How to spring clean your gardening tools — two household ingredients that really work

Rusty pruning shears — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Now that spring is here, it’s time to gather your gardening tools and make sure they are fit for purpose before you set to work in your yard.

But while your garden tools have been just as dormant as your plants during the colder seasons, they are often out of mind, and cold and damp conditions can cause them to gather more than just dust.

A pair of dirty, red-handled pruning shears on soil — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

In her Instagram post, Misila explains how to rejuvenate your garden tools and remove rust if you’ve left them out in the rain. But rather than using over-the-counter products, she suggests raiding your kitchen and bathroom cupboards.

Thrifty hack
I love a cheap hack that saves you money and stops you from buying a product that you will only partly use, so here we share the steps she suggests to clean your gardening tools.

The essentials
All you need is vinegar, baking soda, a toothbrush and steel wool or a scouring sponge. You’re bound to find the vinegar and baking soda in your kitchen cupboards, and you can raid your bathroom for an old toothbrush — just remember not to put it back!

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Your cleaning toolkit

Vinegar
Baking soda
Toothbrush, steel wool or scouring sponge
Oil to finish

How to clean your gardening tools

1. Place your tools into a container and soak them in white vinegar for 24 hours.

2. After 24 hours you'll notice that the solution has turned brown in color. Discard the used vinegar outside.

3. Place the tools in a bucket and rinse thoroughly with water before discarding the liquid outside.

4. Protect your hands with gloves before taking hold of a toothbrush, scouring pad or a wire brush.

5. Dip your cleaning tool in the baking soda with a small amount of water to form a paste. Work the paste into your tool. (The baking soda will neutralize the vinegar if any remains.)

6. Rinse your tools in water and dry thoroughly with a cloth.

7. To protect and lubricate your tools apply a small amount of oil and rub it in with a cloth.

Your tools are now set for springtime gardening.

Which type of oil is best?

Applying oil once you’ve cleaned the rust and dirt from your tools will help to protect them from the elements and provide lubrication.

Misiilia chose to use a mineral oil, as she already had it to hand to oil her cutting board. However, she also recommends using linseed and camellia oil.

However, she warns against using vegetable oils as “they won’t provide long-term protection from rust and lubrication, and it will go rancid.”

Apart from adding oil to the metal parts of tools, she suggests rubbing the oil into tools with wooden handles, as it will prevent them cracking and drying out.

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Camilla is the Homes Staff Writer and covers everything to do with homes and gardens. She has a wealth of editorial experience, mounting over 30 years, and covers news and features, tests products for reviews and compiles buying guides.

Her work has appeared in business and consumer titles, including Ideal Home, Real Homes, House Beautiful, Homebuilding & Renovation, and Kitchen & Bathroom Business. She’s even appeared on the cover of Your Home, writing about her own house renovation.

Although she’s obsessed with decorating her home, she also enjoys baking and trying out the latest kitchen appliances. But when she’s not inside, you’ll find her pottering about in her yard, tending to her vegetable patch or taking in her prized hydrangeas.

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