What to do when you have rust on your ice skates

When you have rust on your ice skates, it really affects your ability to skate properly. This is because your skates slip too much on the ice. Here's how to skate around that issue.

Having rust on your ice skates is no fun. It means that you won’t be able to turn on a dime, stop at a moment’s notice, and generally be as nimble as you need to be to be a good skater. You will want to do what you can to remove the rust from your skates. And the sooner, the better.

Here is some information about removing rust from ice skates:

This is a tried and tested home remedy for removing rust from ice skate blades, using oil and a scouring pad: First, cover your skate blades lightly in oil. Then, scrub them with the scouring pad. Once the rust loosens, you will want to wipe off what’s left of it. You can use a paper towel or a rag to do this. If there is still some rust remaining, you can use something with a little more grit than a scouring pad, such as sandpaper.

You’re not done yet — the next thing to do is have your skates sharpened. This you can’t do at home as easily as removing rust. Bring your skates to be sharpened to your local sports store or at the pro shop at an arena. This will usually cost you about five bucks. A lot of skate sharpening places will have loyalty cards that you can get stamped or punched, often giving you a free skate sharpening after paying for a certain number of them.

Rust on skate blades happens when skates are left wet for long periods of time. To help avoid this, be sure to dry your skates after every hockey game, practice or skating session. Most people keep a rag in their hockey bag and the sole purpose of this rag is to wipe skate blades dry after getting off the ice.

Drying skate blades is important, but it’s also crucial to remove your skates from your hockey bag and air them out when you get home. If your skates sit in your bag, there’s always the risk that there is moisture in your bag that will get to your skates, and result in rust.