A wheelbarrow helps you with convenience and saves you from back pains.
You can’t imagine a farm, a small household with those backyard gardens, or even a construction project without a wheelbarrow.
It does all those dirty jobs for you, and all it asks for in return is maintenance.
Now, How Do You Clean And Maintain a Wheelbarrow And Keep It In Working Condition?
Cleaning the wheelbarrow is part of maintenance. It would be best if you cleaned your wheelbarrow after every work session by thoroughly cleaning off all the dirt. As for maintenance, the wheelbarrow has different parts, and every part should be checked, repaired, and kept clean to stay functioning.
If you want your wheelbarrow to serve you for a long time, you have to clean it after every use and maintain it. Maintaining your wheelbarrow comes down to several things, including how you use it, cleaning it, and replacing or repairing broken parts. Even if your wheelbarrow is made of metal, you should always make sure to be gentle when putting things on or pulling them along.
Even then, if you are looking to maintain your wheelbarrow, you need to get a few things straight. For example, you need to know how to clean it, how often, and what to use. You also need to understand how to maintain, repair, and replace specific parts.
Basic Wheelbarrow Care
Your wheelbarrow is one handy piece of equipment for light carrying and gardening. It is just like your pet for emotional support or your car for transport when you look at it.
Just like you maintain your car even if it is not damaged by keeping it clean, fueled, and changing the oil, you should maintain your wheelbarrow too.
The most basic wheelbarrow care does not entail repairing damages; it knows how to keep it efficient even if it is not broken.
Surprisingly, basic wheelbarrow maintenance is easier than you could imagine.
Even then, while the practice could sound effortless, neglecting it could mean some severe damages to the wheelbarrow.
Basic wheelbarrow maintenance includes
- cleaning after every use
- checking for any scratches and paint chipping
- and greasing,
Washing is very important as a maintenance practice of your wheelbarrow.
What is important about keeping the equipment clean is that it helps you sport any scratches or slight damage to the wheelbarrow after use.
Besides that, cleaning ensures that some corrosive dirt like concrete or manure does not cause the metallic parts to wear or rust.
Greasing is another important way of basic maintenance.
Greasing is one of those things you should do regularly, just like cleaning.
For example, once you use your wheelbarrow, the dirt will likely get through the wheel axle bearings.
So greasing your wheelbarrow not only increases its efficiency but also reduces damage to the axle and wear to the bearings.
Be Sure To Handle It With Care
The most basic care for your wheelbarrow and perhaps the most important is how you use it. You should always be gentle to your wheelbarrow, just like you would to your car.
Wheelbarrows are used to carry different types of loads, sometimes heavy, sometimes sharp objects, and sometimes corrosive matters.
In this regard, it is reasonable to understand that there are high chances of the wheelbarrow incurring damage from time to time.
But, even then, how you handle your wheelbarrow determines how much damage it can avoid or sustain.
It is important to know how to take care of your wheelbarrow when working to ensure that the chances of damage are minimal.
From how you handle it, the amount of weight you carry with it, how you place your weight and how you pull the wheelbarrow matters.
Below is a list of few things you should know about proper handling of your wheelbarrow for basic care.
- Ensure to place the weight evenly and gently
- Make sure that there are no rocks or sticks along the path
- Avoid overloading the wheelbarrow
- Keep the low load to make sure that you can see ahead
- When loading on a hill, makes sure that both leg supports are resting firmly on the ground to avoid tipping-over
- Lift the wheelbarrow with bent knees and straight arms
- If the weight is too heavy to dump, shovel it off to a manageable amount
- When loading, make sure much of the load is on the wheel part of the barrow.
After using and cleaning your wheelbarrow, it is important to keep it in a secure place.
Importantly, cover it with those winterizing covers even if it is indoors, especially if it is made of metal to avoid rusting.
Storing your wheelbarrow indoors is also very important for ensuring that it does not get rained on or wet and consequently causing rusting.
Routine Wheelbarrow Maintenance
If you don’t want to buy a new wheelbarrow every few years, it is important to consider routine maintenance.
Routine maintenance for a wheelbarrow is important for rejuvenating its energy and look.
After several months of work, perhaps after winter when you are ready to get dirty again. It is important to restore the energy and look of your wheelbarrow.
Routine wheelbarrow maintenance includes detailed changes, fixing, and repair.
It is the kind of maintenance that includes restoring rusted parts, painting, fixing, changing the wheel or axle, and smoothing it.
Sanding And Painting
After a long period of crusty work, your wheelbarrow looked worn out and scratched all over. Or maybe some parts are rusty and look not pleasing.
You might want to grease that rust off, but that will not help much, will it? At least not for long.
Therefore, you will have to repaint that sanded part to replace it with another protective coating layer.
Use these steps to the sand and paint your wheelbarrow:
- Start by removing the rust using a WD-40 Specialist Fast Acting Degreaser
- After that, sand that part off to make an even and smooth surface.
- Wash the wheelbarrow and leave it to dry
- Coat the metal with a layer of primer for rust sealant
- Paint the wheelbarrow evenly with one or two layers
Minor Upkeep
You are not any good at maintaining your wheelbarrow until you can fix and replace a few things.
Matter less, you can always go to an expert for the same, but why spend cash on something you can do by yourself.
While this article is not a tutorial on removing or replacing broken parts of a wheelbarrow, it is good to know why and when you need to do such.
Some parts of the wheelbarrow, like the leg support or handles, rarely need replacement unless broken.
Even then, all you need is a few spanners and bolts to replace or fix them.
But then there is the wheel and axle, which might require a few fixing now and then. The wheel is the most important part of the wheelbarrow, without which it is immobile.
The first thing you should know about fixing the wheel is to keep them inflated to the right pressure.
Also, ensure that you occasionally remove the old grease between the axles.
You can do that by cleaning the old oil thoroughly with detergent to ensure all the dirt is removed before replacing the grease.
References
How To Use Trolleys and Wheelbarrows In The Garden
