How to Winterize Your Toro Lawn Mower
During the warm months, gas-powered lawnmowers and trimmers are subjected to a lot of abuse, so ensuring their parts are in full working order requires lawn mower maintenance. You can ensure mowers start smoothly next year by replacing oil, spark plugs, and air filters before storing them for the winter.
Audrey Meinking, owner of Mineola Bicycle, Fitness, and Mower in Mineola, New York, says the same process works for trimmers and snow blowers. “If you don’t take care of your mowers or bring them to a professional for service,” she says, “you may have trouble getting the grass started again next spring.” How to Winterize Your Toro Lawn Mower.
How to Winterize Your Toro Lawn Mower
Over the winter, used gas can get stale, clogging the carburetor and inviting rust.
- Run the mower to distribute the fuel stabilizer through the system.
- Once the mower has cooled, siphon the excess gas into a clean can. In your car, gas is not mixed with oil.
- Run the mower until it stops; repeat until the engine won’t start and the fuel lines are empty.
Toro Lawn Mower Wash
A garden hose is a handy tool for cleaning debris off your lawn mower. Keeping your deck clean will help prevent bearing damage.
Ensure your lawn mower is completely dry and moisture doesn’t collect in the electrical components and other parts of it. This can be done by washing it early in the day on a sunny day.
Use a leaf blower to dry your lawn mower. Never store a wet lawnmower. The components of your mower should not be exposed to moisture to prevent premature rust and degradation.
Clean the deck of your Toro lawn mower
Your mower deck’s underside can be accessed by removing the deck. Make sure your blades are in pristine condition and remove them wearing a suitable pair of work gloves, if necessary so that you can inspect and sharpen them.
Make sure all debris is removed from the deck by scraping it with a deck scraper or putty knife. Wire brushes are also helpful. Make sure you reconnect the spark plug boots once you are finished working underneath the mower.
This video walks you through inspecting, changing, and sharpening your mower blades
My Toro lawn mower engine is getting infested with mice. How do I prevent this from happening?
Although it feels weird even asking this question, mice will wiggle into the strangest of places, including your Toro lawn mower engine.
If you prepare anything for winter storage, there is a significant chance that a family of rodents will take up residence. Lawnmower engines are snug, dry, dark, and completely inhospitable to rodents.
Your Toro mower should be protected against rodents by using rodent prevention methods
Take steps to keep mice and rodents out of your lawn mower. As manufacturers practice more environmentally friendly practices and use renewable materials, many of our wires are coated with soy products. It has an edible quality that rodents enjoy chewing.
Use one or more methods to prevent rodents from making a home inside your lawn mower when storing it for an extended period of time.
The use of rodent deterrents can be achieved in many ways. Family pets should be protected with a product that is not dangerous. If you want to keep the mowers protected, place mothballs around them. In my case, I use Grandpa Gus’s Mouse Repellent, which is sold on Amazon.
This product smells much better than mothballs and is all-natural. Currently, I am using both packets and sprays. Spraying the wires and placing the packets around my lawn mower, boat, quad, and any other items I store are my routine maintenance tasks.
Investing in rodent control now can save you thousands of dollars in electrical repairs later.
Your Toro mower should be protected against rodents by using rodent prevention methods
Take steps to keep mice and rodents out of your lawn mower. Manufacturers who follow environmentally friendly practices. There is an edible soy product that rodents like to chew on.
Use one or more methods to prevent rodents from making a home inside your lawn mower when storing it for an extended period of time.
The use of rodent deterrents can be achieved in many ways. Family pets should be protected with a product that is not dangerous. Place mothballs around the mower to keep it clean. A product called Grandpa Gus’s Mouse Repellent is something I regularly use.
The smell is much better than mothballs and it is all-natural. Both packets and spray are useful to me. Any other item I store in storage gets treated with wire spray and packets.
Rodent control can save you thousands of dollars in electrical repairs later on.
How Should You Store Your Toro Lawn Mower Battery?
If you remove your lawn mower battery after the last cut of the season, it will remain in top condition for a longer time. When storing a battery, it is wise to recharge it before removing it from service, as it will keep better in storage than an empty or low battery.
The location and fitting of your mower’s battery are explained in the instruction manual. Wear gloves and goggles. Open the battery with the spark plug disconnected first.
It is the perfect opportunity to check the battery for signs of corrosion or wear. You can dust it gently with a soft brush before storing it for the winter if everything looks okay. To prevent dirt or bugs from getting to it, place it in a cool, dry place, away from anything flammable, and cover it to prevent it from getting dirty. Over the winter, make sure it doesn’t become dirty or corroded by checking on it occasionally How to Winterize Your Toro Lawn Mower.
Watch this video for information on how to remove the battery from a lawn tractor. There is a similar process for all batteries.
Over your deck or under your overhang
Toro owners typically don’t have extra garage space. It is ideal to store the mower indoors in a garage, pole barn, or shed, but that isn’t always feasible.
I do not have room to store my lawn mower indoors for storage like some homeowners. All year long, I keep my lawn mower under my deck. Rain falls between the deck boards and onto the mower at this location when it rains.
During the winter, the lawn mower is covered with snow.
When I store my mower outside and during the winter, I use a marine-grade mower cover to keep it dry. These covers also protect some small items I store in my garage.
When can I expect my Toro mower to run without gas?
Unless stabilizers are used, gas can degrade quickly without being stabilized. Our cars and vans are constantly refueled and filled with gas.
Fuel that sits there for too long can start to form a sticky, gummy substance that blocks the moving parts and damages the motor. There is also a possibility that the ethanol in the gas can cause corrosion.
Depending on who you read or listen to, gas can begin to degrade in one month. The use of gas that has been on the market for three months is not recommended. Use a stabilizer if you’re not getting fuel regularly. Winter is a wise time not to let untreated gas sit in the tank.
My Toro lawn mower engine is getting infested with mice. How do I prevent this from happening?
Although it feels weird even asking this question, mice will wiggle into the strangest of places, including your Toro lawn mower engine.
The problem with winterizing anything is that rodents are likely to take residence while it’s stored. Rodents prefer a lawn mower engine because it is snug, dry, and dark, making it a cozy place to live.
What can you do to keep mice at bay?
- Make the route into the building shorter. Be sure to fasten the caps and not leave any easy tunnels
- A tarpaulin or similar cover should be used, and it should be fastened tightly. Old bedsheets do not make appealing bedding
- Make sure all the crumbs are cleaned up. It’s unlikely you’ll eat your lunch beside your mower (well, it’s unlikely), but what other food sources are there? Is it bird food, cat food, seeds from your garden, or crumbs from the grill?
- Maintain rodent traps by placing humane traps and inspecting them regularly
- Check the engine for signs of infestation, too
- It is alright to let your cat roam through your shed or outhouse occasionally if you have one. Regardless of how adept your cat is at shooting mice, their scent will put off future tenants
A mower shouldn’t get infected with bugs as well. Be sure the mower is covered and that there are no easy entry points How to Winterize Your Toro Lawn Mower.
