How to clean basketball properly? Until your basketball is not properly cleaned, it is difficult for you to hold it in the perfect way, and it can also get a speck of dirt to your hand every time whenever you grab the basketball.
The surface where you are playing basketball should be cleaned properly so that, whenever you play basketball, you don’t need to clean the ball.
Usually, a basketball is exposed to all kinds of bacteria and viruses while practicing the game, the ball is thrown into muds and specks of dirt and is exposed to a lot of viruses. So, every single time your hand contacts the basketball, it may unknowingly infect you with the deadly virus.
The process of cleaning the basketball may be different in different materials. While cleaning the basketball, you should determine the kind of ball you are using. You can determine the type of material either by the feel the quality of the material or by seeing its label.
So, in this article, we will let you know how you perfectly clean your basketball, which will make it same as new. Then, why not keep the basketball away from dirt and give it look same as a new ball. Let’s dive into the detailed article and make it easy to clean the basketball.
Table of Contents
Material Use While Making Basketball
The three most common types of material are being used to make a basketball
- Natural leather
- Synthetic leather
- Rubber
Wilson Evolution game and the Spalding NBA official basketball are the most common types of basketball made with the help of natural leather. These basketballs are mostly used in professional games.
Whereas XEDGE basketball and Wilson NCAA Basketball are the standard types of Synthetic leather basketballs. Composite leather basketball balls are inexpensive than natural leather balls. These basketballs are suitable for indoor and outdoor play.
At last, rubber basketball mostly comes with a swimming pool basketball hoop or the basketball hoop for kids.
Knowing the kind of basketball material is not only important for cleaning the basketball, but it also helps to use that type of ball correctly.
Things You’ll Need to Clean the Basketball.
As you know, there are three different materials, which are used to make a basketball. So, now, we will tell you which things you’ll need while cleaning the basketball.
For Natural Leather basketballs
- Semi warm water
- Leather cleaner
- Any Brush like a toothbrush
- Rag
- Clean, soft cloth
For Synthetic Leather Basketball
- Brush
- Rag
- Warm water
- Detergent
- Synthetic Leather Cleaner
For Rubber Basketball
- Dish soap
- Scrub Brush
- Damp cloth
- Towel
Cleaning a Natural Leather Basketball
If you have a natural leather basketball, then the cleaning method is a bit different as compared to others. Natural leather basketball is also more expensive than Rubber or Synthetic Leather basketball; that’s why keep the precautions measure in your mind while cleaning it.
However, you will see that the process of its cleansing is very easy and straightforward. We hope that you find this method easy.
1. Inflate a Basketball
It would be best if you did not deflate a basketball while cleaning a natural leather basketball. If you see that your basketball’s pressure is low, you have to first inflate it properly and then start the cleaning process.
Moreover, if you don’t know how to check the pressure of basketball, then the simple and quick way to check the pressure is that drop the ball from the height of your shoulder and leave it to bounce. If the height of the basketball bounces back to the height of your waist, then your ball pressure is perfect.
But if it bounces back above from the waist, then your ball is overinflated, and if its bounce is lower than the height of the waist, your ball needs to get inflated.
2. Purchase Cleaning Products
After properly inflating the basketball, you have to buy the cleaning product for natural leather basketball from your nearby store. All the products which are used while cleaning the basketball are written above.
3. Use Rag
Keep this thing in mind, don’t use the leather cleaner directly on the basketball. The best way to use leather cleaner is to put a small amount of cleaner on the rag and thoroughly rub the ball’s surface. Especially, rub the ball from the area where the ball is more dirty. Rub it until all the dirt is gone. Add more cleanser time by time, if required.
4. Dry the Ball Surface
Now, again wash the basketball with semi-warm water and clean all the stains with the help of a brush. After that, thoroughly rub the ball with a dry rag and remove the remaining cleanser. Do not use a hairdryer to dry the ball.
5. Store in Cool and Dry Place
After cleaning the leather basketball, it should require the proper place to keep it in good condition. Do not keep the leather ball on a hot or humid surface, as hot weather can damage the surface of the ball. Keep the ball in a cool and well-ventilated place.
Cleaning a Synthetic Leather Basketball
Synthetic leather basketballs are mostly used for outdoor play. The price of this ball is a bit less than natural leather basketballs. Such type of basketball gives amazing grip and control. The method of its cleaning is also simple, and you should have to apply only a few steps on the ball to make it look new.
1. Setup Your Area
Wash the ball in an area where access to everything is available, such as a large bucket, warm water, brush, detergent, and a rag. The size of the bucket should be at least enough to fit the basketball properly.
2. Fill a Bucket
While cleaning a synthetic leather basketball, first of all, you have to fill a bucket of water and then add some amount of detergent to it.
3. Rinse the Basketball
Rinse the basketball for at least 10 to 15 minutes with warm water or until any type of dirt or stains disappear.
4. Use cloth
Rub the basketball with the help of cloth until the ball becomes clean and non-sticky. To clean the ball more perfectly, you can also add a small amount of detergent to the cloth.
If there are still a few stains on the surface of the basketball then, you can also use elbow grease to get rid of these stains properly.
5. Use Synthetic Leather Cleaner
As discussed above, synthetic leather basketballs are mostly used in outdoor play, so this ball has more tendance to get nasty and undesirable stains on basketball which may be a headache for you while cleaning it. So, we recommend you use Synthetic Leather Cleaner to get rid of those nasty stains.
Cleaning a Rubber Basketball
Rubber basketball is the cheapest type of basketball as compared to both of above. This type of basketball is best for kids or beginner players. However, rubber basketballs are mostly come with the swimming pool’s basketball hoop or with kids’ basketball hoop. Even though rubber basketball gets dirt and stains quickly but it is very easy to wash that leather basketball. Let’s also discuss its method step-by-step.
1. Fill a Bucket
First of all, you have to fill a 5-gallon bucket with semi-warm water. Also, add a small amount of detergent to it. After adding detergent to the water, mix it thoroughly until the detergent completely dissolves in it.
2. Take a Cloth
Take a soft cloth and dip it in the warm water. After that, with the help of a wet cloth, clean the surface of the basketball gently to remove stains.
3. Use Scrub Brush
If you still see the nasty stains on its surface, use a scrub brush to remove them. The method of using a scrub brush is that dip it in that warm water and then apply on those nasty stains,
4. Rinse it again
After removing all the types of stains from the surface of the ball, again, rinse the ball with the water. But the water must be clean.
5. Use Towel
Use a towel to dry the ball and wipe the excess water from the ball’s surface.
When you follow all of these steps, you will notice that your ball same looks like a new one.
However, if you still do not understand about the cleaning of the ball then, you can also watch the video given below: –
How to take care of your ball
However, a rubber basketball comes at a very reasonable price and can be afforded easily. Whereas Natural Leather and Synthetic Leather Basketballs are much more expensive, these basketballs also require much more care than rubber basketball. So, here we will tell you some steps that will let you know how you can care for your basketball more perfectly.
1. Longevity of Ball
For the longevity of the basketball, make sure that keep your ball in a cool and dry place. Keep the leather basketball away from direct sunlight rays as it may change the color of the ball and ruin the quality of the ball.
2. Fire
Make sure that keep away your basketball from any type of fire, as it may decrease the ball’s efficiency and ruin its surface quality.
3. Do not Buy Expensive Cleanser
If your basketball gets too dirty and you want to clean it, we recommend you not buy an expensive cleanser to clean the specks of dirt. However, you can use dish soap or detergent to clean the surface of the ball, as we have described above.
4. Must Inflate the Basketball
This point is very necessary for the caring of the ball and to make the game enjoyable. It would be best if you had to check the pressure of basketball before playing.
However, a low-pressure ball is nearly unplayable, and the overinflated basketballs bounce back at very high heights.
5. Wipe with a Rag
After washing the basketball, just wipe it with a rag or any soft cloth; otherwise, the permanent stains or marks may develop on its surface.
6. Wood Polish
If your basketball gets too old and you want to make it the same as new again then, you can also apply wood polish on the surface of the ball.
Final Verdict
Nothing will last for a long time without regular cleaning or maintenance, and it is the same in terms of basketball. However, it doesn’t matter that the basketball is made up of rubber or leather.
Furthermore, cleaning a basketball is an uncomplicated task and can be done easily. The clean basketball boosts up your confidence while playing.
Every ball is cleaned with different methods depending on the material. Clean basketball also safe us from harmful diseases and viruses. Who doesn’t want to play the game safe? That’s why it would be better if you took some time and cleaned the basketball properly.
We hope that you understand every single thing about the cleaning of basketball, after reading this topic. If you still have any queries or suggestions, you can ask us in the comment section below.