Now you don’t have to panic when your billiard ball needs a cleaning. Learn how to clean billiard balls from us and make sure you do a thorough job.
I think that people underestimate how important it is on keeping our billiard balls clean. You could have the skill of the perfect pool player out there in the world, but playing with billiard balls that need to be cleaned can and will falter with your game skill. It’s common to see that people will take pride in the maintenance of their pool cue stick, and the pool table felt as well but turn a blind eye to the maintenance of the billiard ball.
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Is It Important To Keep Billiard Balls Sparkling?
Now, this must be a question that might have occurred to you at the beginning of the article. Why should I waste my time cleaning when I could be perfecting my game?
Let us expose to you the benefits of keeping billiard balls shining:
- Billiard balls that are cleaned regularly last a lot longer than those that are allowed to gather dust and grime.
- Chalk, dust, or any other debris on balls will obstruct their movement and not allow them to generate enough momentum. This is definitely going to impact your game.
- Having a gleaming set of billiard balls is going to save you money in the long run as they will not need to be replaced as often.
- Clean billiard balls are also an asset to the felt on your pool table as there are fewer chances of skid marks across the table or other damages that are caused by dirt and grime.
I know for a fact that some person has never cleaned the billiard balls on their pool table before. In this article, I will be explaining how to clean billiard balls and their importance of it. I hope you enjoy reading and I do hope you learn some other things like the importance of why cleaning the billiard balls is important.
Why Is It Important to Clean The Billiard Balls?
The Billiard balls may seem tough and almighty but they are not, over time dirt and dust that’s been stuck on the balls will reduce the original time span with the billiard balls. It’s probably going to be hard to believe at first but it’s facts and something that was proven by billiard ball testers over the world. The next thing that you are going to see is that the colour of the balls will start to fade.
Just imagine you and the gang went out to get a few practice games out and you swing across a pool table with some washed-up billiard balls. This sure will automatically brake the mood of the player and you will subconsciously not give it your best performance so it messes with your skills as a mental thing as well.
Last and most important, if your pool balls are not cleaned on a monthly bases they can and will give you some unbalance movements. Your ball plays will be rolling in an irregular movement and that can be bothersome as a pool player playing. Dirt on your pool balls will also reduce the power from the cue ball hitting the objective billiard balls, there is so much wrong that can and will take place that most would not even think about.
How To Clean Billiard Balls? (7 Simple Steps)
It is common to see people mistaking the term warm water for hot water, the billiard balls shot be cleaned with warm water, not hot water, the hot water will damage the density of the billiard balls. The cleaning of the balls will not take you 30 minutes out of your day to do as well. You won’t need any special cleaning items really just some warm water and soap will do the trick I know this will surprise most but yes this works.
The balls can be soaked in a bucket or sink in warm water for at least 5 -10 minutes max then starts to selectively clean the billiard balls with your cleaning rag or towel but they must be dried with a soft microfiber towel. Drying the billiard balls with a microfiber towel won’t leave any lint or dust on the balls. Don’t let the big-name trick you, these are the rags or towels we use to clean our car glasses on a daily bases.
There are plenty of different ways to clean our pool balls but I can guarantee you that this is the best and safest method out of them all. Light detergents can be used as well that’s something you can keep in mind as well.
Simple Cleaning Steps
- Get your bucket to clean balls
- Fill the bucket with warm water
- Apply soap or light detergent
- Get your cleaning items ready, two separate clothes one going be to dry off the balls and the other used to scrub.
- Soak for 5-10 mins before start cleaning
- Scrub balls
- Dry properly with the microfiber cloth properly
Polishing Billiard Balls
If you want to go the extra mile, polish your billiard balls once you have cleaned them. Not only will this keep them sparkling, but the polish forms a narrow film between the atmosphere and the balls and can act as a protective barrier. Here are a few points to keep in mind when you set about polishing billiard balls:
- Always choose products that are specially crafted to deal with billiard balls. There are numerous billiard ball cleaning kits available on the market that you can choose from.
- Shy away from harsh polishing agents as they might destroy the structure of the balls. Oil-based polishes also should be avoided.
- Most polishing kits come with detailed instructions, so ensure that you follow the instructions to the T.
- Use only a soft microfiber cloth for the polishing process.
My Billiard Balls Are Turning Yellow?
This is nothing major to be worrying about its natural for all pool balls to become yellow after a time period, this is due to oxidation occurring with the billiard balls. It’s basically like how the metal would naturally rust over a period of time and that rust can be removed as well.
How To Remove The Yellow Look On Your Billiard Balls?
The best and most professional method would be to use the Aramith Billiard Ball Cleaner, this is directly best for phenolic resin balls this will definitely solve the problem, and your billiard balls will be looking next to brand new. My personal recommendation would be to use the Aramith Billiard Ball Cleaner I use it myself but if you are in a tight spot I have heard that adding a little baking soda in the water when cleaning them can also do the trick.
It is a very good feeling after cleaning your pool balls I can tell you that for sure, it will give a totally different ball reaction with every strike you make in the game. I don’t know why owners do not really see the importance of cleaning their billiard balls and just focus on their pool cue stick and the pool table felts only.
Proper maintenance is needed for all your equipment in the game no matter how small they may seem to be of importance. Everything will always complement the other, keeping the billiard balls clean will also keep the table feeling cleaner and give smother and better ball reaction plays.
It can even be the situation where you had bought a set of billiard balls and haven’t used them yet but they were all locked up in the storeroom. If stored over a long period of time without using it is also common for them to change colour so there will be no need to curse out on the suppliers that they sold you crappy balls.
Following the cleaning steps above will get them looking like brand new again even though they are brand new but you know what I mean. This is just a simple matter that will happen to the billiard balls over time, using or not using it does not matter really.
Closing Thoughts
Thousand of people will recommend a million and one different things to clean your billiard balls but although they might seem to work some will also damage your billiard balls. I have been playing pool for over a decade now and my team and I have tried out a lot of things, we went through load and trial and failure but what I can assure you is that the cleaning methods above will do wonders for you.
It is also good to practice the proper maintenance of your equipment so that it can perform the best and lose for a longer period of time, no one likes to be spending back-to-back unnecessary money. Thanks for reading our article on how to clean billiard balls
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