Spring Snow Blower Maintenance

It seems that the bad weather has come to a close a bit early this year, and many of us even started planting before May. Normally, there’s more risk of frost coming back to bite us, but we got off easy this time. While it’s easy to get caught up in all of the things we have to do in the yard to get it ready for enjoying the beautiful weather to come, we should also make an effort to stay on top of the routine maintenance for our winter equipment as we put it away for the summer. Unless you’re fortunate enough to have heavier equipment for snow removal, most likely the biggest item you’re going to need to square away is your snow blower.

General Storage Tips

When it come to storing your snow blower you’ll want to think about where and how you’re going to keep it for the upcoming months. You’ll want to make sure it is protected from the elements, and obviously you won’t want it getting in your way of your everyday life. It can be a pain to move your snow blower every time you need to get at your gardening equipment.

If you have space in a shed that’s a great place to put it. It will keep it dry and out of direct sunlight. Another option is to keep your snow blower in your garage if you have the space, or even in a basement – though it can be a bit back breaking to get it up and down the stairs of a bulkhead. Consider calling in some help if you go this route. The last resort is to keep it outside. If you must do this make sure it is quite well covered and out of the direct sun.

Before you put your snow blower to bed for the season though, make sure you’ve taken some basic winterizing precautions.

Winterization Basics

At the end of the season you’ll want to give your snow blower a good clean and tune up. Make sure that it is thoroughly dry and make sure that all of the internal components are in good condition. Now is a great time to fix anything that’s been bugging you over the winter season, as the pressure won’t be on to make sure it’s fixed in time for the next snow storm. You’ll want to make sure to remove all of the gasoline from the tank before putting it to rest, as old gas can be a pain to purge out later down the road. Either run the snow blower until it runs out or simply siphon the gas out into a can for use in your lawn more.

Now is also a great time to evaluate if you need to purchase a new snow blower. The deals are better than ever as snow removal equipment suppliers rush to liquidate their inventories. If you’ve been on the fence as to whether or not your snow blower is going to make it for the long haul, take advantage of these deals and scoop up something new for later in the year.

A little foresight will go a long way when it comes to storing your snow blower for the coming months. This will make sure that it’s ready to go when the first snow fall comes around, so you won’t be scrambling to figure out how to get your snow blower to start when you need it most. It’s not that much work after all, and if you take care of it now it’s sure to pay off in the long run.