You might have noticed that some hover mowers are sold without grass boxes, which poses the question: can hover mowers mulch grass?
We’ve answered this question in the below guide.
✅Key Takeaways:
Hover mowers can’t mulch grass in the traditional sense because they use conventional lawn mower blades and don’t have mulching attachments.
Mulching is when grass is cut into tiny pieces and fed back onto a lawn. It’s achieved with a special lawn mower mulching blade.
Mower types that can mulch are some electric mowers, cordless mowers, and battery mowers.
Check the product information to make sure the mower has a dedicated mulch function if this feature is important to you.
Table of Contents
🤷♂️ Can A Hover Mower Mulch Grass?
No, hover mowers can’t mulch grass.
It’s easy to be confused into believing that a hover mower can mulch. We’ve even seen some hover mower manufacturers describe their mowers as “mulching mowers”; however, this terminology isn’t correct.
A mulching mower has a special mulching function, usually called a mulch plug or a mulch blade. Hover mowers, on the other hand, just use standard mower blades that cut grass as normal.
So, even hover mowers that don’t have a grass box won’t actually mulch your grass – they’ll just cut grass into normal-sized clippings and disperse them on your lawn.
♻️ What Is Mulching?
Mulching is when a lawn mower cuts grass into fine pieces and evenly spreads them back onto the lawn. This process can only be performed by a lawn mower with a built-in mulching feature or a mulching attachment.
The key feature of a mulching mower is its unique blade design, which chops the grass into smaller pieces than a normal mower blade.
Instead of collecting the grass clippings in a bag or discharging them out of the side or rear, a mulching mower feeds the finely chopped grass cuttings back onto the lawn. These small clippings quickly decompose and return valuable nutrients to the soil.
🧐 Why Can’t Hover Lawn Mower Mulch?
A hover lawn mower can’t mulch grass because it uses a generic lawn mower blade.
Hover mower blades simply cut grass into normal-sized clippings. These clippings aren’t classed as mulch because they’re too long and often end up being discharged onto your lawn in clumps. These clumps of dense grass take much longer to decompose and could block the grass underneath from sunlight, causing your lawn to turn brown.
You could, in theory, use a hover mower to create “mulch” if you mowed your lawn on the very highest cutting height, so you only cut a tiny percentage off your lawn.
However, this still wouldn’t be the actual definition of mulch because you haven’t achieved it with a dedicated mulching blade. Plus, it wouldn’t be very practical – you’d have to mow your lawn every few days during peak grass growing season if you were only cutting off tiny amounts of your lawn at a time.
🤔 What To Do With Grass Clippings From A Hover Mower
Let’s say you’re considering buying a hover mower that doesn’t have a built-in grass collection box. If this mower neither collects grass clippings nor mulches them, what should you do with the grass that’s ejected from the mower?
The simple answer is to rake or sweep your lawn after mowing to remove the grass clippings. You don’t want to leave them on your lawn because they’ll rot slowly and smell. Plus, they might kill your lawn or create thatch.
If you don’t want the extra job of a post-mow sweep or rake, make sure to buy a hover mower with a grass collection bag or box. That way, you can collect grass as normal, emptying out the clippings when necessary.
💎 Best Alternative Mower Types For Mulching
If you’re specifically looking for a lawn mower that can mulch grass, there are a few different options to consider.
♻️ For Small Lawns: Corded Electric Mulching Mowers
If you’ve been looking at hover lawn mowers, we’re going to assume that you have a small lawn.
Most electric lawn mowers don’t have a mulching function. However, there are a few electric lawn mower brands that have built-in mulching features.
Our personal favourite is the Hyundai HYM3800E (<Amazon link), which gives you the option to switch between mulching, grass collection, and side/rear discharge. Plus, it has a few other features that you don’t find on all electric mowers, like a rear roller, and its motor is more powerful than similar models at 1,600 watts.
🔌 Great Cordless Option: Battery-Powered Mowers
Cordless lawn mowers are the best choice for anyone who wants to avoid the hassle of a power cord (and the inevitability of an extension cable).
These mowers are also better for people with medium lawns because they can take you further without having to consider your distance from a power socket.
Again, only around 20-30% of cordless lawn mowers have a mulching function. We recommend the Greenworks G24X2LM41K4 (<Amazon link) because it uses powerful 24-volt batteries and is suitable for lawns up to 440m². Plus, importantly, its mulching function works well, and you can switch to grass collection in the spacious 50-litre grass box if the conditions ever aren’t right to mulch.
🟩 Best For Large-Sized Lawns: Petrol Mulching Mowers
Need something a lot bigger than a conventional hover mower for a large garden? A petrol mower is best for you.
The majority of petrol mowers give you four different options for your grass clippings: mulch, rear discharge, side discharge, or grass collection. Since the petrol-powered mower is usually intended for use on larger lawns, it typically has a wider cutting width and a larger grass collection box to speed up the process.
We personally love the Hyundai 139cc Self-propelled Petrol Lawnmower (<Amazon link) because it’s one of the best-value petrol mulching mowers we’ve reviewed, and we know from experience that Hyundai’s supplied mulching plug is quick and easy to use.
Corded Electric Lawn Mower
Cordless Battery Powered Lawn Mower
Petrol Lawn Mower
🤨 Do You Need A Mulching Mower?
No, nobody needs a mulching mower.
If you have an unusually-shaped lawn or you just have your heart set on a hover mower, it doesn’t particularly matter that hover lawnmowers don’t mulch.
Mulching simply offers the benefit of faster lawn mowing (because you don’t have to worry about emptying the grass box) and supports a healthy lawn (because the decaying grass clippings act as a natural fertiliser).
However, you might be happy to collect grass the conventional way or rake it up after. In that case, you can buy a hover mower without feeling too gloomy about the fact that it doesn’t mulch.
🏁 Final Word
So, hover lawn mowers can’t mulch in the traditional sense. While you could lift the mower height to cut off only a small amount of grass at a time, this would take extra effort and wouldn’t be the literal definition of mulch, which can only be produced with a mulching lawnmower.
Hover mowers are ideal for small gardens, but they might not be right for you. Make sure to consider all your options before you invest in a new lawn mower. After all, if you invest wisely, you should hopefully own the same mower for at least the next decade.
Check out our best hover mower recommendations here:
Read our reviews on the best mulching mowers: Best Mulching Mower UK