Made simple: the quickest way to clean garden tools

The sand and oil method is an easy way to clean gardening tools, which is a favorite of BS Horticulture Science and Oklahoma Gardening host Casey Hentges. Thanks to this tip, your spatulas and garden shears will always shine without much effort, and for this you will need:

To create a quick cleaning station for gardening tools, fill a bucket with sand, then add motor oil and mix the ingredients, perhaps using a jig. The “parking” base is ready, and it is very simple to use: immerse the tool in the sand and remove it until it is clean.

According to Casey, this is not only an effective method for cleaning gardening tools: the mixture of sand and oil not only removes dirt particles, but also sharpens the blade and also creates a protective layer on the metal that prevents rust.

The sand bucket is reusable: following Casey Hentges’ tip for quickly cleaning garden tools can be repeated again and again. Keep a container close to where you store your equipment – it can also be used as a rack to display equipment.

Deep cleaning of garden tools is a more complex story, consisting of several stages. You will need:

Using a brush and water to clean gardening tools is the first step in the algorithm: use a garden hose to remove any remaining soil, and remove stubborn dirt with a putty knife or plastic scraper.

The next step is to use a soapy solution for cleaning garden tools: fill a bucket with hot water, dissolve dishwashing liquid in it – you need one teaspoon per five liters of water. Soak all items in the solution for 15 to 20 minutes, then rinse and dry them thoroughly with a cloth.

Inspect each item – if you notice rust, remove the stain with wire wool (it is also acceptable to use sandpaper to remove dirt from gardening tools). To make the process easier, you can add a little vegetable oil up to the mark.

Using an acidic solution to remove rust from gardening tools will also be effective: you can soak them in a one-to-one mixture of vinegar and water for a day. If you don’t have vinegar, you can use citric acid: add 50 grams for each liter of liquid.

Does anything feel sticky to the touch? These are plant sap and insect remains. To remove them, dampen a rag with turpentine or lighter fluid and wipe the tool.

Disinfection is the penultimate step in instrument cleaning. This is very important – it is necessary to remove bacteria and fungi from the surface so as not to introduce them into healthy soil. To get rid of microorganisms, mix bleach with water in a 1:9 ratio in a bucket or container, then submerge items in it for 10 minutes. Are they too big? Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray it on shovels and rakes. Don’t like chlorine? A great alternative is 70% alcohol.

And finally, the final touch: dry the tools well and then lubricate them – solid oil, litol or machine oil are suitable for this, as well as special products sold in specialized garden supply stores.