Freeing Up Space At Home

Tips For Storing Tools During The Winter Season

28 March 2017

Billie Gonzalez

Most people store their outdoor or garden tools and equipment during the winter season. A self-storage facility makes a perfect storage place as it allows you to get the tools out of the way so that they don't get damaged or cause injuries in your house. Just make sure you take these precautions first so that your tools and equipment are in their perfect conditions when you come back for them after the cold season.

Clean the Tools

Outdoor tools may look indestructible, but they can easily be destroyed by rust. Therefore, you need to clean and dry your tools before taking them to the storage unit. The cleaning ensures that no moisture is trapped by dirt buildups on the tool. Moisture is dangerous for two main reasons; first, it accelerates rusting and rotting, which can damage metallic and wooden tools respectively. Secondly, any moisture trapped in your tools may cause your tools to crack when it freezes and expands.

Lubricate Your Tools

You don't want to retrieve your tools after the cold season only to find their moving parts all dried up and stuck because the lubrication has dried up. Therefore, grease or oil the relevant parts so that they will still move with ease after the cold season. Lubrication also reduces the risk of rust.

Drain Fuels and Disconnect Batteries

For power tools or combustion engine tools, such as lawnmowers, you need to drain the fuel and disconnect the battery as necessary. Many storage facilities don't allow their clients to store fuel in their storage units; storing fuel greatly increases the risk of fire. Apart from that, the fuel may also degrade and damage your stored equipment. As for the battery, disconnect it to reduce the risk of electrical fires during storage.

Select the Right Temperature for Storage

Some tools can easily be damaged by temperature extremities. For example, power tools that use rechargeable batteries should not be exposed to extremely high or low temperatures; such temperatures damage batteries. Therefore, know the storage requirements of your power tools before selecting the right storage facility.

Moisturize Wood Tools

Lastly, you should know that wood can crack and split when it gets too dry. You can imagine how difficult and dangerous it would be to use tools with splintered handles. Therefore, take measures to ensure your wood tools will be moist for the duration of storage. A good way to do this is to apply wood oil on the relevant parts.

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