Making a Clean Sweep - how to clean and maintain bowling balls

Bowling Digest, August, 2001 by Jeri Edwards

You wouldn't buy a sports car and let it rust out in the rain, so why pay hundreds of dollars for a ball that you neglect into underperformance?

IN THE LAST ISSUE, I DISCUSSED the different bowling ball materials, the importance of ball-surface differences, and how the pin is used to affect the ball's reaction. All of these are factors in how you play the lanes each night, and they are especially important considerations before you buy your next ball. But once you have your bowling balls selected and drilled and are happy with them, you need to develop a ball-maintenance program in order to keep them performing at an optimal level. This issue, I'll offer a few tips on how to clean your ball and maintain its finish.

Why you need to clean

The cover is the most dominant variable in ball reaction. Because it's in contact with the lane, the ball surface will pick up oil. With some of the newer equipment, there's a lot of oil that gets absorbed into the ball, which soaks both the surface and the inside of the ball. As the ball rolls down the lane, only a very small portion is in contact with the lane at any given moment, but you will notice oil rings on your ball in some instances. This oil ring indicates your ball's track (where it has rolled on the lane). Sometimes, for different reasons, you may not see an oil ring, but your ball still will have rolled on its track as it went down the lane. Every ball develops an oil track; obviously, the faster your ball tracks up, the more often you'll need to clean it.

As this happens over time, you will start to see small marks on your ball in the track area. This is normal. Your ball experiences friction, plus small dirt particles, the grain of the wood, and other things also will mark it up. And unless you are the luckiest bowler on Earth, your ball will also get some dings. Dings happen! If the ding is not in your track, it's no big deal. If it is in your ball track, how much a ding affects your ball depends on the size of the ding. Try to look at dings as the battle scars from being a rolling warrior.

Factors that affect a cleaning schedule

There are two main considerations when you are organizing your cleaning schedule. The first one is where you bowl. Some bowling centers are very srictly maintained. For instance, the lanes may be stripped and oiled twice a day. Other centers may not clean as often. The cleaner the lane surface, the longer it takes your ball to track up.

Where you live also makes a difference. For instance, if you bowl in an area near the beach, where a lot of sand gets dragged into the center, you will have more particles on the lane surface. The same goes for a bowling center near an airport or railroad tracks: Constant vibrations will force particles out of the ceiling and onto the lane surface. How much oil the center you bowl in applies and what type of oil is used in the dressing of the lanes will affect your maintenance program as well.

The second consideration is how often you bowl. If you bowl once a week in a three-game league, your maintenance will be less than that of someone who bowls five times a week in league, tournament, and practice play.

You can do a lot on your own to keep your equipment in shape, and every once in a while you can visit your pro shop for some extra-special treatment. If you like your ball's hook, you need to be diligent with your ball maintenance. For your aggressive hook ball, use three-game blocks as your cleaning schedule, if possible. If you are bowling in a tournament, clean your ball at the end' of each block of games. Even in your practice sessions, bowl three games, then change balls or clean the ball and continue. When it comes to your medium ball, however, you'll find you won't need to clean it as often.

Preserving your reaction

To keep the same reaction on every roll during games, you need to wipe your ball clean with a towel. Between league sessions, use a towel with something like Fantastik or rubbing alcohol. A better option may be to explore the products made specifically for bowling balls--there are many types available at your pro shop that are designed exclusively to do specific things to bowling balls. Try different brands over time to see which you like the most.

Because these cleaners are made to do different things, you may use different products for different balls. This makes sense: There are products formulated to dull a ball, shine a ball, clean a ball, and to do different combinations thereof. When you are buying a cleaning product, know what it is you want the cleaner to do. If you just want to clean your dull ball, choose a duller. If you want your ball to roll farther before it starts to hook, find a product that adds some shine. If you want an earlier hook, find something to dull the ball slightly. There are products available today that you can apply by hand that will change your ball's characteristic.

The Lustre King is a machine that has been used for years to clean and polish bowling balls. It still can be helpful in shining polyester, urethane, and reactive bowling balls. However, it's ineffective on dull particle technology balls.