Storing Landscaping Tools For The Winter Months

You don't have to wait until the end of the season to protect your landscape tool investment. It's good practice to rinse your tools off after each use, dry them thoroughly and apply a light coat of oil to all metal parts. Use a stiff-bristle brush to clean stubborn, hard-to-remove dirt. If you make this a routine, you won't have to do much at the end of the season when it comes to preparing your commercial landscaping tools for winter storage.

You should have a designated space or worktable where you can inspect your tools and have any necessary maintenance preformed. Covering the area with newspaper or plastic sheeting will not only protect the area, but it will also make it faster to clean up after the maintenance is done.

Be sure to store your tools off the ground and away from moisture and other elements. Garages and basements with direct outdoor access are good storage places as long as they are dry. If you don't have a place to store your tools and equipment, you may want to consider building or purchasing a tool shed.

Before having your equipment stored for the off-season, sharpen or replace blades on tools that cut or dig. Your properties digging and cutting tools' blades get worn down over time, but filing can easily sharpen any nicked or dull blades. Hone and maintain the sharp edge of all cutting tools with a medium-grit sharpening stone. For faster cutting, wet the stone with water or lubricate it with honing oil, depending on the type of stone you're using.

Safety Alert! Your staff should always wear heavy gloves when cleaning or sharpening sharp cutting tools. Wear goggles when using a wire brush to remove rust and dirt.

Sharpen very dull hedge trimmer blades by moving a file away from and diagonally across the sharp edge, making sure you maintain the factory bevel. Then decrease the angle slightly and hone just the last 1/16" of the blade with a sharpening stone. If your trimmer has a serrated blade, do not attempt to sharpen it.

Most digging tools aren't sold sharpened, so they should be sharpen from the very start. The more your digging tools are used, the duller they get. The working edge should be filed to a 45-degree bevel with the proper file.

Of course if you are using Greens Keeper to maintain your commercial property you don’t have to worry about maintenance or storage of your tools for the winter season.

More importantly you can let Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance do all the work for you and take the burden off your shoulders all together.  Give us a call at 623-848-8277 and let’s talk about it.

Presented by:
Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance, LLC
623-848-8277
http://www.commerciallandscapecare.com
greenskeeperllc@cox.net