Things You'll Need

Instructions

1

Find any sprinklers or cables sitting on or near the surface of the lawn. Mark their locations with small lawn flags to avoid running over them with the machinery.
2

Push a power aerator over the yard in straight, parallel lines, in a manner similar to mowing a yard. The aerator pulls round cores of dirt out of the lawn. Make a second pass over the yard, moving in rows perpendicular to the direction you traveled in the first pass. Leave the piles of cored dirt where they fall on the ground.
3

Place the power dethatcher on a hard surface, such as a sidewalk or driveway. Adjust the blades so that they lie 1/8 to 1/4 inch above the ground's surface.
4

Push the dethatcher over the lawn in straight, parallel lines, the same way you aerated the lawn. Repeat the process until you remove the majority of the thatch from the lawn; this may take repeated passes if the thatch layer is especially thick.
5

Rake the yard and collect the displaced thatch. Dispose of the thatch with your yard waste or add it to a compost pile.