The things that come up on the phone every week, answered honestly.
Is it safe around children and pets?
The blades sit well inside the body and are small, free-swinging razors rather than one large fixed blade — if they strike something solid they fold away instead of cutting through it. Lift sensors and tilt sensors stop the blades within a fraction of a second if the mower is picked up or tipped.
That said, it is still a machine with blades. Standard advice, which we would give about any of them: don’t let small children play on the lawn while it is running, and schedule it for times the garden is empty. Hedgehogs are the real concern — run it during daylight rather than overnight if you get them.
Do I have to collect the clippings?
No, and this is the part people underestimate. Because it cuts a little every day rather than a lot every fortnight, the clippings are tiny — they fall between the grass blades, break down, and return nitrogen to the lawn. There is no box to empty and nothing to take to the tip.
Most people find their lawn looks noticeably better after a season, because it is being fed continuously rather than stripped.
What happens when it rains?
Every mower we sell is weatherproof and will carry on through normal British rain. Some have a rain sensor that sends them back to the dock, which you can usually switch off.
Worth knowing: wet grass affects grip on slopes. If your lawn holds water and has any real gradient, choose a mower rated above the slope you measured rather than exactly at it.
How much noise does it make?
The figure is in the specification above. For context: most robot mowers sit in the mid-50s to low-60s dB(A), which is somewhere between a fridge and a dishwasher. A petrol mower is around 95 dB(A).
In practice you can hold a conversation next to one. Many owners schedule them overnight without complaints, though see the hedgehog note above before you do.
Could someone just walk off with it?
They could pick it up, but it would be useless to them. Every mower is PIN-locked, alarms loudly when lifted, and is paired to your account — a stolen one cannot be paired to anyone else. Models with GPS can be located and remotely disabled.
Theft is rare enough that most home insurers treat it as ordinary garden equipment. Worth a quick check with yours.
What about winter?
Bring it indoors once growth stops, usually late October or November. Clean the underside, charge the battery to roughly half, and leave it in a garage or shed. Unplug the charging station but leave it in place.
In spring, fit fresh blades, plug the dock back in, and it picks up where it left off. Boundary wire stays in the ground year-round.
How often do the blades need changing?
Every one to three months during the cutting season. They’re small and cheap — a few pounds a pack — and changing them takes about five minutes with a screwdriver.
Blunt blades tear grass instead of slicing it, which leaves brown tips. If your lawn starts looking ragged, blades are almost always the reason. Sandy soil and heavy leaf fall wear them faster. Full figures are in our running costs guide.
My garden is in several separate parts — does that work?
Usually yes, but it’s the question worth asking us about before you order. If the areas are linked by a path the mower can drive along, most models handle it automatically. If they’re genuinely separate — front and back with no connection — you either carry the mower across, or choose a wire-free model that supports multiple mapped zones.
Send us a rough sketch and we’ll tell you which models cope.
