Disinfect secateurs: It works with alcohol and vinegar essence

Created: 06/24/2022, 16:00

By: Joana Lück

To prevent viruses, bacteria and fungi from migrating from one plant to the next, it is important to disinfect the secateurs regularly.

Munich – Pruning a few branches here, removing a few shoots there – garden shears are an indispensable tool in the garden, especially from spring to autumn.

But if you're not careful, you can quickly spread fungi and other plant diseases all over the garden with it.

That's why you should definitely clean your secateurs regularly.

Disinfect secateurs: It works with alcohol and oil

If you don't want to spread plant diseases throughout the garden, you should disinfect the secateurs regularly.

(Iconic image) © Stock&people/Imago

We wash and disinfect hands with soap or alcohol to avoid transmitting diseases.

But garden tools are often forgotten, and diseases can also be transmitted from plant to plant with them.

For professional cleaning and disinfection, you should proceed as follows:

• Prepare a microfiber cloth and high-proof alcohol such as 2-propanol.

  Straw rum is also suitable, since the alcohol content here is usually over 80 percent.

  It is best to wear gardening gloves or disposable gloves for the procedure.

• Gently pour the alcohol or straw on the cloth and rub along the blades.

  Now is also a good time to sharpen your scissors or garden knife: use a stone to quickly drive outwards from the center of the blade with force and repeat this process a few times.

• So that the secateurs are immediately ready for use again, you should rub all moving parts such as the pawl and other screws with tung oil or a neutral vegetable oil.

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Alternatively, you can place the scissors in a bucket of water filled with a mixture of vinegar essence and water.

Bleach diluted 1:10 with water is also suitable.

Feel free to clean your pruning shears two to three times a year.

Incidentally, soap has no place on garden shears!