When the summer season officially comes to an end, cleaning, repairing, and storing your outdoor equipment effectively should be part of your fall maintenance strategy. Proper storage will save you money by prolonging the life of your equipment, avoiding repair or replacement, and will ensure that they are ready to use when you need them in the spring.
- Store all equipment in clean, dry shelters where they are protected from the elements and the temperature remains stable. Cold temperatures can cause plastic to become brittle and break, possibly damaging your tools or equipment.
- Inspect all cables, joints, and hardware for wear or damage and address these issues before you put them away.
- Conduct any required maintenance, like draining and changing oil, installing new filters, cleaning out dirt and debris, sanding off, and conditioning any rusty areas, where applicable.
- Depending on your equipment, you should also lubricate any moving parts like clutch cables, accessible transmission parts, and other mechanicals to prevent any moisture from getting in and causing parts to rust.
- Sharpen any blades and condition them with general-purpose mineral oil to keep them in good working order.
- Take care of any fuel that’s left. Unused fuel left over the winter can become stale, damage equipment, so add fuel stabilizer to the tank to make it last over the winter months. Refer to the manufacturer’s directions to get the correct stabilizer for each piece of equipment.
- Charge batteries and store them on wood shelving or in a climate-controlled environment, so they stay warm through the season.
- Airflow is important to avoid oxidization, so protect equipment with blades from humidity by wrapping them in a towel.
When properly maintained and stored, your outdoor equipment can last many years, through all seasons. Make outdoor equipment storage a priority in your maintenance plan to save on repairs and replacement and keep your equipment running all year.
