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Yes, you can tip a lawn mower on its side as long as you turn it with the carburetor side upwards. This prevents oil from leaking into the carburetor and reducing performance. You can also tip the mower backward as long as it's stable while you're working on the deck or blades for safety.

A standard home lawn mower with sharp blades can handle a thin layer of leaves without issue. You may need to make a couple of passes within several days to mulch leaves down, but your mower shouldn’t struggle. If your mower comes with a mulching kit, like an attachment to blow leaves out the side, that’s a good sign it’s ready for fall leaves. Set your mower to the highest or near-highest height for this project so it focuses on the leaves rather than the grass below.

Sometimes dark smoke trailing out of your lawn mower is the result of excess oil. It smokes as it burns off. Other times, it could signal a problem with the combustion or contaminated fuel. If changing the fuel and cleaning your mower doesn’t help, call a professional (especially if the smoke is white).

Before your lawn mower quits working entirely, it’ll likely give you some signs of wear and tear that indicate a repair is needed. Signs that you might need repairs to your lawn mower include: 

• Oil leaks

• Vibrating engine

• Smoking exhaust 

• Increase in time to mow

• Unusual noises

• Increase in gas consumption