How to Clean and Remove Rust from Garden Tools?

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Cleaning and remove rust from garden tools are necessary if you want your tools to be sharp and effective when in use. Since garden tools handle the earth and are always outside, they need to be cleaned and maintained more frequently, , so you won’t end up buying new tools earlier than you should. Having the proper tools that are in good shape is essential if you want to maintain your yard and garden properly. We all know the struggle of having tools that are in poor condition.

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How to Clean Garden Tools?

Unlike tools used for fixing cars and the like, the ideal setup is to clean your gardening tools right after you use them. This means you need to remove clumps of earth or soil from your tools, so the moisture and the soil doesn’t ruin the metal. We also recommend inspecting your tools and checking for damage before stowing them away indoors for long-term storage.

Keep in mind that tools use for diseased or dead plants should be cleaned before they are used for healthy plants.

You can quickly transfer plant-killing pathogens from one plant to another by merely touching other plants with the tools. Remove the soil from your tools, and be sure to treat them with a disinfectant solution. A disinfectant solution is easy to create.

Mix water and chlorine with a 9:1 ratio and dip your tools here for a few minutes. Dry your garden tools manually before working on the next set of plants. Do not ignore this reminder because plant pathogens are microscopic, and they can easily infect healthy plants.

How to remove rust from gardening tools?

After completing the necessary cleaning procedure, feel free to try any of these methods for removing rust.

Salt and lemon

Step 1: Add a quantity of salt to the rusty area that needs to be cleaned.

Step 2: Next, slice a lemon in half. If you don’t have lemons at home, you can just as well use limes as this fruit is also acidic.

Step 3: Squeeze the lemon or lime juice all over the rusted area.

Step 4: Leave this solution on the tool for at least two hours.

Step 5: After two hours, get a scrubbing pad and rub it hard over the tool’s rusted portion. If you don’t have a heavy-duty scrubber, you can use a cloth cleaner, but you will have to rub harder.

Keep in mind that some staining is more challenging than others, so be patient and keep scrubbing. If a cloth scrub is not working, you probably have to get a heavy-duty scrubbing pad instead.

Baking soda

Baking soda works on almost all materials. It is one of the genuinely universal cleaners, and it does mincemeat of rust, too.

Step 1:

To clean your gardening tools with baking soda, combine baking soda and a small quantity of water in a bowl to making some baking soda paste. The baking soda paste has to have a consistent texture and consistency.

Step 2: You can now apply the cleaning paste to the affected areas of your tools and leave for a few hours.

Step 3: After a few hours, prepare some more baking soda paste and use it as a cleaner. Use an old brush to remove the rust from your tools. Rinse and inspect if the rust remover worked. There are instances when you have to treat rusted tools several times before the old appearance manifests. Again, be patient with the process.

Vinegar

Full strength white vinegar or apple cider vinegar is excellent for rust removal.

Step 1: Prepare a basin that is large enough for all the tools that you want to clean.

Step 2: Pour enough vinegar in the basin so that your tools will be completely submerged in the vinegar.

Step 3: Place all your tools in the basin and allow the vinegar to work on the rust for 24 hours.

Step 4: After 24 hours, use steel wool or similar implement to scrub off the heavier stains from the tools. This technique is especially useful for gardeners who don’t want to use baking soda or chemical rust removers. You have to wait a bit because you need many hours before the vinegar can dislodge heavy rusting from metal tools.

How to Care for Gardening Tools?

Avoid leaving your gardening tools outdoors. Bring them inside after cleaning, as the outdoors is harsh for metal tools.
Keep your gardening tools as dry as possible, especially after use. Trowels can be placed in pots of dry sand with some cooking oil. Plunge your trowels into the sand until they’re going to be used again.
More extensive gardening tools should be hanged from a unique pegboard inside your shed. This prevents rusting and also keeps the metal from rusting from being in contact with moisture from the floor.
Apply oil and other anti-rusting compounds to your garden tools regularly. For quick removal of thin rust, you can use WD40.

How to Keep Garden Tools from Rusting?

The prevention of the rusting of garden tools is the ultimate mark of the dedicated gardener. If you can keep your tools pristine through the seasons, you know what you’re doing.

The first thing to do is to remove the current rusting of your tools to prevent any metal damage. We’ve already outlined several methods of rust removal above. Next, make sure that you always remove the earth from your tools after working in your garden. Don’t stow your tools with clods of earth still stuck to them.

Also, don’t forget to use sandpaper sand down the handles to avoid painful splinters. This is part of the ideal maintenance of garden tools, too. Next, you should also sharpen your blades using a regular mille file. A mille file is all you will need to keep those scissors, shears, and other tools from becoming dull over the years.