Don't fall into the trap of 'rot, rust, regret' – 6 common tool storage mistakes that could be ruining your yard tools and how to avoid them

Well maintained, strong tools are the foundation of good gardening, ensuring effective digging, transplanting, and weeding.

However, there are a few storage mistakes that can ruin your essential gardening tools. Without careful storage, even the best tools can rust and break, making the season's gardening more expensive before it even starts.

I spoke to a gardening expert about the six most common tool storage mistakes – and how you can avoid them.

1. Storing tools when wet

It's an easy mistake to make, but storing tools while they're still wet can cause a lot of damage. Whether they've been digging into wet soil or are dampened by a nearby sprinkler, wet tools will quickly start to rust. Too much moisture is bad news for wood handles, too, because the wood can be damaged by the water.

Gardening expert Valeria Nyman says: 'Rot, rust, and regret. A shovel with a rusted blade won’t slice cleanly into soil, a pruner with a corroded hinge will stick when you need precision. Wooden handles swell, crack, and splinter. '

Thankfully, there's an easy fix. Valeria says: 'The fix is simple: wipe them dry. I keep an old rag by the door just for this.'

Valeria Nyman

Valeria is the Chief Product Officer at Taim.io, an innovative platform that serves as a personal, adaptive gardening coach, offering tailored weekly advice to users. Her areas of expertise include growing your own food.

2. Keeping tools on the ground

Another common mistake is to store tools on the ground. It's tempting to drop tools onto the floor once you've used them, especially if space is tight on shelves or walls. But keeping tools on the floor creates clutter and makes it harder to use a shed or garage, but it also can be a health risk.

Valeria Nyman warns: 'I learned this lesson the cartoon way - stepping on a rake, taking the handle to the face. More importantly, ground-stored tools collect moisture and rust faster.'

Instead, install wall-mounted storage for your tools. This keeps them to hand but off the ground, ensuring a clear walkway and preventing rust. By far the best way to store tools and parts is to use a pegboard like this from Amazon. It keeps your tools off the ground and away from rust, makes it easy to see where they all are, and offers storage for nails, screws, and other useful kit.

Valeria Nyman advises that: 'A simple system - I like a pegboard and labeled drawers - means less frustration and more actual gardening.'

3. Hanging tools without blade protection

Blade protection is vital for tools like pruners, saws, and hedge shears. A blade cover will help to protect your tools from rust and moisture, but it's also a vital safety measure. These blades stop damage if tools fall from their pegs or hooks, and they also help to protect kids in case they stumble across your tool storage.

Most tool brands sell specific blade covers, but you can also find generic blade covers like this from Amazon which fit a range of different tools.

4. Storing batteries in the cold

Though it seems like a no-brainer, you shouldn't leave power tool batteries in a shed, garage, or greenhouse. It seems like an obvious place to store them because you can have them on hand with the tools, but lithium batteries lose capacity in the cold

Valeria Nyman told me: 'Cold kills lithium batteries. Leave them in an unheated shed through winter, and you’ll come back to a very expensive paperweight. Battery cells don’t like extreme temperatures, period.'

Instead, keep your batteries in the house. The warmer temperatures will ensure your batteries run at their best for years.

5. Leaning tools against a wall

Another mistake is to lean tools against walls or in corners. This is a mistake for several reasons. The first is that it makes clutter and makes it hard to organize your tools. It's also a little unsafe because the tools can easily fall over and injure you.

On top of that, it's an easy way to damage your tools. Keeping shovel blades on the floor invites moisture that can rust the blade, and the rough surface of a concrete garage or shed floor can dull the blade, making your tool less effective.

If you can, mount tools on the walls or hang them from hooks. This ensure a clutter-free storage space.

6. Hanging tools on rusty hooks

Hanging a hose on an old nail is one of the most common hose mistakes because it can cause kinks and damage. It's a similar issue with tools. While hammering a nail into a wall is a cheap storage solution, you need to replace it if it shows any signs of rust.

Valeria Nyman says: 'Rust is a disease, and it spreads. A rusty hook can scratch your tool and introduce corrosion right where you don’t want it. Plus, old nails in a shed wall tend to come loose at the worst moment, dropping your tool onto whatever fragile thing happens to be below.'

Rather than old nails, use new plastic or rubber-coated metal hooks for your tools. These are unlikely to rust, ensuring that your tools are effective for longer.

Getting your tool storage right is one thing, but there are lots of other items that need careful storage. There are five items to never store in a shed that could be serious health risks or could spoil and cost you hundreds of dollars.