My recipe for cleaning bowling balls. I actually do this in the kitchen sink, which just holds enough water.
1. Make sure the ball is not ice cold. (If you live in Michigan, like I do, this is an important start)
2. Put the ball in the sink, pail or whatever you choose to use.
3. Put a good squirt of dish detergent on top of the ball. I use Dawn, but any good detergent will work.
4. Run hot water into the sink. I get the water as hot as it will get before I start adding it.
5. Run water in until the ball is covered, or in the case of smaller sinks, until it is full.
6. Let the ball soak for a few minutes in the hot soapy water.
7. Using a sponge, cloth, or in my case, a very light scrub pad. Start cleaning the ball rotating it in the water. I wash the ball very thoroughly, which make take a few minutes.
8. I then remove the ball to the other side of the sink and rinse it very well with hot water. This does a great job of getting all the detergent off the ball surface and out of the finger and X holes.
9. Remove the ball onto a towel to hand dry it. (At this point the choice is yours, but here is what I do);
10. Pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol, IPA, I use 70% strength, on the ball and finish wiping it down.
11. I then dry out the finger holes and balance hole with a paper towel. I dampen the paper towel with a bit of rubbing alcohol first. This helps the last of the water evaporate quicker in the nooks and crannies of the hole.
This may seem to be a lot of work, but in reality only takes a few minutes per ball. And people always comment on the cleanliness of my equipment. (You thought I was going to say balls). I have had many balls last for years with little or no decrease in effectiveness using this method.
fabes
