Tips To Keep Your Lawn Mower Safe During Winter Storage
A lawn mower can be a rather expensive tool to own, but it may be essential for ensuring that your yard is well maintained. Unfortunately, homeowners are often poorly prepared when it comes to protecting the lawn mower during the winter months when it is in storage. To extend the life of your lawn mower, there are some basic preparation steps that you will need to follow to help your mower survive its next winter storage.
Stabilize The Fuel
It can be a common mistake of people to think that gasoline will last for indefinite periods of time. Yet it will actually start to gradually break down, and this can cause it to fail to properly ignite in the engine. When this occurs, you may find that the engine floods, misfires, or becomes severely clogged. In some instances, the only option for repairing this type of damage to the lawn mower motor will be to replace it. You can avoid this through the addition of a fuel stabilizer, which will inhibit this degradation.
Lubricate The Joints And Hinges
Issues with the joints or hinges of the lawn mower can make it extremely difficult for you to use. Often, corrosion can be a common problem for this part of the lawn mower. You can protect the hinges against corrosion by adding lubrication to these parts of the lawn mower. The lubricant will help to protect the metal against corrosion-causing moisture. Additionally, the lubricant will gradually evaporate over the time that it is in storage, and adding more lubricant before storing it will help to ensure that the lawn mower is adequately lubricated when you remove it from storage. Make sure that any lubricant you use is labeled as safe for lawn mowers to avoid leaving a potentially sticky residue on the mower.
Keep The Lawn Mower Protected With A Cloth Cover
Dust accumulations can be another source of problems for a stored lawn mower. Over the winter months, substantial amounts of dust may gather on the air intake vents, the spark plugs, and numerous other parts of the engine. If this occurs, it can cause severe performance problems for the lawn mower, and it may even cause the engine to overheat and destroy itself. To protect the lawn mower against dust, you will want to cover it with a cotton cloth. It is important to only use cloth as a cover because plastic can trap moisture from condensation, which could rust the lawn mower.
For more tips, contact a company that specializes in winter equipment storage.