Take a walk round your local hardware store or home improvement/garden centre, and you might be overwhelmed by choices of power tools. Electric, cordless, rechargeable, and of course, manual, even supermarkets sometimes offer a range of equipment some would find hard to resist.


Chainsaws and Drills
We have collected a shed full of devices over the years that seemed like a good idea at the time, including a chainsaw we bought for chopping the bigger lumps of wood we had bought from the woodman into smaller lumps, which to me, is a dangerous tool, and it gives me the shivers when it roars into action.

One of the tools that had been useful was an electric drill, and in all honesty, we have wasted money on cheap versions over the years, when one really good one would have lasted the course. The last one was a cordless one – which also seemed like a good idea at the time – now we have mislaid the charger cable, and I think it was the least powerful drill we have ever had - when it was working, and it didn’t get used much if I am honest. Degradation to the battery due to age had left it unable to hold enough charge for more than maybe a few minutes’ use anyway, and what was once a tool you’d be glad to own is maybe good enough to use as a doorstop now. Something I didn’t know was that batteries don’t fare well when it’s too hot (or too cold). In particular, heat causes more extensive deterioration, and starts as low as 27°C and, if the temperature continues to rise, the damage to your batteries will increase accordingly.


Garden Tools

I think a strimmer is pretty useful for gardens, but one with a blade isn’t recommended here in Portugal, because sparking against stones or rocks could ignite fires. A close family member (I won’t say who because I don’t want to embarrass him) was once faced with a strimmer and a field of long grass, and when his imagination got away with him, he spent more time carving happy faces into the grass than actually doing the job.


Leaf Blower

One tool I invested in some while ago that didn’t get much use to start with was a leaf blower, that can suck up all the leaves and chop them up into a container that you can just empty onto the compost heap, and was a bargain from a supermarket that often does specials. It seemed a bit heavy and unwieldy when I first used it, and I pushed it back in the shed and went back to my trusty broom. But this year, we seem to have had more wind, and consequently, more leaves, and so I tried again with this gadget, and once I managed to get the weight held by the correct shoulder, I somehow become a bit of an expert, cunningly able to aim the blower in such a way that some of the leaves pop back into the flowerbeds. Oh yes, a flick of the wrist and those pesky leaves pile up, like they have a life or their own. Everything gets blown into handy piles, then whooshed up the tube in a most satisfying way, and you can hear the munching as it chops everything down – even the dried-up dog poo that I missed picking up days ago got sucked up and disappeared forever.


Safety First

Handy though they may be, all these tools can be dangerous too - angle grinders are said to be the leading cause of injuries, followed by saws, drills, nail guns, and welding machines. A lot of these accidents could be avoided with good upkeep and cleaning - and probably by reading the instruction manuals more carefully.

Before cleaning up, the tools that run on electricity should be disconnected safely from the power source, and if the tool is cordless, remove the battery, which should be stored in a cool, dry corner somewhere.

Machines and tools do not have brains, so use your own. Your first mistake could be your last.

Author

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan