The Guide to Getting Everything You’ve Stored in Your Garage Ready for Use

Looks like Spring, feels like spring. Time to get back outside. Biking, grilling, kayaking, and more. However, if you’re like many homeowners, you’ve stored most, if not all of your outdoor items in your garage. So, today, we’d like to show you how to prepare some of the items that you’ve been storing for use throughout the warm months.

Prepare your Bike for Riding

Bikes, especially when you leave the tires on cold concrete all winter, may not be ready for immediate riding. That’s why we would like to share with you a simple seven step process to get your bike ready for spring, courtesy of SparkPeople.com.

1. Clean Your Bike (frame, chain, chain rings, cassette, derailleurs, pedals, brakes, and seat) with a cleaner, using as little water as possible.
2. Inspect Your Brake System by checking for evenness, tightness, cable wear, and pad wear
3. Clean Wheels with rubbing alcohol and dry cloth, check wheels for evenness and rim damage.
4. Check Drivetrain by lifting the back, spinning the wheels, and shifting through all the gears
5. Check your tires for splits, cracks or tears, especially along the side
6. Inspect the cable and surrounding rubber housing for cracks, crimps, rust, dirt and looseness.
7. Apply lubricant evenly to the chain while slowly rotating the pedals in a counterclockwise direction. Also, remember to lube moving parts on the derailleur, the pivot point on the brake levers and any exposed cable wire. Remember to wipe off any excess oil with a clean, dry rag, especially on the chain.

For full descriptions on how to do all of these, check out the SparkPeople article.

Pre-Spring Care and Repair for Your Kayak

If you’re ready to get out on the water this spring, here’s how to get your kayak or canoe ready for the water, courtesy of Mad River Canoe.

Check the handles, seat(s),bulkhead(s), rudder, skeg and any other kind of hardware you find. Be thorough, tightening anything loose and paying extra attention to moving parts. Don’t leave it in need if you find something that should be replaced.

Once you’ve done this, there’s no better way to show your care than by putting in the time to make it look all new and shiny, just like the day you first met.

Get Your Gas Grill Ready for Spring

If you haven’t been barbequing throughout the winter like some of us, your grill may need some TLC before you take it out. Here are five pre-use cleaning tips for a gas grill.

1. Clean the gunk that has accumulated on the inside or outside of the grill using a cleaning utensil and soapy water.
2. Consider repainting the grill to prevent rust.
3. Stock Fuel so you don’t run out on your first cook.
4. Clean out the grease traps.
5. Buy and/or use your grill cover.

Thanks for reading, and if you’re looking to improve the condition of your garage, rather than the things in your garage, contact Blue Sky Builders.