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- How to take
care of your Basketball to keep it using longer time
How
to take care of your Basketball to keep it using longer time
A good basketball
can last for years if you know how to maintain it well. No matter what
the material of the basketball is, whether it is made of rubber,
synthetic or full grain hide it will last long if only you will take
proper care of it. The way you take care of your ball differs from
material to material.
Leather basketballs are more expensive and need extra care. You can use
an especially designed leather cleanser. So while cleaning your leather
basketball, make sure that you use the right cleanser. Leather
basketballs collect dust easily.
These dust particles ruin the basketball slowly over the time. It gets
embedded on the surface of the basketball and dries out a perfect
basketball. Which makes the basketball useless and it can’t be used for
playing anymore.
So to avoid this you need to clean the basketball regularly. But the
question is how to clean it the basketball without ruining it. There
are some rules that you need to follow if you want to maintain your
indoor/outdoor basketball. The tips are given below just follow them
and your basketball has a long life.
Use the right amount of air
Basketball may lose the air if it is not used for a long time or is
used regularly. This leads to lack of bounce and ultimately affecting
your ball. Make sure that your basketball has proper air in it all the
time. Don’t use your basketball when it lacks the proper amount of air
pressure in it.
The ball should bounce back two-third of the way from where it was
dropped. In case it doesn’t happen then it means that the ball either
has a lot of pressure or has less air pressure. The pressure details
are usually printed near the hole of basketball. Normally the ball
consists of 8 lbs per square inch.
a. Take care that of the needle:
Make sure that you lubricate the needle before using it for inflating
your ball. Insert the needle in the valve only when you are absolutely
sure that the needle is well lubricated and is not damaged in any way.
A damaged needle can also ruin your basketball.
b. Tips while inflating your ball: While inflating
your ball you should follow few steps that will keep your basketball
safe. The tips recommended are:
1. Do not use high pressure for inflating the ball,
like the one we use for inflating the tires.
2. Don’t inflate your ball at the time of cold
otherwise, the bladder will burst.
3. Hold the valve firmly while inserting the needle.
An inch here or there and the basketball will be ruined.
4. Inflate slowly so that the bladder doesn’t burst
due to sudden pressure.
5. Inflate to the manufacturer’s instruction only.
Don’t overdo or under do it otherwise it will harm the ball.
6. For deflating the balls just put the needle in the
hole and allow the air to come out.
7. While deflating make sure that you leave 2-3
pounds to keep its cover safe from getting damaged.
Always keep it clean
It is important to keep your basketball clean all the time. But there
are some dos and don'ts of cleaning the basketball. The tips to clean
the basketball in a way that it doesn't get ruined are:
1. Always after using it wipe it with a damp and wet
cloth.
2. Dry it out immediately otherwise, it will get
stains which will be impossible to remove.
3. If the basketball is too dirty then use leather
shampoo. This will keep the oils of the basketball retained on it.
4. After this leave the ball in a ventilated place
for drying.
5. Don’t leave your ball to soak in water. The water
will seep in from the holes and cracks and once inside it will damage
the bladder of the ball.
6. Leather balls are meant for indoors and wooden
floor. Balls made of rubber or synthetic can be used in rocky or
cemented grounds.
Now here are the steps of cleaning the basketball properly.
1. Fill a bucket with warm water and mix in some
leather shampoo in it. If you don’t have the leather shampoo then mix
some mild dish detergent.
2. Now dip a rag into the mixture and clean the ball,
especially the seams of the ball. Seams of the ball collect the maximum
dust and dirt in it.
3. Now rinse your ball and then pat it dry with a dry
rag.
Store in right place
When you are not using your ball the keep it in a cool and dry place
away from the sunlight. But do not keep it in the car boot. The high
temperature of your car boot can destroy the quality of the basketball
used by the manufacturers. If you have well-ventilated ball bag then
keep it in that.
If you don’t use your basketball regularly then you can deflate it and
then store it in the room temperature. Keep your ball away from the
fire.
Use more than one ball
While playing make sure that you use two or more balls if possible.
This will give time the basketball some time to recover. It’s important
to give your ball proper rest otherwise its performance will affect.
Pump up before use
Earlier also we have discussed that the pressure of the ball should be
well kept otherwise the able ball won’t bounce properly leading to
affecting the life your basketball. The air pressure details are always
given near the inflation hole. So follow the details and inflate your
ball with required air pressure.
It’s important to remember that you don’t use high pressure for
inflating the ball. It may affect the ball and may rupture its bladder.
Also, keep in mind that you don’t inflate your ball in the cold weather
it may burst the bladder. Before inflating check the needle and
lubricate it properly. Hold on to the hole firmly then only inflate the
ball.
Use smooth court
It depends on the material of the basketball that
where can you use it and where you can’t. Like the leather, basketballs
are only made for indoor use and should be used on the wooden floors.
But the basketballs made of rubber or synthetic can be used on rough,
rocky and cemented grounds as well.
At the end no matter what kind of ball you are using or where have you
played with it, it’s important that you take care of the ball and
follow all the steps to keep it clean.
Conclusion
Basketball seems hard and tough equipment but it’s too sensitive and
needs proper care if you want to extend its life. So it’s important
that you follow the above-given details. If you love your basketball
and want it to last long then these steps will give your basketball a
long life. It will avoid your basketball from any kind of damage.
It doesn’t matter whether you use your basketball regularly or not it
still needs care. And it’s not that hard to keep your basketball
well-maintained. All you need to do is make sure that you follow the
above steps carefully and your basketball will be well enough for a
long time.
