Power Raking Service — Remove Thatch & Revive Your Lawn

Power raking is an aggressive thatch removal process that uses a motorized rake with rotating flail blades to slice through and pull up the layer of dead grass, roots, and debris (thatch) that accumulates between the soil surface and the living grass blades. While light thatch (under half an inch) actually benefits your lawn by insulating roots and retaining moisture, a thatch layer thicker than three-quarters of an inch blocks water infiltration, prevents fertilizer from reaching the root zone, harbours fungal diseases like snow mold and dollar spot, and creates an uneven surface prone to scalping during mowing. Power raking is more aggressive than dethatching with a vertical mower — it's the right choice when thatch exceeds one inch or when years of neglect have created a dense, matted layer. At Mow.ca, we use commercial-grade power rakes calibrated to your lawn's specific needs. The optimal time for power raking in most of Canada is early spring (April to mid-May) when grass is actively growing but before summer heat stress, or early fall (September). We always follow power raking with overseeding and a starter fertilizer application to fill in thin areas and accelerate recovery. Power raking costs $100 to $250 for a standard residential lawn depending on thatch severity and lot size.