Our Best Guide To Cleaning & Replacing Your Lawnmower's Paper Air Filter

Over time, cleaning your lawnmower air filter should become part of your routine maintenance to prevent dirt and debris from building up and making their way through the filter to your lawn mower engine.

Cleaning your paper filters inside your mower should be straightforward, as all you need to do is replace them, dirt and debris can be lightly tapped off if the filter is not ready to be replaced yet, but you can't wash paper filters as they will break.

So as you can know how to replace paper filters in your mower and when you should be doing it, we have composed a short guide below that will give you the low-down on all the important information you need to know. 

Why Is The Air Filter On a Lawnmower Important?

If you have been reading up on how to take care of your lawn mower models, then you've probably read people bang on about cleaning the air filter, and this is for a very important reason. 

The air filter of your lawnmower's engine essentially blocks dirt particles and loose dirt fly debris from accessing the most important part of your engine which is the carburettor. 

Without a lawnmower filter, your machine's engine would likely be breaking down all the time, that's why it's important to change the paper air filters often and clean the air filter element to prevent blockages and maintain the engine of your mower.

There are reusable air filters you can buy for lawnmowers, which let you wash them with warm water, but for paper filters, you never have to clean them with water, and instead just replace them when they get too dirty, however, you can wash the air filter element which a foam pre-filter that surrounds the paper one. 

We will get on to how to do this next.

How Do I Clean & Replace Paper Filters On a Lawnmower? 

Cleaning the foam air filters is just as important as replacing the paper engine air filter and should be done in conjunction, both tasks are straightforward, and we have made a step by step guide below to guide you through the process. 

• Step One - First of all, make sure the lawnmower is turned off and the spark plug is disconnected from the machine to eliminate the risk of any accidental start-ups happening while you are changing the air filter. 
• Step Two - Look at the top of your lawnmower's engine to locate the air filter assembly, this will most likely have a cover that you will need to unscrew so you can access the filter properly and will either be metal or plastic
• Step Three - Start the replacement and cleaning process by cleaning the foam filters surrounding the paper style air filter. You can clean this foam filter clean with warm soapy water, a filter spray oil or by using air compression, this foam may also need to be replaced if it is too dirty. 
• Step Four - Now it's time to replace the paper filter, you can test whether you need to just brush the dirt and debris off or replace it by holding it up to light and seeing if the light gets blocked. Never try and wash a paper filter as it will just break. If you have a reusable filter this would be when you wash it according to your manufacturer's directions.
• Step Five - Replace with a new filter after washing the foam and also wipe off any dirt around the housing of the filter cartridge, be careful when using a blower to not blow any dirt deeper into the engine of the lawnmower. 

How Often Should I Be Cleaning The Air Filter Element On My Mower? 

Now we know how to clean our paper filter in our mower engine model, you might be wondering how often you should be doing this for your lawnmower's engine to be working to its optimal performance. 

How often you clean your air filter will depend on how much you use your mower, the more you use it the dirtier the air filter element will become, however, by standard rule it is suggested to clean and replace the filter after every 300 hours of use. 

For the pre-filter foam which surrounds your paper filter, this should be checked and cleaned after every 25 hours of use or when the foam turns brown or yellow, you may also need to replace this once in a while. 

Checking your air filter should be done however every time you perform maintenance on your lawnmower to be sure there are no blockages.

Last Words 

To conclude, you cannot clean a paper filter, but you should replace it when it becomes very dirty or after at least every 300 hours of use, you should also clean the foam casing that surrounds the paper filter to prevent dirt and debris making its way to the engine of your lawnmower. 

Some mower models may have re-usable air filters that will need to be washed when they get dirty, this can be done with air filter cleaner or just warm water with soap, never make the mistake of washing a paper filter.