Changing the oil in your lawn mower engine is an important maintenance task to ensure your lawn mower lasts. However, how to change it varies depending on the type of lawn mower.

To change the oil for a push mower, you first have to drain the engine of gas or plug the gas tank by placing a plastic sandwich bag over it and screwing the cap over it.

Lift and tip the mower on its side, preferably with the assistance of another person. As you tip the mower, the gas might leak slightly, but the plastic bag will catch it.

Remove the dipstick—it has a yellow plastic ring attached to the top—from the oil compartment. Lift and tip the mower to pour the old oil into a sturdy, plastic drip pan.

Set the mower back on the ground and add fresh oil using a funnel to avoid spills. Check the owner's manual for the mower to determine how much and

what oil to add.

To change the motor oil in a riding lawn mower, lock the mower in a flat location away from your grass and lay a plastic sheet or cardboard on the ground to protect against spills.

Look for the dipstick. The dipstick area sometimes has a vertically aligned hose for riding lawn mower that you can pull out and direct downward to

drain the oil.

Place a large drip pan underneath the area and pull the plug from the compartment, or point the hose downward. Replace the plug or realign the hose after all the oil has drained.

Add new oil to the opening where you removed the dipstick. Check the oil level regularly with the dipstick to ensure you aren't overfilling the compartment.