Yard tool safety, from the published guidance

Safety pages usually read as generic caution. This one does not, because everything on it comes from a published source that states a specific figure or a specific instruction. Where nobody publishes a figure, we say so instead of inventing one.

The rule that is new with cordless tools

This is the one genuinely new hazard the switch to cordless created, and it applies to every tool on this site. It also happens to be the first step in almost every maintenance job we describe.

Mowers, from extension guidance

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Chainsaws, from CDC guidance

Chainsaw guidance is the most specific of the three sources, and it is worth following exactly because the failure modes are severe.

Equipment

A hard hat, safety glasses, hearing protection, heavy work gloves, cut-resistant legwear (chain saw chaps) that extend from the waist to the top of the foot, and boots which cover the ankle.

Distances

Practice

• Always cut at waist level or below, to ensure you maintain secure control
• Clear the area of cut limbs and wood as you work, to allow for safer use
• Check the cutting area for hazards such as nails or cables
• Avoid contact with power lines until the lines are verified as de-energized
• On spring poles, slowly shave the underside of the tree rather than cutting through, to allow the tension to release slowly
• Keep the chain properly sharpened, the bar properly lubricated with bar and chain oil, and the chain correctly tensioned

The full treatment, including how a cordless saw differs, is in cordless chainsaw safety.

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Pressure washers, from CPSC guidance

The pressure washer hazard people expect is the spray. The hazard the Commission issued a warning about is electrical.

CPSC states that consumers could receive a fatal electrical shock from pressure washers if the power cord connections become wet or an internal short exists, and that at least eight such fatalities had been reported to the Commission. Because pressure washers are used to spray water, the power cord, washer and consumer are often in contact with water, which it describes as a potentially fatal combination especially if the machine is not properly grounded.

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The habits that cover everything else

1. Walk the ground first. Extension guidance names rocks, wires and sticks for mowers and nails and cables for chainsaws. Both are the same instruction.
2. Pack out before hands in. Every clearing, unjamming, sharpening or inspection job starts here.
3. Keep bystanders away. Extension guidance for mowers, and CDC distances for saws.
4. Sharp beats forced. A dull chain has to be pushed and a dull blade tears; both are safety issues as well as quality ones.
5. Leave the guards on. Discharge shields on mowers, guards on string trimmers, grounding prongs on plugs.
6. Stop when the conditions are wrong. Wet grass, a wet slope, failing light, or a job that needs a ladder and a running saw.

What we cannot tell you

This page is a summary of published guidance, not training and not a substitute for the manual that came with your tool. We are not a safety authority, we have used none of this equipment, and for chainsaw work in particular formal training exists and is worth having.

Where a figure is not published we have said so rather than filled the gap: no mower manufacturer in our registry publishes a maximum slope, and no manufacturer publishes a safe distance for pressure washing paintwork.