You probably use your lawn mower quite a bit in the late spring, summer months, and perhaps the early fall. While you should be keeping up with the maintenance of your mower all through those months of use, once it’s time for you to store away your lawn mower for winter, there are some things you’ll definitely need to do. Keep these tips in mind to make sure that your lawn mower is ready to go when the next season for mowing comes around.

First of all, you need to change the engine oil and change the oil filter as well as the air filter. This way you start out next season with new oil and new filters in place. You should make sure that the gas is out of the fuel tank as well. You can run it out or empty the fuel tank. If you are going to leave any fuel in the tank, then you need to put some additive in that will keep it from gumming up during the winter months.

There are several areas that you’ll want to lubricate before you store the lawn mower for winter. You should add some engine oil to the cylinders and then put the spark plugs back in. Treat all the metal surfaces on the mower deck with a material that prevents rust. Make sure that the grass is all cleaned out of the mower deck and the rest of the mower too.

If you have an electric mower, remove the power cord and get rid of the negative cable that is on the battery during the winter. If you make sure to do all these steps before you store the mower for the winter time, when you get out the mower in the spring, it will help make sure that everything is still in great shape.