Is it OK to use a trimmer when my reel mower does not work?

Question

I recently bought a house and have this 250 sqft backyard with really tall grass (about 7 inches). I found an 18" push reel mower and an electric trimmer (weedeater) thing in the garage. The reel mower is not able to cut anything, I guess, since the grass is really tall plus the blades looks really dull to me. So my question is: can I use the electrical trimmer to cut 1/3rd of the grass in the entire lawn a couple of times and then go back to using the reel mower when the grass gets manageable. I mean, is it OK to use the trimmer for the lawn, or are they specifically meant for edges and would destroy the lawn if used to cover the entire area?

Answer 1

Well a trimmer won't destroy the lawn but it won't do a good job. It is difficult to keep the trimmer head at exactly the same height.

Try this:

• Use a sharpener on the blades, even sandpaper will help.
• oil all the moving parts of the mower, WD40, lubricating oil or whatever comes to hand
• Do wear protective gear when using a trimmer. Gloves and glasses are essential if you don't know what's overgrown under the grass
• using the trimmer reduce the lawn height to three to four inches
• use the reel mower to give a nice clean cut.

Edit: Ok, maybe not WD40...