How often do I need to clean my rubber?

Table Tennis Equipment

Last updated 5 years ago

Hazard z

Hazard z Asked 12 years ago

Do i need to clean my rubber every time i finish my match/training with a rubber cleaner and sponge?


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario Answered 12 years ago

Hi Khang,

It is good to clean your rubber when you finish playing. Just wipe it over with a damp sponge and then put it away. Dirt and direct sunlight are the biggest enemies of rubber.

 

Watch the video response to this question titled How Often To Clean Rubber.


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Thoughts on this question

Ian Costello

Ian Costello Posted 12 years ago

Is it good or bad to put soap on the rubber?

Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago

Hi Ian,

There is no need to put soap on the rubber.  Just use a little bit of water regularly.


Jonathan Huynh

Jonathan Huynh Posted 11 years ago

doesn't water reck the bat. Also, is it ok to touch the playing surfae of the bat and my dad said that if you play softly or just for fun in a short period of time, you don't need to clean it but if you play hard or you play lightly multiple times, you need to clean it. He belives that cleaning to often leads to reckin the bat. But does it really?


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago

Just keep the dust off the bat after you use it.  If you leave it in a lot of water that will not be good that is why you should just wipe it with a damp cloth.  It will dry in a few seconds.


Jonathan Huynh

Jonathan Huynh Posted 11 years ago

how long does an average rubber last ?

 


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago

If you are using it regularly. about 6 months to a year.


Jason Chak

Jason Chak Posted 11 years ago

I thought water makes your bat loose grip


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago

No, it is fine as long as you don't leave the water on the bat for too long.  Just wipe it with a damp sponge and it will dry quickly.


Mihir Lanjewar

Mihir Lanjewar Posted 11 years ago

AWESOME


Aaqib Ahmed

Aaqib Ahmed Posted 10 years ago

I bought an already assembled paddle online and if its rubbers are over what should i do then? Is my paddle useless Alois sir??


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 10 years ago

Hi Aaqib,

You can try to replace the rubber depending on the quality of the wood.  I have done it with a lot of premade bats with good success.


Gunnar Östberg

Gunnar Östberg Posted 7 years ago

I have recently heard that the best is to use your sweat instead of water, and that the rubber would keep the grip for twice as long doing like that as a regular practice. What are your knowledge or thoughts on this? 


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago

I am not sure about the properties of sweat and how good they are for rubber.  I think staying with water is the safest bet.


D K

D K Posted 7 years ago

And how is it with pimpled rubbers?
DO they need more/less cleaning?
Many players told me that longpips do not need cleaning at all because they do not create spin so there is no need to maintain grip.


Gunnar Östberg

Gunnar Östberg Posted 7 years ago

Awaiting Alois' answer, I give my experience. I have long-pips on one side. I clean the backside after every training session and the long-pimples side occasionally, carefully, to remove dust, all this with a spongy damp cloth. I seldom use any cleaning product or soap as this gives the rubber a shorter life (according to the shop-assistants/specialists). Please note that there are (just as for backside rubbers), two kinds of pips-out rubbers, one type with friction (not completely blank pips surface) and one type with low friction (each one of the pips ends with a completely blank/glossy/shiny surface) - in both cases you want these pips to be clean to do their job. Long-pips with friction is more for chopping in my view, while long-pips with low friction (and with a pips density more close to 10 (lowest possible/allowed) than to 30 (highest possible/allowed)) is more useful for spin-reversal and deceptive play (and you can chop as well, actually even easier and faster and better, imho). 


D K

D K Posted 7 years ago

But the frictionless rubber has no grip to be taken out,then why it needs to be clean?
I use TSP Curl p1-R.
I have found it to be very adaptable longpips rubber allowing controlled spinny chopping just as well as some corrupted form of even looping.


Gunnar Östberg

Gunnar Östberg Posted 7 years ago

@D K

I now use SpinLord Dornenglanz. I don't think it is important to clean these longpips. I just wipe them off with the damp cloth now and then (every third week maybe) to remove any dirt, to make sure to keep the low friction playing characteristics the same (if it all matters - can't say I've noticed any difference, cleaning or not). 

I also use the loop stroke with this rubber, works on backspin of course but also on no-spin balls. Fantastic attack shot against backspin, always a winner with good placement and if done faster than the time needed for the opponent to compute the spin vector algorithms ;-)  

 


D K

D K Posted 7 years ago

You are a blocker,then?

I am a classical defender.
But my pips are grippy.

I think we should wait for Alois's answer.


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago

It is OK to just wipe you pimples every now and then.  It really doesn't make a great deal of different to their performance.


Jason Partelle

Jason Partelle Posted 7 years ago

 I clean my rubbers with product at the start of each night that l play, keeping rubbers gripping is the name of the game.  More spin makes it harder for your opponent to return the ball, unless they have antispin. Thankfully not many players have this stuff, kind regards Jason from Yarrawonga Table Tennis Club.


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago

Thanks Jason.  Greetings to everyone in Yarrawonga.


Ernest Wahyu

Ernest Wahyu Posted 7 years ago

I usually left my gym bag which consist of my bat and other equipments on my parked car in the open parking lot and it's usually so hot on the afternoon. Will it give a negative impact on my rubber ? Does heat from indirect sunlight also affect the rubber ?


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago

Hi Ernest,

Yes that will ruin the rubber and make it slippery.  You shouldn't leave your bat in a car if it is at all hot.


Ruslan Dautov

Ruslan Dautov Posted 7 years ago

My BTY Tackiness Chop II has some unusual dust that I can't wipe with any sponge. Only the thing we use to wash dishes can wipe it very well


kathy mckelvey

kathy mckelvey Posted 7 years ago

Good to know just plain water will be sufficient to clean bat  Thank's 


Justin Liu

Justin Liu Posted 5 years ago

So I clean my rubbers with water and a sponge before and after every session, but when should I use a cleaner instead of water and is it even necessary?


Alois Rosario

Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 5 years ago

Not really necessary but you can use it once a week if you want to.



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