Garden equipment maintenance tips

If you’re the one in your household that is in charge of the garden tools, gadgets and machinery, then you’ll know this is the perfect time of year for a bit of well-earned maintenance.

As the garden winds down for the winter, your garden machinery may be put away for a few months at a time without you giving it a second thought. For example, you’ll probably have already given up mowing the lawn, and the lawnmower is never needed during the winter, so it is the ideal time to service it. 

Before storing it away, give it a good clean up, sharpen the blades, but take great care when doing this, or invest in a proper service at a reputable machinery outlet to keep it in tip top condition. 

Empty out any remaining fuel, if you have petrol-driven mower, or check that the electricity lead is in good order, before it storing away, if you have the plug in variety.

You can repeat this process with all the other items of garden machinery you might have too. They all need some TLC at the end of the season to ensure they start first time when you need them again.

Any tools that will no longer be required, like lawn edgers and pruning shears, should be wiped clean and all metal parts sprayed with a lubricant such as WD40 to stop corrosion. 

To prevent damage to your garden hoses when the frosty weather kicks in, make sure all the water is drained from them and wrap hessian, fleece or bubble wrap around any external taps and pipes to protect them from the cold.

Meanwhile manual tools, which will still be in use, such as trowels, bulb planters and garden spades and forks, should be cleaned off after each use and lubricated with specialist grease or WD40. This helps protect against rusting and generally keeps them in good order.