A wet lawn is not what a lawn owner wants. You can’t walk on a wet lawn or sit in the grass without staining your clothes, the children can’t play and pets are restricted. You can also do any work on the wet lawn like mowing or aerating and every owner has a thought that when will the lawn dry up.
It usually takes 1-2 days for a lawn to dry up after the rain has stopped. After the rain has stopped you can do normal things like walking and your pets can go on the lawn. If you want to mow the lawn after the rain, wait for at least 3 days so the grass leaves and the soil is dry and it’s easy to mow and clean the lawn.
Now you know that it takes around 2 days for the lawn to dry up but some factors make the lawn dry or fast. Let’s talk about them and I will also tell you how you can ensure that the lawn dries fast after the rain and water doesn’t clog the lawn.
Factors that determine how long it will take the lawn to dry
Several factors make the lawn dry up fast or make the lawn dry up very slowly. Some of these factors are very obvious like how intense the rain was and what is the temperature outside. Let’s talk about them in detail.
- Duration – the first factor which determines how fast the lawn will dry up is how long the rain was. If the rain was short, like just for 10 mins then it is possible that the lawn will dry up in 4-5 hours and you can work on the lawn afterward but if there is continuous rain for 2-3 days then it can take longer than 3 days for the lawn to dry up as the soil will be full of water and the lawn needs good drainage to remove all the excess water.
- Intensity – to determine how much time it will take for the lawn to dry depends also on the intensity of the rain. If the rain was shallow and light then the lawn will dry up very quickly but if it was raining very hard the lawn will get a lot of water from it and it will take a lot more time to dry to be ready for mowing or other works.
- Weather – weather also plays a part in drying up the lawn. If the weather is cold and gloomy then the lawn will take more time to dry up in comparison to a hot and sunny day when the water can quickly evaporate from the lawn. If the moisture is high then it will make it hard for the water to dry up and evaporate. Usually, you will see this in different seasons. If you are in summer and have rain then you can say that the lawn will be dry the next morning because of the hot weather. On the other hand, if you are in winter and it rains then the lawn can stay wet for a long time due to cold temperatures and moisture levels.
- Location – location is also a factor in whether the lawn will dry faster or slower. If you live in a colder place then the time the lawn will take to dry up will be much higher than a lawn in a hot tropical location.
- Soil type – this is a most common factor in the lawn which you can control to make the lawn dry up quickly. If the lawn has dense and hard soil then it will take more than usual to dry up because the water won’t be able to pass through the soil. On the other hand, if the soil is well aerated and loose then the lawn will dry up quickly as the water can pass through the upper part and go down into the bottom easily.
How to dry up the lawn fast after rain?
There are some things that a lawn owner can do to dry up the lawn fast. I make sure my lawn is prepared for a downpour and a heavy storm doesn’t destroy my months of hard work and maintenance. There are 3 things you can do to prepare the lawn to dry up quickly from a storm. Prepare the soil, create a slope and drainage.
- Drainage – If you want the lawn to dry fast and don’t want the water to pool in one place. Create drainage areas in the lawn on the most prone areas to pooling or if your area has continuous rain and storm then create permanent drainage holes in the lawn in equal distances.
- Slope – Creating a slope while preparing a lawn is very crucial as it prevents your lawn from water pooling in two cases, first if you mistakenly over water it then all the excess water can slide down and go in the drainage and second in care of heavy rain this slop will save your lawn and dry it up quickly.
- Prepare the soil – preparing the soil to absorb water fast and very easily is very crucial as it makes the lawn healthy and protects it from lots of diseases but most crucially from water pooling. Aeration and dethatching are the most common ways to lose up the soil and make way for the water to quickly pass through into the roots and dry up the lawn fast.
If you do these 3 things or any of them, it will make your lawn dry quicker than usual and save it from water pooling and the diseases which come with it.
How to check if the lawn is dry or not?
The best way to check if the lawn is dry for work and mowing is by seeing the tips of the leaves and by touching the soil. If there are no water droplets in the leaves and the leaves are dry then its an indication that the lawn is dry also if you touch the soil is not sticking to your lawn or if you walk and the dirt is not sticking to the shoes your lawn is dry and ready for mowing or other work.
Can you mow a wet lawn immediately after the rain?
No, you can’t mow the lawn immediately after the rain as it will ruin the grass and also the mower. If you mow a wet lawn, the first problem will be the uneven cut of the grass as it is wet and can’t be cut properly. The grass will not stand straight and the mowing would not be good.
The second problem is that the mower tires will ruin the wet soil and will make hard tire marks in the soil and create water pooling. The wet soil will also make it very difficult to move the mower on the lawn.
The third thing is that you can also ruin the mower because of heating issues as the wet grass clipping can stick in the blades and air intakes and make the lawnmower heat up and work harder.
How soon after the rain can you mow the lawn?
It takes usually 2-3 days for the lawn to dry up after the rain, but to be fully sure and have a good and clean mow, you should at least wait for 3 days before you mow the lawn and even better if you wait for 4 days so that the lawn is 100% dry and there is no moisture left behind in the leaves or the soil. So the perfect time to mow the lawn after rain is between 3 to 4 days.
