There’s nothing worse than an inefficient tool when an important garden job needs to be done. After so many uses, your garden tools can easily become dull, rusted, dirty, and sometimes they break. It’s an inconvenience to stop your activity and go buy another. You just want to get the job done, and you really don’t want to spend any extra money. Continual maintenance will help you to save money and time with your gardening tools. The following article will give you some handy tips on caring for your tools. These tips include the why and how of cleaning your tools, sharpening them, and storing them.

Cleaning Your Garden Tools

You want your tools to stay clean and looking good. If tools are dirty, it can make them dull. It can also enable them to rust more easily. So what you’ll want to do is clean excess dirt and rust off of them with water. Dry them off after you clean them because if you leave them wet, they can rust. Scrape and wipe off extra stubborn dirt and rust. Cleaning your tools can be done with an old towel. You can also clean off some dirt after use (if they don’t need a thorough cleaning) by wiping them through and on grass. But this won’t do it if the tool needs a thorough cleaning. If joints in your tools are creaking, you’ll want to lubricate them. Any lubricating spray will work fine. This helps ensure that rusty bolts and joints don’t break and work smoothly.

Storing Your Garden Tools

You’ll want to store your tools properly to keep them safe from harm, theft, rusting, and other things. If you uncaringly toss your tools to the side when you’re done with them, there’s a possibility of breaking or losing them. So what you want to do is have a specific safe and dry place to store your tools, such as a barn, basement, or garden shed. Always try to keep your tools organized and stored where they are easily accessible. When you’re done with the tool, clean it off and put it back where it was. If you leave tools sitting in bad positions, they can break or bend, and they won’t work properly. Tools should always be kept in a safe secure place. Put them in a place where you know they are, and only you have access to them. Garden sheds have some great storage systems and are probably the best way to store your tools.

Sharpening Dull Garden Tools

Dull tools don’t work as well as they should. If they are not maintained they can be dangerous to the user and harm the plants they are being used on. They can make bad or dull cuts, or not make cuts at all. If you have a dull tool, you don’t have to buy another one. You can simply sharpen your tools. Before sharpening, you’ll want to make sure your tools are clean. This will help them sharpen better and it will keep your tools for sharpening safe from dirt and rust as well. You can use sharpening blocks and stones to sharpen things such as knives and scissors.Knives and scissors can also be sharpened with a file but you will need a different file for each utensil.You can use a file or sharpening stone for sharpening your hoe.You can also use sharpening stones or metal files for sharpening things such as shovels and rakes.You can use a file to keep your tools sharp.