Maintaining skis and snowboards is an important task during the winter, but paying a technician to wax skis and boards can get pricey.

The frequency of use determines how often skis and snowboards need to be waxed, said Dan Wiener, a technician for Outdoor Pursuits.

If skis and boards are not waxed regularly, the equipment will dry out and may not absorb the wax.

“Personally I use my skis at least two three times, a week, and I wax them at least once a week,” Wiener said.

The basic tools needed to wax bases are base cleaner, an iron, an all temperature wax, a scraper, and brushes.

The first step is cleaning the base of the board. It is important that the base is completely dry before applying the wax. If the base is not completely dry the wax may bubble.

Next heat up the iron and melt the wax on the base. This can be done by dripping or chalking the wax on the base making sure that the iron is not too hot, Wiener said.

120 degrees is a good temperature for the iron, he said.

After the wax is applied, use the iron to evenly spread wax from tip to tail. Firm pressure and an even speed will get the best result.

If too little pressure is applied the wax will not melt and if the speed is too slow it will burn the base.

When the wax is cool to the touch, it should be scraped off the base. A scraper should be used for best results but a credit card will also suffice.

The wax should be scraped until there is little wax coming off of the base. Only plastic scrapers should be used to take off the wax.

After the wax has been scraped off, use metal, blue nylon, and soft nylon brushes to pull excess wax off of the board.

All of these tools are available for use at Outdoor Pursuits with a membership.