Is there anything worse than going to start a lawnmower for the first time in the spring so that you can cut your grass only to realize that it won’t start up for you? It’s not going to get your spring lawn care routine off to a very good start! Fortunately, you should be able to steer clear of finding yourself in this situation by learning how to store a lawnmower in the winter. By winterizing your lawnmower and figuring out the best way to store a lawnmower, you can almost guarantee that it’ll start right up in the spring without a problem.
Here are some useful tips on storing a lawnmower during the winter that will help to have it ready to go in the spring.
Begin by Emptying Your Lawnmower’s Gas Tank:
In theory, you might think that storing a lawnmower with a full tank of gas would be a good idea. But it can actually do a lot more harm than good to your lawnmower.
Any gas that gets left in a lawnmower during the winter can go stale on you. This can result in the gas gumming up your lawnmower’s carburetor and potentially causing major issues for it.
For this reason, you should always siphon any gas that you have left in a lawnmower at the end of the summer and remove it. You don’t ever want to store a lawnmower with gas still left in it.
Disconnect Your Lawnmower’s Spark Plug:
After you’re finished removing any leftover gas from your lawnmower, you should disconnect its spark plug.
Leaving your spark plug connected during the winter isn’t actually going to cause any issues. But it might present a problem while you’re working your way through the rest of the steps listed here.
As long as your spark plug is still connected, you might inadvertently start your lawnmower up while you’re winterizing it. And this is obviously the last thing that you want to have happened since it could cause serious injuries. So you should make it a point to disconnect your spark plug from the start.
Take Off Your Lawnmower’s Blade:
Once you’ve disconnected your lawnmower’s spark plug, you should flip your lawnmower over and remove its blade. You can do this by putting on a pair of heavy-duty gloves so that you can hold the blade and loosen the bolts that are used to hold it in place.
It’s important to remove your lawnmower’s blade because it’ll allow you to clean the bottom of your lawnmower easier. It’ll also provide you with the perfect opportunity to have your blade sharpened over the winter.
Remove the Oil From Your Lawnmower:
A lawnmower is just like a car in that it needs to have its oil changed every so often. Generally speaking, you should try to start off every spring season with fresh oil.
In order to do this, you should remove the old oil that is in your lawnmower from it at the end of the winter. You should be able to do this by sticking an oil pan under your lawnmower. And removing the plug for your oil reservoir.
You can then replace this plug once all of the oil from your lawnmower has been drained and add fresh oil to your reservoir. It’ll provide you with the fresh oil that you need for the springtime.
Clean the Bottom of Your Lawnmower:
Throughout the course of the spring, summer, and fall, grass clippings and other debris will often build up on the bottom of your lawnmower. And once you put your lawnmower into storage, they’ll usually dry up and then make a big mess in whatever you use for lawnmower storage.
You can stop this from happening by cleaning the bottom of your lawnmower. You should scrape off anything that is built-up on it and possibly even power wash it just for good measure.
Replace Your Lawnmower’s Air Filter:
There is an air filter in your lawnmower that is designed to help your engine get the fresh air that it needs for combustion. Over time, this air filter can get to be very dirty.
While you’re winterizing your lawnmower, you should sneak a peek at the air filter in it. If it could stand to be replaced, it would be the perfect time to do it. It’ll prevent you from having to run out to find a new air filter in the spring.
Stick Your Lawnmower Into a Shed for the Winter:
Once you’re done doing everything else that we’ve talked about, you’ll officially be ready to put your lawnmower away for the winter. A lawnmower shed would be the perfect place to put it.
A great mower shed will provide your lawnmower with the protection that it needs from the elements. It’ll also keep insects and other pests away from your mower so that it doesn’t get damaged over the winter.
You’ll sleep better at night throughout the winter after learning how to store a lawnmower from start to finish.
How to Store a Lawnmower the Right Way?
Storing a lawnmower for the winter should be easy. It should only take you an hour or two to do it.
But far too often, people either skip some of the steps listed here or don’t bother to take any of them. And they end up paying the price for it when their lawnmowers don’t start-up in the spring.
You should avoid having this happen to you by learning how to store a lawnmower and taking all the necessary steps while doing it. It’ll make your lawnmower last longer and ensure that it starts up every time for you.
Find more great lawn care tips and tricks by reading through some of the other articles posted on our blog.
