It’s always entrancing to play with a new basketball hoop and ball. But, we’re not so fortunate to play with a new basketball everyday. So what to do? Maybe I’m not from any royal family like Malia Ann Obama. But, I’m also not so lazy to be dominated by fate. So, I’ve discovered an amazing way to bring a new look to my basketball and I know how to clean a basketball when it becomes messy and dirty after playing for hours.
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Why Should I Clean My Basketball:
Lazy girls bring excuses to clean their basketball and I’m sure that you aren’t so lazy to bathe your ball. However, dirty ball may cause various diseases and unhappiness. It also makes the sense of strong aversion to touch an unclean ball which ultimately destroy the pleasure of playing basketball. So, we should clean our ball after enjoying the basketball.
How To Clean a Basketball:
There are several ways to clean a basketball. But, I’m gonna show you the most easiest and the most fastest way of cleaning your ball. Can you imagine how easy it can be? Okay, let me show it!
I’m sure, every night you brush your teeth before going to sleep. But, do you have an old toothbrush? I don’t feel shy to ask this because a brush is needed to clean your basketball. If you don’t have one, you can now easily check color and price of a toothbrush on Amazon .
You also will need a pair of plastic hand gloves, a plastic bowl or a large plastic bucket, 2 litters of little warm water and a gentle, anti-grease soap or washing powder. For your better consideration, washing powder is better than any soap to clean a dirty ball. Now, let’s see the complete process step by step:
Steps To Clean a Basketball:
- Step 1: Put together all the necessary things into your bathroom or any other comfortable place. Here, necessary things means a toothbrush, a plastic bucket/bowl, 2 litters of warm water, washing powder and your dirty basketball and a pair of clear plastic hand gloves will keep your hands safe.
- Step 2: Pour warm water into the bucket and mix 100g of washing powder with the warm water.
- Step 3: Now, try to create foam in the bucket as much as you can. The kid in the following picture can do it. So, I’m sure, it also will be easy for you.
- Step 4: Don’t forget to wear plastic hand gloves while creating the foam. And now, sink your ball into the foam and wait for 5 minutes. To be more clear, have a look at this picture.
- Step 5: Now, rub the wet ball carefully with your toothbrush.
- Step 6: Throw away all the foam and soapy water and wash your bucket with the clear water. Next to that, fill your bucket with clear and cold water.
- Step 7: Finally, wash your ball with the water you filled in the bucket and dry your ball naturally.
This process is best to clean rubber basketball. And if your ball is made of synthetic leather, you should then use a soft scrub instead of a toothbrush and don’t sink your ball into the foam. In this case, sink the scrub into the foam and then wipe the surface of your ball. All the other steps will be same.
But, if you love to play with a natural leather basketball, the process of cleaning your ball will be a little different because, foam or soapy water will ruin the longevity of your leather ball. So, you should use leather cleanser like saddle soap to clean your leather basketball.
Saddle soap is specially designed to clean leather crafts like bag, ball etc. One more caution is that don’t use this cleaning agent directly to your ball. The best practice is that apply the saddle soap to a soft cloth and then wipe the surface of the ball with that cloth.
Now, wipe away the ball with a soft scrub. You can also use your old toothbrush to wipe away the basketball and then give a polish to your ball with a clean soft cotton cloth. But, saddle soap won’t be enough to clean your leather ball if that ball is roughly played in the football field in place of a basketball court. So, if there’s mud and stains on the roof of the ball, a leather shampoo will do the best to clean that ball.
In that case, don’t submerge your ball into the water. Just pour the water on your ball, give a polish with leather shampoo and again wash your ball with the water and finally don’t forget to dry your wet ball naturally.
For a better experience in caring your basketball, you may follow the following additional advices:
If you don’t mind to purchase a pair of basketball every saturday, then, there’s no advice here for you. It’s my apology that I’ve nothing to say. But, if you’re just like me and wish to play with your ball months after months, then I’m ready to show you something amazing. Are you ready?
Okay, as you expect the longevity from your basketball, you shouldn’t keep your ball directly under the sunlight. You also shouldn’t keep your ball in such a place where fog can easily reach in the winter. So, you should always store your ball in a dry and cool place.
Never store your ball near any fire in future. You also should avoid your car boot to carry your ball. Because, high temperature damages the performance of the ball and the temperature in a car boot is always so high but in winter.
Never use any sprays or creams to clean your basketball which usually is used to clean shoes or leather coats. Using this type of products will hamper the sweat absorbing capability of your ball. These also will make the surface of your ball slippery and thus will destroy the excitation of the game.
Don’t wait to wipe your ball with a clean and soft cloth after the game if it becomes wet and never use hair dryer to speed up the drying process. Another important thing is that the ball also need rest as all the athletes deserve it. It isn’t a good practice to play 7 days a week with a single ball. To get the best from your basketball, try to alter the ball each day. If you’ve only 2 balls, you can easily do it. So, my suggestion is to have at least 2 balls at the same time.
You know that it’s frequently needed to inflate the ball to enjoy the amazing bounces. So, don’t forget to lubricate your needle before inserting it into the valve of your ball. A blunt needle may damage the valve of the ball. So, be careful while inflating your basketball and pump it up to the correct pressure.
No need to go to extremes to take proper care of your basketball. I know, a leather ball is expensive. So, you shouldn’t use cheap cleanser to clean your leather basketball and use your common sense to follow the steps. It’s wise to use common sense while cleaning anything using cleanser and warm water. Nothing else. Just follow the above advices properly and get the best from your ball and try to keep your ball clean. For more, you can write a line to us. Our comment box is always open for you.