Winterize Your Lawn Mower

With the ever lower temperatures of fall descending upon us, we're quickly approaching the time to winterize your summer lawn and garden tools and dig out the winter tools that we use to deal with the imminent snowy and icy conditions. When spring time rolls around next year, don't be left "out in the cold" when you again need to use your gas powered lawn mower by taking a few minutes to properly clean and winterize your equipment.

You will need a few basic items to help ensure that your gas powered lawn mower starts up and performs correctly when you break it back out in the spring. These items include:

Flat blade screwdriver

Metal scraper

Stiff bristled brush

Garden hose or pressure washer

WD-40

Sta-Bil gasoline stabilizer

Proper grade oil for the engine

File

Air and fuel filter (if applicable)

Armor-all

Car wax

Safety eyewear

Begin your winterization process by thoroughly rinsing your lawnmower. Do this only with the engine shut off. Clean all of the cracks and crevices on the top of the mower as well as underneath the cutting deck and the blade. This is where the flat blade screwdriver and metal scraper come in handy for prying loose all of the built up sludge, gunk, and grime in and around the cutting deck. Use the stiff bristled brush to avoid scratching painted surfaces. This is also a good time to inspect the blade to ensure that it's in proper working order. Check for any cracks or missing parts due to your teenager accidentally hitting an unforgiving object. This is also the perfect opportunity to sharpen the blade (with a hand file) to insure that you are getting a good clean cut of the grass blades. This is also the time to apply some WD-40 to the blade to protect it against rust.

Next, inspect the tires for ware. If you have a lawnmower with inflatable tires, check the tires for any punctures and inflate the tires to the recommended pressure. Now is a good time to apply some Armor-all or other cleaner treatment to the tires to help preserve them. Lubricate the axles with a generous spray of WD-40.

Add the appropriate amount of Sta-Bil gasoline stabilizer or similar product (according to the directions on the bottle) to the gas tank and then run the mower for a few minutes to ensure that the stabilizer reaches the carburetor bowl and float. After running the mower, let it cool off for a few minutes before proceeding to the next step.

Next, change the oil and oil filter according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Inspect and change the air and fuel filter if necessary according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Remove and inspect and then clean or replace the sparkplug of the lawn mower. This will help with starting and will help maintain the fuel efficiency of the engine.

Inspect the drive belts of the mower and change the belts if they are worn or cracked.

Inspect the battery and terminals. Clean them if they have a white chalky buildup. If the battery is not a sealed cell battery, check the level of fluid in the battery but use caution when dealing with the corrosive acid inside the battery. It is a good idea to disconnect the positive (red) terminal of the battery throughout storage and an even better idea to connect a battery tender to maintain the health and charge of your battery.

Inspect all throttle and engagement controls and lubricate and adjust as necessary.

At this point I like to apply a coat of wax to any painted metal surfaces and apply a coat of Armor-All to the plastic surfaces. This helps prevent rust, make your next clean-up a snap and it makes the mower look nice.

Finally, don't forget to use a gas stabilizer in your fuel can to ensure that you don't have a can full of bad gas when spring rolls around.

Spend a few minutes to maintain and winterize your yard equipment so that you can be assured that your first springtime outing is easy and trouble free. I like to set aside a few hours to perform these steps on the weed eater, lawn mower, leaf blower, and chain saw. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.