Ball Maintenance

[drlawsoniii]

Question: I have been maintaining my balls by after every 3 games i soak them in hot tap water with about 1/4 cup of simple green concentrate. the balls are almost fully submerged in my kitchen sink i let them sit for up to a half hour then I rinse them well and dry them off. They sit almost a full day drying. Am I damaging my balls? or am i doing well? I've never had an issue with consistency because of it.

[got_a_300]

I can see no reason or benefit to soaking them after every 3 games
as there will probably not be that much oil in them maybe soak them
after 30 or more games unless you're bowling on an ocean of oil and
they are really soft sponges or something.

[1VegasBowler]

I can see no reason or benefit to soaking them after every 3 games
as there will probably not be that much oil in them maybe soak them
after 30 or more games unless you're bowling on an ocean of oil and
they are really soft sponges or something.

I totally agree here.

While resin balls soak up oil like a sponge, the oil absorption is not going to be much at all after 3 games. Wiping them down before you first shot in each frame helps keep most of the oil from being absorbed. And while most (if not all) of the pro shops here in Vegas use the water technique to de-oil a ball, placing them in hot water too often will eventually remove the plasticizers from your ball. Once that happens, the ball is only good for the garbage can.

I bowl 14 games/week (not including practice), and I wipe mine down before my first shot each frame. Every 2 weeks or so I will clean them with That Purple Stuff.

[JaxBowlingGuy]

Definitely wouldn't be doing that every 3 games. Also soaking them that long could end up hurting them. When I have done that in the past I did no longer than 10-15 minutes. That would be after 50 games or so. Personally I use ball cleaner every shot and do a good clean at the end of each set before putting them up. Every 10 games or so I'll put them on the spinner to clean. Not really needed but I have one so why not... I wouldn't necessarily pay a shop to clean them that often if I was keeping up with limiting the oil absorbed into the ball (cleaning between shots and after sets)

[NewToBowling]

Ideally you want to wipe your ball after every shot as soon as it comes back to the ball return. But you would totally be holding up the line and would be given odd looks. 5 man teams you are looking at anywhere from 5-10 minutes before it's your turn again. There would be oil absorption already at that point.

[AlexNC]

Check this article (http://bowlingknowledge.info/images/stories/bk_surface_101.pdf) on ball maintenance from Joe Slowinksi's site. Even if you don't subscribe to some of his other ideas, I have seen some of the ball maintenance ideas (particularly soaking) in other places.

[drlawsoniii]

Definitely wouldn't be doing that every 3 games. Also soaking them that long could end up hurting them. When I have done that in the past I did no longer than 10-15 minutes. That would be after 50 games or so. Personally I use ball cleaner every shot and do a good clean at the end of each set before putting them up. Every 10 games or so I'll put them on the spinner to clean. Not really needed but I have one so why not... I wouldn't necessarily pay a shop to clean them that often if I was keeping up with limiting the oil absorbed into the ball (cleaning between shots and after sets)

Wouldnt cleaning your ball with ball cleaner after every shot violate USBC Rules?

[1VegasBowler]

Wouldnt cleaning your ball with ball cleaner after every shot violate USBC Rules?

During league play it does not violate USBC rules.

If you participate in any tournaments, then it is a violation of rules and could get you disqualified. (USBC & PBA)

If you participate in a tournament, ALWAYS read the rules about ball cleaning.

[JaxBowlingGuy]

Wouldnt cleaning your ball with ball cleaner after every shot violate USBC Rules?

There's quite a few cleaners that are approved during play. As mentioned, some tournaments have "dry towel" rules. Even then it's still better than nothing at all.

You can't alter the surface during sanctioned play.

[billf]

The cleaner will have a spot that says "for during competition" which means it's legal for use during competition UNLESS the tournament rules state otherwise.

[ALazySavage]

For example "That Purple Stuff" is approved to be used during competition.

Granted I have heard that it has Glutaraldehyde and methanol so do your research.

[bowl1820]

Doing a hot water bath after every 3 games is overkill.

A good strong cleaning regimen would be to:

Step 1: Clean after every shot with a leather ball shammy. (DO NOT use ball cleaners on the leather shammy)

Step 2: Clean between each game with a microfiber towel and a cleaner approved for anytime use.

Step 3: At the end of a night of bowling, Clean the ball with a microfiber towel and with the same or a stronger cleaner.

Step 4: Depending on how much you bowl and the conditions, about once a week clean your ball with a penetrating deep cleaner like Clean'N Dull. (Preferably after you've sanded)

Do that and you'd eliminate or at least reduce the need to de-oil a ball.

A step down from that would be to do just Steps 1-3-4

Another important thing to remember is to clean your towels, Dirty towels don't remove dirt & oil effectively.