With winter coming quickly, your outside yard duties will become less and less appealing as the temperature begins to fall.
Your lawnmower, more than likely, has taken a beating over the summer and spring months.
So, the winter is the perfect opportunity to get it back into shape for the upcoming spring.
First things first:
A vital component is making sure that your lawnmower is safely stored in the winter months.
After all, your lawnmower has been faithful to you during those brutally hot months; the least you can do is get it well prepared for a happy reunion in the spring!
Here are several tips for storing a lawnmower for the winter so that you can get back to it after the winter season with no problems.
While there are several tips for storing your lawnmower in the winter, all are easy and take minimal time.
Best of all:
These simple and helpful tips can save you a lot of time later.
If you don’t have time to read the entire article the video below gives you some quick tips.
#1 Remove/ Replace the Spark-plug
Firstly, It’s a great idea to remove and replace the spark plug on your lawnmower- yes, even if it’s in decent shape!
A new spark-plug is cheap and easy to find: buying a new one saves you from the hassle of something happening to your old one mid-summer when you’re trying to get the lawn mowed before it’s one hundred degrees out.
What is more:
Removing the spark-plug will prevent it from accidentally getting kick started while cleaning the rest of the mower – it may be helpful to not lose any fingers over the winter!
Replacing the spark-plug is an easy thing that can save you time and annoyance later.
# 2 Remove the Battery
It may also be beneficial to remove the battery from your mower before storing it in the garage or shed.
After removing your battery, get a battery cleaning product to clean the battery. There are many cleaning products on the market: Crc battery cleaner, Noco, and Briggs & Stratton.
Then:
After removing the battery, make sure to place it in a cool and dry place- this goes for the lawnmower as well!
If you’d like, I would recommend using a coat on all terminals for extra protection: Briggs & Stratton has a terminal protector.
Taking the little time to add extra care for the battery can save you much time and money!
#3 Empty the Mowers Contents
Also, it’s always a good idea to empty the lawnmower of all its contents.
While it’s often debated whether it’s necessary to empty the mower, it doesn’t hurt to be safe! It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Bottom line is:
Although stabilizer fluid can be added, leaving gas in the lawnmower for too long can cause the carburetor to clog and the mower to rust on the inside.
Removing all of the fluid can also help maintain the life of the battery.
However, if you decide to use stabilizer fluid, make sure you run the mower before putting it back in the garage or shed; the fluid needs to get in the carburetor and without starting the mower after adding the stabilizer, it won’t.
#4 Clean the Deck and Blades
Another helpful yet easy tip is cleaning the undercarriage of your lawn mower before storing it.
It will be beneficial to remove the blade before doing this – you might as well clean that while you’re at it too!
If needed, you can even sharpen your blade; just make sure all the blades are evenly sharpened before putting it back.
Once the blade is removed, get a putty knife or wire brush and get all the grass and clunks of dirt off from underneath the mower.
Why?
Doing this will help the bottom of the mower from getting rusted while not being used for an extended period of time.
After making sure all the garbage is out from underneath the mower, you can put the blade back on. When springtime comes, you’ll have a clean mower ready to go!
#5 Replace the Air Filter
After a long season, it’s always helpful to replace the air filter in your lawnmower, as well.
A bad air filter makes it difficult for the gas to burn efficiently. Sure, this can be done before you start mowing again in the spring.
Nevertheless:
Doing these little things in the winter allows you to take the mower out after the winter and start mowing without the hassle of all the maintenance.
The least amount of maintenance at once, the best: especially once it gets hot!
#6 Time to Store the Mower
Lastly, once you’ve done all the tidbits to get your lawnmower ready for winter storage, it’s essential to know how to store the mower.
When storing the lawnmower, put it in a dry place that will keep it away from the damp winter conditions: the best place to store the mower is in a garage or shed.
Here’s the point:
If you keep it on a concrete floor, it may be beneficial to put some plastic beneath it to prevent moisture from getting the deck damp and rusting.
It’s also a good idea to put a cover over it. If you don’t have a cover for your mower, a tarp would be sufficient. Also, if storing your mower in a garage, keep it away from furnaces or water heaters – that could get dangerous!
Lawnmowers can be extremely expensive. So, it might be helpful to take good care of your mower during the winter months to increase the life of it now so you can decrease your expenses later: maybe you can use your Christmas money on what you want instead!
Prepping your lawnmower for a nice hibernation in the winter will lengthen its usefulness and allow it to be ready for the mowing season.
Let’s be honest:
Nobody wants to push the mower out of the shed in the spring and have it not work. That’s why it’s essential to do the easy work of maintenance now before it turns to hard work later!
Have the confidence to store your lawnmower in the winter and come back in the spring with it working as well or better than ever- you won’t regret doing the little things now, I promise.
USEFUL RESOURCES
Want to find out more about caring for your lawn mower? Check out these links:
