How to Take Care of Your Garden Hose (and Other Tools) this October to Ensure They Last Through the Winter

When the temperatures drop, it's time to bring in houseplants that vacationed outside all summer and rescue tender perennials you want to overwinter. But what are you doing for your garden hose?

Your hose is a vital part of your garden equipment, along with irrigation systems, rakes, shovels, trowels, wheelbarrows and many other things. Leave them to the elements, and by the time you need them again, they can be weathered, damaged or ruined.

Use our tips to protect and store your garden hose and other garden tools for the fall and winter. A little care now, before the first frost, means you won't have to spend a lot of green(backs) to make your garden green next year.

Garden Hoses

Anyone who’s been sunburned knows what the sun can do. UV rays don’t just harm your skin; they’re also bad for garden tools. Over time, the sun can make your hose become brittle, crack and leak. If hoses aren't drained, the water trapped inside can freeze until they burst or split. Hoses left on the ground can get crushed or punctured by rocks and other sharp objects if you drive or roll something heavy over them. Leaving them outside invites mold and mildew, too, which can degrade some hose materials.

Before bad weather hits, remove nozzles and watering wands, straighten out twists and kinks and drain your hose. Hang it on a hose reel or hook, or coil it in a hose pot or weather-resistant box, and store it in a cool, dry shed or garage. Check out six of the best hose reels of 2025 we reviewed and tested.

Tools With Metal Blades and Other Metal Parts

Moisture can cause rust on trowels, pruners, weeding knifes and other garden tools with metal blades and parts. When you're finished with them for the season, wash them to clean off dirt and plant debris. For heavy rust, use a rust remover or use steel wool, a wire brush or coarse-grit sandpaper.

When your garden tool blades are clean, sharpen them with a whetstone or file; a rotary tool with a sanding wheel cleans up out nicks and metal edges. Sharpening metal can be dangerous, so you may want to take your tools to a hardware store that does this or find a sharpening service.

Dry your clean tools thoroughly and use a rag to apply vegetable or linseed oil to the metal parts, or coat them with a protective lubricant like WD-40. Stick hand tools with the heads-down in a bucket of sand mixed with a little vegetable oil, and keep it in a dry location. Hang long-handled garden tools to avoid falling over them.

Garden Tools With Wooden Handles

The weather is as hard on wood as it is on metal Rain, snow, ice and UV exposure can ruin the finish on wood or make painted parts flake and peel. Unprotected wooden handles can warp, crack, rot or splinter (and give you splinters). Moisture and changing temperatures cause wood to shrink and expand, loosening the heads of tools; that makes them hard to use and even dangerous. Fortunately, you can rejuvenate wooden handles.

When you finish your fall and winter garden chores, clean and thoroughly dry your tools and protect the wooden handles with linseed oil, polyurethane, wood preservative or weather-resistant paint. Wooden handles that can't be salvaged can usually be replaced; check with a hardware store or online seller. Store them where it's cool and dry.

Wheelbarrows and Garden Carts

Wash wheelbarrows and carts before putting them away for the fall and winter. It's best to keep them in a shed or garage, if you have room. If you don't, cover them with a heavy-duty, weather-resistant tarp. Keep wheelbarrows and carts with metal parts off the ground, if possible, to prevent rust (this will also help protect the tires). Apply protective coatings, as described above, to metal or wooden parts. If yours has seen better days, don't despair. Learn how to restore a wheelbarrow.

Irrigation Systems

Follow the manufacturer's directions to protect and store your irrigation system. In general, you'll need to shut off the main water supply, drain the system and insulate exposed pipes and other non-removable parts, and bring in weather-vulnerable parts like backflow preventers. Remove, drain and store sprinkler heads as your instruction manual indicates. If your system has end caps, put them on the drain lines so dirt and debris can't get in. Find out more about winterizing sprinkler systems and hoses.

Take timers off their water source, remove the batteries and store everything indoors. Turn off wired timers, unplug transformers and bring them in, unless your operating manual says they can stay plugged in. Use the off-season to clean heads and nozzles and replace or repair any parts as needed.

Garden Sprayers

If you use pesticides or other potentially harmful products in your garden sprayer, wear eye protection and protective gloves when you handle it. Follow the cleaning and storage directions that came with your sprayer, so you won't void any warranty.

In general, you'll winterize it by rinsing it thoroughly with clean water and draining the tank, hose and other parts. Some gardeners flush their sprayers with a non-toxic antifreeze made for RV and car windshields and drain them again. Lubricate rubber parts with mineral oil to prevent cracking. After your sprayer is completely dry, store it indoors or cover it with a weather-resistant tarp outside.