How to Properly Store Your Lawn Mower or Small Tractor
Unless you live in a city, odds are your home has a lawn that needs to be mowed every week or so. This means that you must have a small tractor or push mower to store when it's not being used. It's not wise to leave that equipment outside in the elements. Learn how to properly store your tractor or lawn mower.
How To Store Your Tractor Or Lawn Mower During The Spring And Summer
Before we list good options for storing your mower, we should explain what you are trying to avoid. During the spring and summer, as you are actively mowing your lawn, you may be tempted to leave your mower outside or in a less ideal but convenient place. Do not do this. You'll want to avoid moisture, direct sunlight, and grass. All of those elements will damage your lawn mower or tractor over time. Mowers and other gas powered equipment must also be stored level, or you risk gasoline flooding the engine. It's also a good idea to lock the mower up to avoid theft.
Perhaps the best location to store your lawn tractor or push mower is inside a garage. The enclosed walls, roof, and concrete flooring keeps your mower completely protected from the elements. The only downside is you might not have the room to fit a mower or tractor and your car. A storage shed is nearly as good an option as a garage. So long as your shed is level and has a wooden floor, it will offer just as much protection from damage. Pulling your mower out of your shed might prove a little more difficult than the rolling doors of a garage. A less ideal place to store your mower would be beneath a carport or similar overhang. This will keep rain and direct sunlight off of your mower, but could be damaged by dirt or ground water. This would also be an easy target for a thief. If this is your only option, however, raise it off of the dirt with cinder blocks, gravel, or asphalt.
How to Store Your Tractor or Lawn Mower During the Spring and Summer
Before diving into the best storage solutions, we must cover what practices to avoid. While actively cutting your grass during the warmer months, leaving your equipment outside in a convenient spot might seem tempting. However, you should not do this. It's crucial to protect it from moisture, direct sunlight, and grass buildup. All these factors will damage your lawn mower or tractor as time passes. Furthermore, gas-powered tools need to rest on a level surface, otherwise, you risk flooding the engine with fuel. Locking up your equipment to prevent theft is also highly recommended.
The optimal place for storing your push mower or tractor is inside a garage. Concrete floors, a roof, and enclosed walls shield your equipment entirely from outdoor elements. The only drawback is a potential lack of space for both your vehicle and your mower. A storage shed serves as an excellent alternative to a garage. Provided the shed has a sturdy wooden floor and sits level, it delivers comparable protection against damage. Maneuvering your equipment in and out of a shed might be slightly more challenging than using standard garage doors. A less favorable option is keeping your mower under an overhang or carport. While this blocks direct rain and sunlight, your machine remains vulnerable to ground water and dirt. It also makes an easy target for thieves. If this represents your only choice, be sure to elevate the mower off the soil using asphalt, gravel, or cinder blocks.
How to Store Your Tractor or Lawn Mower For the Winter
During the winter months, when your lawn mower is not in use, the same rules apply along with some additional rules. Before storing your mower for the off-season, you should always clean it of any stuck on grass, leaves, or dirt. If your tractor or mower has an electric battery, you should remove it and bring it inside. Extreme temperature fluctuations will cause battery degradation. You should also drain the gasoline from the tank. Gas can freeze and damage your mower if left in low temperatures. An alternative would be to add fuel stabilizer to a completely full tank. Don’t ever leave it half full.
From this point, placing your tractor or mower in the shed or garage are still great ideas. Under a carport is not. Since you are not using your mower for several months, you could bring it inside and store it in your basement. If possible, you can even fold or collapse certain parts of your equipment to give you a little more space to eventually pull out those snow shovels and sleds at the first snowfall.
Add More Storage to Your Home
Whether you are gearing up for the springtime yard work or placing items into deep storage for the winter, it’s never too late to add more storage to your property.Find a Country Cabins dealer near you today.We offer plenty of storage solutions, like pre-built sheds or detached garages, for you to store your lawn tractor or push mower and other seasonal equipment