My Greenworks Dethatcher is a lawn tool that I became obsessed with the second I started using it. Dethatchers work by pulling up old, dead grass that is embedded in the soil of your lawn. This provides the most satisfying experience ever when you use it.
This dead grass, or “thatch”, prohibits your living grass from getting nutrients and can cause your grass to appear thin. Dethatchers have historically been tough-looking heavy rakes that you could pull across your lawn by hand.
Let’s get started!
When and why to use a dethatcher on your yard
Dethatching your yard is one of the most satisfying lawn tasks. If you are one of those people who likes pimple popping videos or loves to peel off the plastic of a new appliance, then dethatching will be your jam.
It basically pulls up all this dead grass that is stuck to your lawn and pushes it to the top of your yard. You can almost hear your yard start breathing again.
The time of year to dethatch your yard is just prior to the aerating and overseeding process. For us, this time of year is in October, but can vary depending on where you live. Dethatching right before aerating and seeding gives the best possible chance for your seeds to make contact with soil.
First, you pull up the dead grass with the dethatcher. Once you have pulled all of this up and gotten rid of it, then you can aerate. You will want to aerate your lawn immediately after dethatching, then overseed the lawn. This will put seed straight on the open soil and give it the best success to grow into a thick, luscious lawn.
The Greenworks Dethatcher features
The Greenworks dethatcher comes in at a slightly lower price point than the Sun Joe Dethatcher. It is also one of the most popular dethatchers available on the market. Let’s review what makes this so popular.
Psst – check out our comparison of the Sun Joe vs Greenworks Dethatcher.
My experience using this dethatcher
I used my Greenworks dethatcher for the first time this year on my relatively newly sodded lawn in Austin, TX. Despite only having a year or two of life, I got an insane amount of thatch off the ground. Here’s how it worked.
The Greenworks Dethatcher comes with an easy push to start functionality. This push to start feature allows for guaranteed starts after being stored through a cold winter. It boasts a 14 inch width for the tines (the little spikes that pull up thatch), which gives it an immediate advantage over some of its competitors.
The handles fold in and allow for easy storage. As do other dethatcher in its class, it does not use any batteries and requires no charging. Rather, the Greenworks dethatcher requires an extension cord. As I mentioned in my last dethatcher review, a fifty foot extension cord is recommended. Longer extension cords can become quite heavy and cumbersome to move throughout your yard.
Comfort is important to me, and as a tall person I highly value the longer handles that come with the Greenworks dethatcher. These are much more comfortable and help me stay out in the yard longer.
This is surprisingly powerful
Not sure what kind of power you can expect with an electric dethatcher. This is not a gas guzzler and is not meant to really provide any power. But it does have 10A of power running through it. It does not have a self propelled feature persay, but does inch forward with the help of the thines moving forward trying to pull up grass.
When I was using this dethatcher and testing out the power, I noticed that it wasn’t an issue – the issue was moving slowly, which is basically just what I have to do when I use a dethatcher.
You can check out the cordless version of the Greenworks dethatcher.
This dethatcher is simple and durable
While most people scoff at plastic and electric lawn tools, I think this one really does have great durability. I have not put too much use into mine, but have heard others talk about the longevity of the tines. The tines are the little pieces of metal that actually pick up and displace the dead grass on the bottom of the dethatcher. You would expect some wear and tear, but they appear to last quite a while.
This is really a simple machine that does not require any maintenance. When broken down to its functional components (kind of like active ingredients in supplements), it is just an electric power circle of little spikes. Not much can go wrong.
This one was really easy for me to break down and fold in half in my garage, basically just like how it came out of the box.
My yard now looks way better after using this
My Greenworks dethatcher will pull up the dead grass from the top of my yard without fail. As long as it is moderately dry outside, it will not have a problem getting to the thatch and giving your grass some room to breathe.
Clean-up, however, is a different issue. Compared to several other electric dethatchers, the Greenworks dethatcher does not come with a bag. Do not fret! The bags that come with the dethatchers are almost comically small.
I was surprised with the amount of grass that came up from this tool. You will likely fill your bag after about 5 to 8 feet of pushing. With that in mind, most people use all dethatchers without bags.
To clean up, simply grab your mower, put it on a high setting, slap the bag on, and do a quick run over the yard to suck up all the thatch. You can always use a blower, a heavy duty rake, or whatever you would like to clean up the yard.
Comparison: Greenworks dethatcher vs Sun Joe dethatcher
If you are looking at an electronic dethatcher online, you are likely picking between these two. Both are the top sellers on Amazon and combined have over 20,000 reviews. Both look very similar and both have almost 5 stars on Amazon.
Luckily, I have owned both and even tested them side by side to see which one did a better job of pulling up thatch.
Functionality and power
To compare the two, let’s start with functionality. They function identically. Both are powered by an extension cord, move at the same speed, and electronically pull up thatch. The advantage goes to Greenworks here because they have a slightly bigger tine deck. 14 inches in the Greenworks vs 13 inches in the Sun Joe dethatcher. You will get more out of each pass using the Greenworks.
Add-ons
Something else to consider when comparing these products is the availability of add-on features. Greenworks offers zero add ons to their product, whereas Sun Joe offers a scarifier and a bag. As mentioned previously, the bag is meaningless and most people trash it. The scarifier applies blades to the soil to help cut through and tough thatch and provide a modest amount of aeration. The advantage in this category goes to Sun Joe.
Cost and value
As of right now, the Sun Joe dethatcher costs around $150 and the Greenworks dethatcher comes in right around $130. Both are going to last a long time and both are of very similar quality. If it were me (and it is me), I am going with the Greenworks.
Overall comparison: Greenworks dethatcher vs Sun Joe dethatcher
Y’all this is a relatively easy one for me. I will save $20 and go with the Greenworks dethatcher if I had to do it over again. It operates the same, has great durability, is slightly wider, and a good bit cheaper.
Check out our web story detailing the competition between these two.
You can grab the Greenworks dethatcher on Amazon (on sale right now for 35% off) for an awesome price. You can also get the Greenworks 27022 dethatcher straight from the Greenworks website.
