Tool Caring Tips for Winter
During the winter months, many tools such as spades, garden shears, and rakes, as well as battery-powered electrical appliances such as lawn mowers and hedge trimmers, take a break. Experts advise using the time to get used tools in working order, to check the stock for damages and if necessary to fill up your own assortment now. With these tips, gardening tools and implements can survive the winter without damage.
Anyone who keeps tools and battery-powered garden tools dirty from their last use in the garden house during the winter months and keeps them dirty is not only expecting a lot of cleaning work after the winter break to get the tools back into shape. Not infrequently, the cold months also cause damage to the device. Unprotected metal parts rust before themselves, formerly sharp blades, scissors, and knives become blunt and often unusable. They would then have to be replaced by next season. But that doesn’t have to happen.
Metal tool begins to rust slightly in winter
In general, all tools and equipment should be thoroughly cleaned before the winter break. In addition, nature-compatible lubricants prevent blades and saw blades from rusting. “I also rub good scissors with wax, just as I used to do with the steel edges of the skis,” explains Michael Miller from the DIY Academy in San Francisco. “This seals the cut surfaces.” If the tools are then wrapped in a cloth and perhaps stored in a plastic bag in a cool, dry room, they will survive the winter without damage, the expert promises.
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Store battery devices frost-proof
Devices powered by a rechargeable battery require special attention during the cold season. “Most modern tools are equipped with lithium-ion batteries,” reports Miller. If possible, these should be loaded to two-thirds of their loading capacity before they go into the winter break. “In this state, they can last up to a year without any significant loss of energy.”
The situation is different with older devices that are still equipped with nickel-cadmium or metal hybrid batteries. These tend to discharge themselves. “During the winter break, it is necessary to look up and possibly reload here every two months,” stresses the expert. “Otherwise, there is a danger that the batteries will discharge to a deep level. If that’s the case, you can throw them away.” All batteries should be stored in a cool, but the frost-protected room. Temperatures between five and ten degrees are usually recommended as ideal. Exact details are usually given by the manufacturer in the operating instructions.
Empty the pipes of petrol appliances
Petrol-powered garden tools should be stored with a full tank. Otherwise, rust film could form in an empty fuel tank during the rest period. Because petrol and E10 resinify over time, there must be no fuel in the fuel lines and the carburetor. Otherwise, lawn mowers or hedge trimmers may not start in spring. We recommend that you fill the tank before storing the appliance, shut off the fuel tap and allow the engine to run until it stops by itself. Then the tank is full and all pipes and the carburetor are empty.
Keep paint and painting utensils properly in winter
Also, the remaining color of the last renovation can be brought well through the winter months. Coating tools such as paint rollers and brushes should be thoroughly cleaned and dried after each use. In this condition, they also survive a winter in the garden house or the unheated gazebo at moderate sub-zero temperatures.
However, paint buckets – whether opened or originally packed – must be stored frost-protected. Then it is no problem to use the content in spring. “Good dispersion paints last for years if you store them properly,” says Walter Brown of the Boston painters’ guild. However, they should be free of water. “If they are diluted with water, they are more likely to mold and spoil.” Fields therefore also advise not to dilute the entire bucket of paint when renovating, so that the residues last longer.
Filling up the tool and equipment assortment in winter
A welcome side effect of the winter tool and equipment care: If damage is discovered during inspection or if an important tool is missing that you will need in the coming season, you can now often make a bargain. In winter, the prices for garden tools and implements are often significantly lower than in spring or summer, because then in DIY stores and garden centers the remaining goods are sold at a reduced price.