The winter season brings a lot of joy and pleasure to everyone. Christmas is close. You might even be considering a short holiday, have snowball fights, and more. With all these pleasures, winter also brings specific responsibilities for your garden equipment, tasks that need to be done to spend this season without occasional hiccups. This includes taking care of your lawn so it will be ready for spring. During winter, a lot of your equipment is idle; therefore, when spring arrives, and they are required to do their tasks again, they start misbehaving. To keep them in good condition, it’s important to winterize your equipment.
How to store a Lawnmower for winter:
- 1: Store the lawnmower in the basement
- 2: Store the lawnmower outside
- 3: Store the lawnmower in the garage
- 4: Store the lawnmower in an outdoor plastic box
- 5: Store the lawnmower in a wooden shed
- 6: Some innovative DIY alternatives
After the last cut of your lawn, it’s time to winterize your lawnmower and then find a suitable place to store it. For storage, there are multiple options depending on your situation. An ideal place is your garage, but maybe it’s already occupied with your car or other stuff. This article will discuss some ideas on how you can store your lawnmower safely for the winter.
Six ideas to store your lawnmower for winter
● 1: Store the lawnmower in the basement
If you are looking to store your lawnmower for the entire winter season, opting for the basement can be a good solution. It depends, of course, on how big your lawnmower is. If you have room for it and if you can manage to get it there.
If you plan to store the lawnmower in the basement, you definitely should empty the gas tank. A filled gas tank poses a potential fire risk. In this case, it could explode and be extremely damaging to both yourself and your home. Additionally, it’s not advised to keep the gas in the tank anyway. Storing it for more than a month can degrade the fuel.
Leaving this harmful gas can make it more challenging for your lawnmower to start in spring. To keep gas useable while stored away during the wintertime, you should add some fuel stabilizer and ensure that the carburetor’s gas is removed. When you empty the gas tank, please keep it in a suitable container somewhere outside the house.
An electric lawnmower can safely be stored indoors. All you have to do is remove the batteries and use a trickle charger if you have one.
Although keeping the lawnmower in the basement is not the most optimal storage location, it can be suitable for the short term.
● 2: Store the lawnmower out in the yard:
Storing a lawnmower out in the yard is maybe not your first option. But it can be necessary if you don’t have better alternatives available. Of course, the lawnmower must be covered to protect it from the winter weather. If you have a more sheltered location with a roof to protect against the rain, that would be ideal.
Also, think about the security risks if you have a more expensive lawnmower. Leaving it out in the open can invite burglars. Only store your lawnmower outside if you have it protected so that it can’t be easily moved. Use a lock and chain, or if you have a more oversized sitting lawnmower, a wheel clamp.
If you store your lawnmower outside, use a firm and good quality cover, making sure to cover the whole lawnmower. Also, try to get something under the mower, so it does not sit on the ground directly. This provides some protection against rust. You can find different covers in stores or online at Amazon. Make sure you know the correct measurements for your lawnmower before buying a cover.
● 3: Store the lawnmower in the garage:
Storing the lawnmower in your garage is one of the most common options. No matter what the climate conditions are, the mower will stay protected. In addition, there is no extra cost incurred when it comes to storing in an already present garage. Both attached and detached garages are a great way to keep your lawnmower and other such equipment safe over winter.
The only downside to storing your lawnmower in your garage is that it can take up a lot of space. Usually, garages are used for parking your car and as a workstation and a storage space for various types of equipment such as leaf blowers, chainsaws, and toolboxes. The garage can get exceptionally crowded, making it difficult to keep an additional bulky device, like a lawnmower.
● 4: Store the lawnmower in an outside plastic storage box:
Another option to store the lawnmower is by opting for an outdoor plastic storage box meant for storage purposes. These storage boxes could either be made or purchased. These storage containers are available in several sizes. And there are several options that one could easily fit an entire lawnmower inside.
An upside to using these boxes is that they occupy minimal space. These boxes are ideal for different climate conditions, especially when considering the winter season. Although it may look like they are secure, it’s not difficult to break them. Therefore, I recommend placing them in a safe place that is not easily accessible. Another downside is that they aren’t usually made up of very strong material, and there could be eventual cracks if you are using substandard materials. These cracks could allow moisture to get in, eventually harming the lawnmower.
Furthermore, compared to the garage and basement storage, these boxes could get, comparatively, a little more expensive.
● 5: Store the lawnmower in a wooden shed:
Another excellent option to store the lawnmower is a wooden shed. This would help you keep your lawnmower out of the elements and out of an already occupied space, such as the basement and the garage. If you have a well-built wooden shed, you might not need to have any security concerns. All you need to do is make sure there is a lock on the shed.
Wooden sheds are highly durable and long-lasting. If properly built, a wooden shed can last for an entire lifetime. Besides, wooden sheds are considered highly customizable. It’s straightforward and practical to add several hooks and shelves that can be used to store a lawnmower and various other equipment. You could also use these sheds as a workshop and do the necessary maintenance for your lawnmower in there.
Although a wooden shed is a great option and promises security and protection for your lawnmower in almost all seasons, the only downside is that more costly than most alternatives. But, if a shed is built correctly by a reputable agency, it could be worth your money due to the options of security, space, and durability they provide.
● 6: Some innovative DIY alternatives:
Although the options mentioned above are extremely practical and reliable, you could opt for certain DIY alternatives using proper materials and tools.
- You could go for a DIY garage pulley lawnmower storage. The main tools and supplies you need are several cable hooks, healthy lumber wood, a pulley system, and some carabiners. Depending upon the weight of the lawnmower, you may need to utilize more pulleys and carabiners. You could also store other objects using these carabiners.
- In addition, you could also opt for a ceiling lawnmower storage DIY system. For this DIY solution, it’s important to make sure the garage doesn’t have a car in it. The main supplies needed are a coated steel cable, hoist intersection, and several hooks. This is a smart method to store the lawnmower and saves a lot of space in your garage as the lawnmower is suspended in the air.
- If you own multiple lawnmowers, you would require a lot of space to store them. In this case, having a shelf with equidistant compartments could do the job. If you don’t have an appropriate shelf, you could easily make one. Making a shelf would require at least 4-5 pieces of thick treated wood, a hand drill, clamps, rivets, and a measuring tape. Find a strong wall in the garage and after making the required measurements, place the wooden planks one above the other. A good way to ensure you’re doing this correctly is to follow a simple YouTube tutorial.
Final Remarks:
When it comes to the winter season, you should find a way to store your lawnmower properly to ensure it’s in proper working condition for the spring. The first step in keeping your lawnmower in good condition is to winterize it and properly tune it up. Once you have followed all the necessary steps for winterization, the next step is to find a suitable place to store the lawnmower.
No matter where you’re storing it, make sure that your lawnmower is secure, away from moisture, and protected from harsh climate conditions.