How to Clean and Store Outdoor Tools for the Winter
Learning how to properly care for your tools will help them last much longer and stay in good condition. At the end of the gardening season when you are finished with your tools, there are ways you can store them for the winter so they will ready for use when the spring comes.
Supplies
- Work gloves
- Red paint
- Paste wax
- Wire brush
- Bucket
- Sandpaper
- Metal files
- Penetrating oil
- Steel wool pad
- Sharpening file
- Clean the dried on dirt off of the tools. You can use a wire brush to remove stuck on dirt. Soak the tools in water for a few minutes if you cannot remove the dirt, and then try to remove it again. Use an old rag to thoroughly dry the tools.
- Rub the tools with a steel wool pad to remove any rust that you see. Make sure you wear gloves while doing this.
- Use sandpaper on wooden handles to remove rough spots. Wipe off the handles on the tools with a cloth to remove any dust from the sandpaper. Put paste wax on the wooden handles to condition them after you finish sanding them.
- Sharpen the blades using a sharpening file on the tools, if they have blades that need to be sharpened.
- Spray lubricating oil on metal tools to keep them from becoming rusted over the winter.
- Put the tools in a dry area when you are finished cleaning them. Hang the tools up on a wall, if possible, to prevent them from getting wet in the winter. If you are storing them in a shed, hang nails on the wall so you can hang the tools on them.