GardenGap.com » Gardening » A Appropriately Maintained Garden Tool Will Really Cut Down On Injuries

A Appropriately Maintained Garden Tool Will Really Cut Down On Injuries

If you are interested in prolonging the life of your gardening tools and care about preventing injuries, then that it is very important for you to learn how to correctly use and maintain these tools. For example, properly uncoiling a hose will prevent you from tripping or catching your foot in the coil. Another example would be leaving your backyard rake out so you could step on it and have it come up and whack you in the face, or have one of the tines go through your foot. It is very important never to leave any type of tool with points are edges on them hidden in grass or leaves where you can't see them. Keep your fingers and hands away from lawn mower blades at all cost, as is hitting your hand against one of them can cause a bad cut. A small, slight crack in a wooden handle can be repaired by wrapping the handle with tape. If you have any though, a glass filament tape seems to work the best for this job.

If any of the wooden handled tools that you own have splinters, then you can easily cure this problem by sanding them down smooth. Doing this doesn't only guard your hands, but it will keep the splinters from spreading into full-blown splits which will end up in a broken handle.

A really easy way to make your wood handles last a little longer is to put on a few coats of either quality varnish or a good coat of paint. Any parts on the tool that are made out of metal may be painted as well and it is a good idea to use a coat of primer and to exterior coats. You needn't paint any of the metal parts that are made to work in the ground, as it will come right off anyhow when you use the tool.

Making the tool last longer shouldn't be the only intent on your painting the tools as when they are painted the appropriate colors they are much easier to keep track of. The color, therefore, should not be green or brown, but a bright contrast to the grass such as red. yellow, blue, or white.

The normal wear and tear on tools will happen when you use them and this often results in the edges of the tool becoming nicked or damaged. These may be smoothed with a metal file. Any rough surfaces should be gone over with steel wool or other abrasive which is good for metal. Dents may be straightened out by hammering with a mallet. Any break in a wheelbarrow whether in the metal parts ofr the wood, you need to make sure an repair promptly. If you want to preserve your wheelbarrow for a little bit longer period of time, you can easily do so by painting it as this helps to protect the wood. The moving parts need occasional oiling, to run smoothly. For winter storage, keep tools in a dry spot as dampness could be harmful. Make sure that you clean your tools thoroughly before you put them in storage. It is always a good idea to coat the metal parts on your tools with a mixture of petroleum jelly and light oil in order to prevent any rusting while in storage.

If you appropriately take care of your garden tools they will last you for many many years.

Article Source: GardenGap.com

About the Author

Another way to properly take care of your tools is to keep them organized. A garage tool organizer is a perfect way to do this, and you can read more about my visiting http://gardentoolorganizer.org