Tool Maintenance Tips
In the spring while turning the compost bin at Providence Garden, I uncovered a garden tool that went missing the previous year. Emily and I have the suspicion that there are probably hundreds of hand tools in the Missoula City Compost, since they’re so easy to lose track of. Though those will probably never make it back to their owners, this one did—and needed a little TLC before going back to work.
Since I was already going to be working on one tool, I took a quick inventory of our other hand tools. Our Hori Hori (aka my favorite gardening tool of all time) also needed some care, so I took that home too.
Left: Hand tool rescued from compost bin. Right: Hori Hori.
To maintenance these tools (and specifically to get rid of rust) I used the following method:
Soak the tools over night in a 50:50 water to vinegar ratio.
Rinse tools, scrub with steel wool (or the like) to remove rust.
Write blog post about how easy it was! ;)
And Viola! Here are my finished tools!
More recommendations:
-You can eyeball the vinegar. I would say my water vinegar ratio was a little heavier on the water to save on vinegar, but it worked out fine.
-Try to match your soaking container with the type of tool you’re treating. (you can see in my photos that the Hori Hori wasn’t totally submerged, so the top isn’t as shiny now.) An adequate container—i.e. skinny and tall—might save on the total amount of vinegar you need for something like a Hori Hori.
-Don’t be shy! You can see that not only did the treatment get rid of the rust on the Hori Hori, but it also left it looking shiny and new. If you have one tool you really need to treat (like one rescued from a compost bin) it doesn’t hurt to throw a few more in if you can fit them since it uses the same amount of vinegar.
-I left my tools soak for almost 24 hours, and the scrubbing was so easy! I would describe that step more as “wipe off rust” more than “scrub.” Extra reason to really go for it.
-I did not submerge the handles my tools in vinegar. Though I haven’t ever tried that, I don’t recommend it if you want your tools to last a lifetime!