It may not be the most exciting part of the skiing life, but ski maintenance is a significant part of the process if you want to ensure you protect your skis and get the most use out of them possible. Once you’ve finished up a trip, such a ski holiday in Andorra, it’s important that you take some time to work on ski maintenance and that you understand how to protect ski tips.
To help with this, here comes a ski maintenance guide, which answers some of the most common questions, such as how often do skis need servicing or how often should you tune your skis. By reading up on these ski protection tips, you’ll have a better idea of how to look after your skis after a trip to the mountains, if you’re bringing your own skis that is, rather than renting skis or snowboards in Andorra.
How often do skis need servicing? How often should you tune your skis?
If taking ski maintenance seriously then it is recommended that you give your skis a full servicing at the beginning of each new ski season. How often do skis need servicing will vary depending on use, but at least once per year makes sense for skiers who do use their skis at least once a year.
As for what specific ski maintenance will be needed, most will want to check the bindings for any necessary repairs, to check the base for any necessary repairs and to sharpen your skis, which is a major part of ski tuning. This, plus an overall clean of the skis, will help avoid rust.
How to wax and how to service skis at home?
Of course, depending on where you live it can be easier or harder to work on ski maintenance. If you have a house with a garage or garden then you’ll certainly have sufficient space, but anyone who lives in an apartment might be a little more uncertain about how to service skis at home, since it can be dirty work. Many in this situation use the bathroom if large enough, while others lay a sheet on a non-carpeted area to carry out their ski maintenance there.
Waxing skis is perhaps the trickiest ski maintenance task to perform at home, but it is essential to prevent the base of your skis from getting too dry and from cracking.
One tip when it comes to how to service skis at home is that, while it is possible to use a traditional clothes iron to wax your skis, you should use either a proper ski wax iron or an old clothes iron and not the one you currently use for post-laundry ironing. That’s because the iron will no longer be of any use for ironing clothes, as it would then ruin them with ski wax.
How to store and protect skis during the summer
Once you have serviced and tuned and waxed your skis, it’s time to store them until your next skiing holiday. Skis should be kept in a cool and dry place and it’s advisable to cover them with a cloth or, better yet, with a proper ski bag. This will protect your skis from moisture and prevent rust. If you don’t have these types of conditions in your home, it’s worth investing in a storage space that can guarantee a cool and dry spot to keep your skis when they’re not in use.
It’s also worth noting that the majority of these ski maintenance tips also apply when it comes to snowboard maintenance.