How to Safely Use a String Trimmer

In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shares secrets for safe, effective string trimming.

Steps:

1. To trim grass along obstructions, hold the head of the string trimmer perfectly level to trim grass flat and even.
2. To trim grass along the edge of a flowerbed, rotate the string trimmer vertically.
3. Don’t use string trimmer to cut grass against tree trunks. The monofilament line will slice into the bark, which could potentially kill the tree.
4. When the string breaks or wears down, run the trimmer at full speed and gently bump its head against the ground to extend new line.
5. To install new cutting string, first remove the spool from the trimmer’s head. Then cut an 8-foot-long piece of new string.
6. Feed one end of the string through the hole in the spool. Pull the ends of the string even.
7. Wind the string around the spool in the direction of the arrow stamped onto the spool.
8. Secure the ends of the string into the notches in the edge of the spool.
9. Reattach the spool to the string trimmer, making sure to feed the ends of the string through the holes in the spinning head.
10. Tug on each string to release it from the notches.
11. For a self-winding head, feed the length of string through the spool, then rotate the head to wind the string onto the spool.
12. Gas-powered string trimmers come with straight or curved shafts.
13. Electric string trimmers are quiet, but are limited by the length of the extension cord.
14. Battery-powered string trimmers are light, quiet and can cut anywhere, but they lack the power of a gas trimmer.
15. Propane-powered string trimmers burn cleaner and run quieter than gas models, but are just as powerful.

Tools: