Putting Your Lawn Mower Away For Winter.

Well truly speaking grass grows all year and so in a mild winter you will need to cut your grass so its more winter preparation than putting your lawn mower away for the winter. However winter is the best time to give your mower a good clean and get it serviced.
One thing not commonly known is that the fluid left by cut grass is rather corrosive so its important to clean your mower and on parts such as the blades treat with some WD 40 spray on oil this will prevent rusting after cleaning. If you have a petrol engine mower before you start any cleaning disconnect the spark plug leads. The reason is because its possible in a lot of cases to start a lawn mower by turning the blades especially in the case of rotary mowers, its an easy way to loss some of your fingers so remember to disconnect the spark plug lead or leads.
When you clean or service a lawn mower, be sure to empty out all of the petrol. Leaving petrol in the tank during storage may lead to a hard starting engine later on
If your model has an assisted electrical start, the battery can use a full recharge during winter.
Have the blades sharpened. If you have an old cylinder mower then its possible to remove the side casing and apply some grinding paste to the cylinder blades and wind back ( in a direction opposite to the cutting direction of turn )the cylinder whist screwing down slightly the cylinder onto the bottom blade, this with sharpen the blades.The key is to remove or wash off all the grinding paste before the cylinder goes in the cutting direction. This will not replace a full sharpening service but it will keep the blades in a condition to keep them cutting in the early season when the grass is long.