Why is my mower leaving streaks (clippings) on the lawn?

[seiyafan]

Starting about a month ago I have noticed that my 19'' push mower started to leave grass clippings along the edges of mowing path, this happens with bagging. As shown in the picture below, taken 2 days after the last mowing, I had the clipping bag in place but it seems some clippings still found their way to the grass. What could cause this to happen? The blade was a brand new one replaced in late May.

In the second picture you can see there is some peeling on the underside, but I doubt that's the culprit.

 

[mikehouse]

Yo,wats up? Question,have you looked at your bagger connects? Sometimes it cud be it's not on correctly or sum may have loosened or broken off.Second,i hate bagging cause it fills up so fast.So cud it be that your overstuffing?Thirdly,Does your bag and mower actually go together? Just trying to eliminate the obvious.Anyone else have options? I'm answering this w/o being able to see the pics here on my fone.

 

[lewb]

No Pictures.

 

[Honda Tech]

Clean your bag. If it can't breathe, it is going to basically act like a blower and lay the grass down. I dirty bag also will never 'fill up' like it used to.
Wet the bag down and liberally spray with something like Simple Green or Super Clean. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so and rinse thoroughly with garden hose and allow to dry.
Other suspect would be the 'new' blade. Is it an OEM High-Lift blade or a generic after-market blade? Also, some 'Fancy' blades will give you the same results. So, make sure you have the correct blade and that it is installed correctly. Surprising how easy it is to install a blade upside down.

 

[Carscw]

Clean the bag.
It needs to be able to let air pass thru it.

 

[seiyafan]

Sorry about the pictures, hope you can see them now.

When I had mulching plug installed, it also leaves the streaks on the outer edges of the path. So it may not have to do with the bag.

 

[Bob E]

Is the new blade shorter than the old one? It looks like the gap between the blade and the front of the deck is kind of big, but maybe it's just the camera angle.

 

[Honda Tech]

I agree with you Bob E. It does look like the blade is short. Can't tell if that is an OEM blade or not.

 

[Carscw]

Even if the blade was a little short it would not leave the clippings.
The fact is is that the bag is dirty. We all should know this as it happens every year.

 

[seiyafan]

You guys have really good eyes. So I checked and I did put a 18'' blade on a 19'' mower. Now I know how to fix it.
:thumbsup: