Every time your hands are in contact with the basketball, you are unknowingly at the risk of getting infected by the harmful virus. During the game or in the practice session, the ball gets into the mud or dirt. And as a consequence, the ball is exposed to lots of bacteria and harmful germs. It is not only health issues but also the concern of economic reasons as well. You may not afford to buy a new one every time it gets dirty. So if you want your basketball will last long, then the best way is to clean it regularly.
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Essential cleaning materials
There are many types of basketball out there. And the materials are different for different basketballs. Some basket basketballs are made of rubber, some are made of leather materials, and some are made of synthetic materials. So cleaning procedures will be different depending on the type of balls.
Cleaning rubber made basketballs
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The rubber made basketballs are common items, and around the world, it is the most widely used basketball. At some point in life, every basketball lover would love to have a rubber made basketball for them.
Although rubber made basketballs are cheap and handy, but the thing is it gets dirty very quickly. Rubber is a kind of substance that catches dirt itself. The sensitivity and elasticity make it more prone to bacteria and viruses. For these reasons, you need to clean the rubber made basketball regularly. Let’s check out different ways of cleaning it.
Cleaning with a wipe
- Get a wipe to clean the ball. Then immerse the wipe or any cotton cloth to the water solution made with slight detergent.
- Now wipe the ball with a cloth. It’s better if you can try cleaning the basketball with extra pressure. It will help to remove all the dirt from the basketball.
- When you finish wiping then, let the ball dry for a little while. Then you can again clean it with a dry cloth, but remember that never try to dry the ball with a hairdryer.
Directly washing
- By using lukewarm water, you can wash the basketball directly. Keep in mind that the water should be lukewarm, or else your ball will get damaged.
- Next, after soaking the ball with water, you need to slight detergent or soap water to rewash it.
- Make the ball dry now.
Cleaning with a toothbrush
- This process might sound a bit weird to you, but a toothbrush can be convenient to clean a basketball.
- First of all, get a toothbrush and soak it with detergent water.
- Then to clean the basketball, use the brush.
- While cleaning the ball with a toothbrush, put a bit pressure, and be a bit harsh.
- After cleaning, wash the ball and make it dry
- Now you ready to play with the ball again
Cleaning leather basketball
Compare to rubber basketball, leather basketballs are more expensive, and you need to make extra effort to clean it. Keep in mind that, don’t put the ball into the detergent water directly because if you soak the ball straight into the detergent water, then it may cause harm to the leather. To clean the ball, don’t forget to use natural leather because detergent water can harm your basketball.
- With natural leather, cleaner make a solution to clean the ball.
- Remember, never soak the ball into the solution.
- Take a cloth and submerge it into the solution then scrub the ball with the fabric.
- Then wash the basketball with clean water.
- Now make the ball dry with a clean cloth.
When you use the ball regularly, the ball might get extra mud and dirt. So before starting the processes mentioned above, wash the ball with clean water first.
- Try to remove the mud and dirt as much as you can.
- Since leather balls are more sensitive, so never soak it in any cleaning solution.
- Keep in mind, don’t use any hair dryer or don’t keep the ball in the direct sunshine.
Leather balls are sensitive and made for professional use. You must take care of the ball properly so you can use the ball for a long time. If you are a basketball enthusiast and have a leather basketball, then you should keep in mind those words.
Cleaning Synthetic Leather Basketballs
Compare to the other types of basketball, and synthetic basketball requires a different way of cleaning and washing. Synthetic Leather Basketballs are much more sensitive just like pure leather basketball, and comparatively, it is more sensitive than rubber made basketballs. Players use this type of basketball for practice and tournaments also. It is a widely used basketball in Europe. Let’s check out the procedures of cleaning the synthetic leather basketballs.
- For washing a synthetic basketball, use mild soap water.
- Don’t soak the synthetic basketball into any type of detergent solution.
- Find a clean cotton cloth and drench the cloth into the soap water.
- Then by using the wet cloth, wipe the dirt and dust off the basketball.
- Instead of water, you can also use a brush to clean the basketball.
- Another easiest and safe way to clean the ball is to use a natural shampoo solution. Natural shampoos are so mild, and you can use the shampoo solution to clean your basketball.
- Then wash the basketball with lukewarm water after cleaning with the solution. If you can see any more strain, then you can use a synthetic leather basketball cleaning solution.
- While cleaning the ball with a solution, then wipe the ball with pressure and be a bit harsh.
- Then rewash the basketball.
- Make it dry.
So the process of cleaning synthetic leather basketball is so easy, isn’t it? If you clean the basketball regularly, then you can use it for a long time.
Some points to remember
- Don’t soak the ball into the water.
- To clean the ball, don’t use hot boiling water. This will end up damaging your ball.
- If you have a leather ball, always use natural leather basketball cleaner. For cleaning the rubber ball, you can use detergent, but for leather, ball detergent is very harmful.
- Never use a dryer to dry the ball.
Final words
Nothing lasts for a long time if you don’t clean and maintain properly and this is also applicable for basketball as well. No matter if you have a synthetic or rubber ball, you need to clean it properly and regularly for long term use. Your health might be at risk if you don’t clean the ball regularly. So take your time to wash your basketball. In this article, I have covered all the essential details about cleaning a basketball, and I hope this will help you to get started.