Fall Home Maintenance Tip: Storing Your Mower

Before storing your mower for the winter, perform the following maintenance to ensure your mower is ready to start right up and run smoothly next Spring.

• Clean the mower from top to bottom, and turn it on its side to clean out all the accumulated grass from the mower deck.
• Add fuel stabilizer to the gas in your mower as well as the gas in your gas cans.  Fuel stabilizer prevents the gasoline from degrading and potentially damaging internal engine parts.  Then run the mower for 5 minutes to make sure the stabilizer reaches the carburetor.
• Remove the spark plug and pour a capful of engine oil into the spark plug hole.  Then pull the starter cord a few times to distribute the oil to keep pistons lubricated.

Give all your lawn equipment a thorough cleaning to avoid rust and deterioration, including all your hand tools. 

For all your other power equipment such as edgers, trimmers, and blowers, follow the manufacturer's recommended maintenance and remember that if you are going to leave fuel in the tanks, be sure to add fuel stabilizer to keep it from deteriorating.  Otherwise, empty all the gas from the tanks before storing.