After a long season of garden projects and chores, sometimes we forget to give our tools a good cleaning and proper storage. When we return to our garden sheds in the spring, we find that some of our favorite garden tools are rusted. Read on to learn how to clean rusty garden tools.
Help! My Garden Tools are Rusted
Prevention is the best solution for rusty garden tools. Try to clean your tools well after each use with a rag or brush, water, and dish soap or pine sol. Be sure to remove any sap or sticky residue. After cleaning your tools, dry them and then spray them with WD-40 or rub them down with mineral oil. Store your tools hanging on hooks in a dry airy location. Some gardeners swear by storing their tools blades down in a bucket of sand and mineral spirits. However, life happens, and we can’t always give our favorite garden trowel the TLC it deserves. There are many folk remedies for removing rust from tools with simple kitchen ingredients like salt, vinegar, cola, and tin foil. When you really love that garden trowel, you don't mind trying a few until you find the one that returns it to its full, shiny glory.
How to Clean Rusty Garden Tools
The most popular method for cleaning rust on garden tools is with vinegar. Soak the tool overnight in a mixture of 50% vinegar and 50% water. Then with steel wool, a brush, or a crumpled-up piece of tin foil, rub the rust off in a circular motion. When the rust is gone, rinse the tool in soapy water and then clean water. Hang it to dry, then rub it with mineral oil or WD-40. Another interesting rust removal recipe involves just using a can of cola and a crumpled piece of tin foil or wire brush to scrub away the rust. The phosphoric acid in cola dissolves the rust. There’s also a recipe that calls for using strong black tea – first to soak the tools in and then to scrub the rust away. Using salt and lemon juice is yet another popular method of cleaning rusty tools. This recipe uses 1 part table salt, 1 part lemon juice, and 1 part water a homemade rust solution. Rub on with steel wool, then rinse and dry.
Can You Renew Rusty Garden Tools With Power Tools?
If you’d like to add a little power and speed to your rust removal project, there are wire brush attachments for drills and Dremel tools specifically designed for rust removal. A bench grinder with a wire wheel and buffing wheel attachment also works great on rust removal. Always wear safety goggles and gloves. With any of these rust removal methods, be sure to clean your tools thoroughly. Don’t leave any sticky residues. Keeping tools sharp can help decrease the damage that leads to rust, so it’s a good idea to sharpen your tools while you're giving them a good cleaning.