As the warm spring weather begins, people start turning their thoughts to all of the household maintenance and repairs that need completed before the summer heat sets in. It's time to pull out your gardening tools, hose, and lawn mower, and put winter tools, such as your snow removal equipment in storage. However, before you remove the plow from the front of your truck or set your snowblower in the corner of your garage, make sure you've taken all of the necessary steps to protect your equipment while it's being stored.

Clean Your Equipment

It's extremely important to clean all of your snow removal equipment thoroughly before you store it for the summer -- especially if you've used your truck plow to remove snow from parking lots or the streets in your neighborhood. Businesses and cities typically use salt to prevent ice buildup on roads and in parking lots, and road salt can cause your equipment to rust. It's typically easier to clean the majority of your truck plow while it's still attached to your truck. However, once you remove the plow, you should inspect it and clean any areas that you might have missed.

Drain the Fuel

If you have a gas-powered snow blower, you need to drain the fuel from the engine before you store it to prevent gum deposits from forming on the tank, filter, carburetor, and hose. Some snow blowers allow you to drain the gas tank manually. If your snow blower has this option, all you need to do is empty the gas in the snow blower into a gas tank. You can then use the gas in your lawn mower or car, as long as the gas hasn't been mixed with anything else, such as oil.

If your snow blower doesn't allow you to drain the gas manually, simply turn the snow blower on and let it run until it runs out of gas. If you don't want to drain the gas, you can add gas stabilizer to the gas tank before you put the snow blower in storage. Just make sure that you follow the directions on the gas stabilizer that you purchase, and that you let the snow blower run for at least 10 minutes after the stabilizer is added to the tank so that it has enough time to reach the carburetor.

Wrap the Equipment

Before you store your snow removal equipment, you should cover it up to protect it from collecting dirt and dust while it's being stored. If you don't have a cover that's made specifically for your snow blower or snow plow, cover the equipment with a tarp and use bungee cords or rope to keep the tarp secure.

Snow removal equipment isn't difficult to store. However, it's important that you prepare your equipment for storage first. Not only does proper preparation make it easier to use your equipment again when needed, but it protects your equipment from damage so that it lasts a long time.

For more information, check out companies such as Drake-Scruggs Equipment Inc.

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