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Author Topic: Cleaning a ball with hot water?  (Read 4519 times)

OutlawTawn

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Cleaning a ball with hot water?
« on: January 05, 2004, 01:18:59 AM »
I heard a good way to clean the ball and get the oil out is to tape over the holes and put it in hot water.  Is this true?  Does anyone know how effective this is??
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OutlawTawn

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Re: Cleaning a ball with hot water?
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2004, 04:31:43 PM »
its ok for the water to get in the holes?
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OutlawTawn

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Re: Cleaning a ball with hot water?
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2004, 04:32:18 PM »
how long do u keep it in the hot water?
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OutlawTawn

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Re: Cleaning a ball with hot water?
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2004, 04:39:52 PM »
whats plasticizer?   do you think doing this can damage the ball in any way?
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no1bucsfan

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Re: Cleaning a ball with hot water?
« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2004, 05:44:42 PM »
The hot water method works very well for bleeding the oil out of a bowling ball. Put the ball in hot water with a small amount of dawn dish liquid and soak it for 15 minutes. Take the ball out and wipe it down. Repeat process three or four times.

As far as taping the holes, there are some that say not taping the holes can lead to water soaking into the ball and causing the core to seperate. I do not tape over my holes and it has never hurt it. Plus even duct tape isn't totally waterproof so water is going to seep in anyway.

After a good soaking my ball performs like new again. I soak every two or three weeks just to keep the oil from building up.

Oversoaking can cause the plasticizer to start coming out of the ball if the ball gets to hot, which is why I only soak for fifteen minutes at a time, and never for more than an hour of total time.
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Lefties are the only people in their right minds.

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Doc Hollywood

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Re: Cleaning a ball with hot water?
« Reply #5 on: January 05, 2004, 07:32:42 PM »
I believe the July 2003 issue of BTM talked about the hotwater method with Dawn as a safe way to bleed oil out of the ball.  I can't remember the specifics exactly because I am at work.  But I was just looking through that old issue last night.

You can get rubber stopper plugs at the hardware store if you are worried about water getting in the holes.
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squeeds

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Re: Cleaning a ball with hot water?
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2004, 08:08:21 AM »
My variant on this is that I submerge the ball in 130 degree water with 2 tbsp of Simple Green in it, and soak for 30 minutes and let air dry.  I do this once a week.  It has made a difference in the ball reaction since I started doing this about 2 months ago (learned about this here!)
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iommifan

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Re: Cleaning a ball with hot water?
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2004, 08:37:00 AM »
I have done this over with Brunswick Pro-Active coverstocks several times. What I do is use hot water, not boiling. If you ever had the zone stocks when they had oil in them placing your hand on the ball caused the oil to migrate to the surface. So extreme temperatures are not necessary, therefore not endangering the core at all. I add a little Dawn dishwashing detergent and soak for about 15-20 minutes. The water gets quite dirty. The ball goes back to it's original color and performance. I have never taped the finger holes because I wanted any dirt in the holes cleared also (i.e. tape residue, oil, finger dirty). I never noticed any problem with the ball after cleaning so I don't believe any core damage was done, but don't doubt that it is possible. Especially if the inner material gets wet wicks in and then gets cold or hot. The material around the core looks to be much more porous than the outer shell. I don't seem to have the same trouble with the new Storm Coverstocks, but I had to do the this a couple of times a season with Brunswick and AMF.
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Alto101

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Re: Cleaning a ball with hot water?
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2004, 10:15:03 PM »
I just soaked my Inferno in hot, not boiling, water for 15 minutes.  Instead of dawn I used a bit of Simple Green (the lemon scented stuff since the store was out of the original).  I then wiped the ball and repeated the process once more.  I have not had the chance to see how the ball reacts on the lanes but the color of the ball is different then it was prior to the soaking.  The color looks faded.  I am not sure if this color change is normal or not since this is my first time soaking the ball in hot water.  

Has anyone else experienced this? I am not concerned about the color of the ball as long as it regains the reaction that it used to have.  The past week or so I have really noticed a decline in reaction and I am hoping this helps bring it back.

Thanks,
Ryan
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no2bucsfan

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Re: Cleaning a ball with hot water?
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2004, 09:08:49 PM »
no it wont.....mine are all still fine
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