You’ll need to learn how to clean a pool table properly if you’re going to get it to last a long and vibrant life. A pool table is just like any other piece of furniture and will collect dust and dirt during the regular course of its life. In order to keep it looking good and even more importantly, playing well you need to clean the surface regularly.
If you have a dog, cat or an unusually high number of people with long hair in your household, you can count on cleaning your pool table a little more often to maintain its performance. Factor in the chalk residue and the occasional accident or spill and you’ll need a cleaning regiment in place for each occurrence.
Unlike other pieces of furniture, you need your pool table in tip-top condition to ensure the ball rolls straight. Any sediments or debris can cause slight deviations in the direction of the ball and affect the quality of play.
Here are a few recommended ways to clean the different parts of your pool table.
Clean your billiard balls
Your billiard balls are probably the easiest of all items to tackle. All you need is warm water, a little detergent and a towel.
- Soak the towel in soapy water and wring it out thoroughly.
- Wipe down each ball as needed.
- Allow to air dry in their tray.
While your balls dry, shine and shimmer in their newly donned cleanliness you can move on to cleaning the felt of your pool table.
Clean the felt on your pool table
Use your pool brush to sweep any sediment, dirt and debris from the bumper rails onto the table. You’ll need to sweep debris from the edges and out of the corners towards the centre of the table. You can now sweep from one end of the table to the other in long sweeping motions.
Don’t brush in circles or go side to side on the table as this risks warping and distorting the felt. Keep your brush sweeping in one direction to maintain the nap of the felt and pile the debris up on one side of the table.
Use a dustpan with soft rubber edges to brush the debris off the table.
Never use a vacuum on the felt of your pool table. Vacuums are notorious for pulling, scratching and distorting the felt, which will destroy the playability of your table. You may have. alow setting that may work but we recommend you skip using a vacuum altogether.
Think about linking up your angle and executing the perfect shot, only to have the ball suddenly change direction from a wrinkle in the felt. Using a vacuum is not worth the risk of ruining the felt on your table.
How to clean a spill on your pool table
Use a damp cloth and try soak up as much of the spill as possible. Never rub the spill in to the table, only dab and blot until dry.
Try to get to the spill as early as possible to avoid any stains or spreading. The earlier you can get the spill sopped off the table the less it will settle into the felt.
Use a commercial cleaner to get rid of stains. There are cleaners that provide a dry clean but make sure you’ve cleaned the entire table using the process above before application. If there is any chalk residue it could turn into a paste if it mixes with the cleanser.
Clean the pockets of your billiard table
Clean the pockets of your billiard table with a damp cloth to collect the dirt and wipe off any spillage or stains that may have made its way down there. Put the vacuum away! You might think it’s ok to vacuum the pockets but be aware that you’ll risk damaging the felt.
It happens. Learn from our experience and leave the vacuum alone!
Most pockets are made from leather, so you should apply a leather conditioner after cleaning to avoid cracking and maintain the leathers softness.
Your good to go!
Now you know how to clean a pool table properly. The only part we didn’t cover is the wooden parts of the table, which you can clean just as you would any other wooden piece of furniture. This part won’t affect your shotmaking ability but you might want to give it the attention. it needs to get the bottom of your table to stay as looking as good as the spic and span top you’ve been professionally maintaining.
Check out the pool tables for sale in our showroom. We offer both Legacy and Heritage collections and can have them delivered to your door.
