires)


3. Troy-Bilt B&S 550Ex Mulching Lawn Mower

Troy-Bilt B&S 550Ex Mulching Lawn Mower

Troy-Bilt B&S 550Ex

Troy-Bilt makes durable tools that last. This lawn mower is no exception. However, there’s a good reason lawn mowers, especially mulching types, aren’t usually made in this design these days – the arched blade chamber clogs very easily and is pretty much completely incapable of cutting wet grass.


However, as we always advise gardeners to avoid cutting wet grass, if you’re doing it right, you’ll have no problems, just be sure to clean out the mower after each use and you could save yourself a few hundred dollars on this wide push mower.

Pros

  • Good value

  • A simple machine that’s easy to maintain

  • Well-built and reliable engine

  • Easy to start

  • Durable

  • Generous 21” cutting width

Cons

  • It needs regular cleaning after each use

A lot of gardeners like you are dreaming of having a green and lush garden, but blowing or raking the grass is not the ideal task.

Fortunately, mulch mowing is here to help take care of your lawn since it will assist the grass clippings to be returned to the soil.

Of course, for you and other gardeners to properly do this, it means that you will need to use a mulching lawn mower. In case you don’t know, mulch mowing can help you save ample of energy and time, thus improving your lawn’s condition.

What is a Mulching Lawn Mower?

What is a Mulching Lawn Mower

A mulching mower can work as a regular mower, but mulching mowers have blades that are special. These blades cut grass repeatedly until the grass becomes very small. 

Find out more about mulching vs regular blades here.

The good thing about this is that since the clippings of the grass contain 80 to 90% water and they are cut finely, they have the tendency to dry up quickly. This will make the grass clippings look like it vanished.

System Required by Mulching Mowers

For your mulching mower to achieve great results, it will require an accurate system when it comes to maintaining your lawn. The 2/3 system is what this usually need. 

This means that you are not allowed to let the grass to grow more than its desired growth of 1/3. Once the grass reaches that specific height, this is a clear sign that you already need to cut 1/3 off the top of your grass. 

For instance, if you want your grass to maintain a height of 3 inches, you will have to mow an inch every time it reaches 4 inches in height. This will help to break down the grass clippings quickly.

How Does a Mulching Mower Work

Typically, a mulching lawn mower has a combination of 4 different blade system, and it also has a mulching plug. The blades and as well as the mulching plug will work by spinning the clippings of the lawn a couple of times before it starts ejecting them out of the mower’s bottom part.

These clippings will then be cut into small pieces which will help in making them deteriorate quickly. This will then help the nutrients be released into your lawn’s soil.

Benefits of Using a Mulching Mower

Using a mulching mower for your lawn has its advantages and knowing what these benefits are will surely help you decide if this is the time of garden tool that you need. Below are some of its advantages:

1. Keeps Grass Healthy During Dry Months

Mulching Lawn Mower Keeps Grass Healthy During Dry Months

If you are experiencing dry months, this also means that your grass is experiencing drought. If you are going to mulch your grass, this will help lessen that soil’s evaporation.

This also helps in reducing the plants’ required water from 25% to 50%. It will also contribute to stabilizing the temperature of the soil since it will keep it cooler during the summer season, which will also help in stabilizing the moisture of the soil.

2. Helps in Reducing Weeds

Another good thing about using a mulching mower is that it will help control weed on your lawn. Just make sure that the mulch that you are applying is free from weed as well.

3. Fertilizes Your Lawn Effectively

Your lawn will effectively be fertilized when using a mulching lawn mower. The reason behind this is because almost 25% of the clippings’ nutrients will be able to return to the soil and help the grass be nourished.

4. No Raking Needed

Benefits of Using a Mulching Mower

You also don’t have to rake or haul the grass away since there will be no grass that will be left behind. You won’t be adding waste to organic waste sites or landfills, which will help the environment to lessen the waste that it bears every single day.

Benefits of Mulching Lawn Mower

Wrapping Up Our Guide on Mulching Lawn Mowers

Always put in mind that there will always be a right time to use a mulching mower. If you have a lawn with long grasses, then you should use your mulching mower.

If you are someone who plans to mow your lawn regularly, then using a mulching mower will do. Now if you have weeds in your lawn, which already have seed heads that are matured, then using your mulching mower is not ideal.

Having a mulching mower will make things easier for you, which you will love since you would be able to do other things than spending the entire afternoon mulching your lawn.

These are the information on what is a mulching lawn mower and its benefits.

About the Author Ann Katelyn

I'm Ann Katelyn, Creator and Chief Author of Sumo Gardener. Since I was a child I've always been fascinated with plants and gardens, and as an adult this has developed into my most loved hobby. I have dedicated most of my life to gardening and started Sumo Gardener as a way to express my knowledge about gardening with the hope of helping other people's gardens thrive.

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