Pressure Wash Deck Before Storage?

[Cannon51]

This morning I took the 48" deck off my 1863, scraped and blew the leaves and caked grass off both sides. I thought about taking it to the car wash but wondered if there was a majority of opinion about pressure washing before storage. I blew a good bit of flaked up paint off and it could stand to be taken apart and painted but I have to many things in the garage at the moment.
Cannon

[drglinski]

All I've ever done is scrape the piled on stuff off and blew it off with a leaf blower/compressed air. Good enough for me.

[inspectorudy]

I pressure wash mine after every mowing. I keep my PW right where the tractor is stored so it is not an issue with getting it out and setting it up everytime. The only issue I have with pressure washing is that the pulleys on the deck have to be dried out where they are concave and hold water or they will rust. I also make sure that I do not have any rusty spots that stay rusty since getting them wet over and over will only make them worse. I would never use the belt covers that come with all mowers since they must have been designed by the lawyers for liability reasons. Here in the South the grass is usually wet or damp and to keep that stuff covered for months at a time is sure to lead to corrosion and rust.

[Mike McKown]

You can do what you want but I would NEVER wash a deck before putting it away for a week, week after week. Sooner or later, the water trapped between two layers of metal (any two layers) will soon rust the metal.

The idler pulley seals aren't made to withstand standing or pressurized water spray and it's just a matter of time before those bearings fly apart on the idler(s).

I bought a 1641 Cyclops a number of years ago. It was about 10 years old. Had a 44" deck on it. The stamped deck was so rusty and weak the idler couldn't even hold belt tension on the deck belt. The first owner was one of these types that always had to have EVERYTHING neat and clean. The deck was clean but I had to throw it away for so much a pound.

[Sam Mac]

I hit my decks with a leaf blower after I'm done mowing. Only time I pressure wash them is when I am working on them and they are getting disassembled. If you do wash them I would grease them as soon as you are done to help keep the water out of the bearings, just my 2 cents. I also hate the belt guards, they just trap grass and promote rust. The older Habans had an out standing belt guard that allowed you to clean the clippings with a leaf blower. That is one of the reasons I have the old style Haban on my 2182.

[Cannon51]

I just got home and put the deck in the outbuilding. I did take it to the car wash. There was a lot of yellow paint in the wash bay when I was through. I greased everything and turned all the spindles with the belt for about a minuet. It's stored standing on end. I didn't use the guards last year but tried them this year hoping it would keep most of the grass away from the belts and spindles. Of course it only made it worse. I usually use the blower on mine when I finish mowing but the guards have to be removed to get all of the grass off. Thanks
Cannon

[rweaver]

I get to see tons of decks in a year the way most guys do is air pressure that seems to be the best water just rusts them to much then we also get guys who never do anything and they buy decks every few years

[clay1811/44c]

I've mowed my grand parents yard since 1987 with his riding mower, a brand I won't mention. I always clean it after use with the leaf blower and once or twice a year it gets soapy washcloth. I don't use running water. The thing looks like new and never replaced any bearings. Also I don't mow the grass when it's wet or damp.

[J-Mech]

I'm like Sam Mac and some of the others. I hit mine with a washer every now and again. Usually when I'm working on it. Usually just take the belt covers off and blow it off good, scrape the bottom of the deck and put away.

[clint]

I use air to blow my decks off during the summer, I try to pressure wash deck before putting up for fall, and also blow all water off/out that I can... no rust problems