You’ve cleaned up the last of the dead leaves, finished mowing the lawn, and trimmed dead flowers from your landscaping beds. Your home’s lawn maintenance is nearly done, but you still have a few last chores to complete.
Clean Your Gutters
Even though you cleaned up your yard, there are likely thousands of leaves trapped in your gutters, which will overflow during heavy rainfall. Besides making the ground around your home a muddy mess, sitting water can actually cause foundation damage, so you want to make sure that your gutters are completely clean before the temperature drops below freezing.
Trim Dead Branches
Dead branches can snap off and cause damage if it snows, so trim off any dead branches that you can easily reach with a ladder. Hire a tree trimming company if you can’t reach high branches. Large branches make great firewood logs, and you can use smaller branches as kindling.
Prepare Engines
Once all the yard work is done, you’ll want to winterize lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and other powered equipment. Gasoline that sits around for months at a time can become watery due to condensation. Besides making the engines difficult to start up in the spring, watery gasoline can actually damage your engine’s internal components over extended periods of time.
To fix this issue, pour fuel stabilizer into the gas tank if you’re going to pull the equipment back out in March or April. If you’re going to store the equipment for more than six months, you’ll want to drain the fuel tanks completely and then turn the engines on to burn any remaining gasoline. Pour some oil into the empty gas tank before turning the engine over a few times.
Keep Batteries Fully Charged
Batteries usually die when it’s cold out, and a new battery will cost about $30. Top your batteries off every two weeks to protect them against the cold.
Take Equipment into the Shop
When was the last time you took your equipment into the shop for regular maintenance? If you go now, your mechanic will be able to finish the job in just a few days. Most people take their lawn equipment into the shop in the spring, but you can avoid the rush by planning ahead.
Remove and Prevent Rust
A little rust won’t damage your tools, but extensive rust will weaken metal parts, make blades dull, and shorten each tool’s lifespan. Remove any exterior rust with some rust remover or steel wool. Once the rust is gone, wipe down metal surfaces with an oily rag.
Don’t have time to take care of these final lawn maintenance chores for winter? Contact ABC Home & Commercial Services in San Antonio today for help around the home.