The fact that you have to clean the table and the rubbers regularly is obvious to every player. But how do dirt and dust actually get there? Right, often from the balls (e.g. white dust from new plastic balls). To prevent this, you can easily clean your balls. In this post you will learn how.
If you want to prevent dirt, debris, and dust from table tennis balls from getting on the tabletop, you should clean them. Single balls are simply cleaned with baking soda and a damp cloth. This way, the balls will still have a good grip.
How to proceed exactly and how you can clean a large set of balls at once, for example, you will learn further down in the post.
Why do you have to clean table tennis balls?
Yes, why actually? Especially the new plastic balls unfortunately have a white layer of dust at the beginning, which shows up on the surface when playing for the first time and often makes the ball slip off.
But also through normal use, dirt, debris, and dust get on the ball, thereby reducing the spin and additionally deposited on the rubber and plate.
In order to have the best playing characteristics, therefore, clean rubbers a clean tabletop but also clean balls are necessary. This way it is just more fun!
How do you clean (new) table tennis balls?
When you buy a set of new ping pong balls, you will immediately notice that they are covered with a fine layer of white dust.
If you don’t want this to land directly on your rubber and the tabletop and reduce your own spin, you can clean the balls before playing for the first time.
Of course, the white dust also comes off when you play, but first, it lands on the rubber and table. But the balls also get dirty again while playing.
Dust, dirt from the floor, etc. (especially when playing outside) can accumulate on the ball. To keep the dirt from getting on the racket and rubber here too, you can simply clean the balls.
There are several ways to go about this. Of course, it is important to clean the ball but at the same time not destroy the grip. Exactly for this, there is a perfect home remedy: baking soda.
Cleaning with baking soda
That’s right! All you need is some baking soda. This you give on a wet towel and rub with it the white dust with circular motions.
In This way, the ball itself remains super grippy and you can start immediately and without white residue on your surfaces.
Remove white dust with additional equipment
Alternatively, you can also buy a small gadget for cleaning your balls, the Cleansi 3000 (yes, it’s really called that). The name says it all.
Soulspin has developed this small tool especially for cleaning white dust off your new balls. You can buy the Cleansi 3000 for less than $15 in their store. How to use it exactly they explain here.
Personally, I am completely satisfied with the baking powder version. So you don’t necessarily have to buy extra accessories for it.
How to clean many ping pong balls at once?
The cleaning methods I have just described are not really suitable for a new set of training balls. They lead to the best result, but if you want to clean 100 new training balls, it will take you 1-2 hours.
If you want it to go faster, you can also put the balls in a tub with some dish soap and then dry them with a towel.
Especially for training balls, this is completely sufficient for me.
How to disinfect table tennis balls?
In this day and age, not only cleaning plays a major role, but also disinfection. Therefore, to be on the safe side when playing table tennis, you should also regularly disinfect the balls. Fortunately, this is very easy to do:
You just need a normal disinfectant (preferably spray), put it on a cloth, and rub the ball thoroughly with it.
Another way to protect yourself from the coronavirus but still play table tennis is that each player has his own balls. This way, you only serve with these balls and do not touch the same balls as your opponent.
